Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper), Eurogroup for Animals has welcomed the explicit recognition of animal welfare in the scope of financial aid to Ukraine.
The group has now called on the EU to ensure that the Facility “will indeed foster improved animal welfare standards” in all grants and loans given to the Ukrainian beneficiaries.
On 27 February the European Parliament approved the revision of the EU’s long-term budget which includes the so-called Ukraine Facility mechanism.
The Facility mechanism – powered with €50 billion – will be the EU’s main instrument providing financial support to Ukraine until 2027.
Importantly says the group, animal welfare is recognised as an objective of the Facility mechanism.
Fostering investments in line with EU animal welfare standards is, it adds, becoming critical in light of the unconditional and full trade liberalization between the EU and Ukraine in place since May 2022.
This full liberalisation is for now further fuelling intensive animal agriculture in Ukraine with a significant increase in poultry meat and egg imports.
Conditioning investments to animal welfare standards have the potential to improve the welfare of millions of animals in Ukraine, ensuring EU citizens’ wishes to protect animals are respected.
A spokesman said, “This will also send the right message to EU producers to accelerate the transition to sustainable methods of production.
“Prioritising animal welfare through the Facility will also ease Ukraine’s accession talks to the EU by stimulating a sustainable reconstruction of its agricultural system aiming at an alignment with the EU acquis.
“Ukraine is a big agricultural producer with a large share of it relating to animal products.
“Using the financial support of the Facility to help Ukraine transition towards more sustainable agricultural methods of production is the only way forward to advance Ukraine’s green recovery.”
