Animal welfare organisations continue to be concerned about the European Commission’s plans to update EU’s outdated animal welfare legislation after a leaked version of its Work Programme did not include any legislative proposals in this policy area.
The Work Programme, which is expected to be presented next Tuesday, included only one non-legislative proposal as regards animal welfare, labelled ‘Livestock strategy including elements on animal welfare (Q2 2026)’.
One of the most urgent updates concern the caging of farmed animals. As previously reported, the Commission announced in September that it had opened a public consultation on the revision of EU legislation for on-farm animal welfare. The consultation remains open until 12 December 2025.
According to the Commission, its proposal will be evidence-based and a follow-up on the Commission's response to the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) on ending the use of cages for farmed animals. The ECI received the required number of signatures but the Commission reneged on its promise to submit a legislative proposal in 2023.
Asked whether the Commission intends to present a proposal during 2026 on banning cages for farmed animals, a Commission spokesperson replied affirmatively on Friday. “This is something that I would call work in progress. Animal welfare is obviously a key priority for us, and we have very high standards in this area that we want to maintain.”
Referring to the mission letter of Olivér Várhelyi, Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, and the vision on agriculture and food, she explained that the Commission is going from sector by sector in the food chain, and this includes also a response to the European Citizens’ Initiative. The public consultation and preparatory actions with external contractors are ongoing, supporting and impact assessment.
“The European Commission appears to be continuing on a downward course when it comes to animal welfare,” Olga Kikou, Director of Animal Advocacy & Food Transition, told The Brussels Times.
“We understand that the Commission is working on a proposal to phase out cages for laying hens, expected by the end of 2026,” she added. “While this step is welcome, it represents only a small fraction of the ambitious animal welfare reforms promised in the previous legislative term. The same applies to the Commission’s commitment to the End the Cage Age European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI).”
"It is encouraging to hear from the Commission that they intend to keep its commitment to introduce legislation to ban cages and improve animal welfare legislation next year,” commented Vinciane Patelou, Head of EU at Compassion in World Farming. “Yet, we have heard promises before, so we expect nothing less than seeing this fully reflected in the upcoming Work Programme."
