Italy and Greece to face European Court on battery cage ban

The European Commission is to haul Italy and Greece before the European Court for failing to implement the European Union’s ban on conventional battery cages.

The move has been welcomed by Roger Gent, chairman of the British Free Range Egg Producers’ Association (BFREPA), although he said that action to enforce the cage ban was proving to be a long process and he questioned whether any financial penalty, particularly one imposed on Greece, was realistic given the condition of the country’s economy.

“It is about time something was done,” said Roger. “It is supposed to be a fair and level playing field and it’s just a shame that it has taken as long as it has. Here we are 18 months later and it will probably be two years before it actually gets to court, but that is how it all works in the EU. And Greece is bust, anyway. Whatever fine they eventually impose, can they afford to pay it?

Although the cage ban came into force in January 2012, requiring egg producers to use only enriched cage, barn or free range production systems, Italy and Greece are still not fully compliant with the new rules. The European Commission has now announced that it is taking the two countries to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

On January 26 last year the Commission sent a letter of formal notice asking Greece, Italy and 11 other EU member states that had failed to meet the deadline for the ban to take action to comply with the regulation. The Commission says that of the 13 countries that received letters requesting them to correctly implement the directive, only two now remain non-compliant.

In announcing the decision to take those two countries to court, the Commission said that compliance by all member states was essential to avoid market distortions and unfair competition. Lack of enforcement of the ban put businesses that had invested in complying with the new measures at a disadvantage. It said that despite repeated calls from the Commission to address the situation, Greece and Italy had so far failed to adequately comply with applicable EU law.

The decision to take action against Italy and Greece was welcomed by the National Farmers’ Union’s (NFU) poultry board chairman, Duncan Priestner. He said, “It is absolutely right that the European Commission takes the relevant action against those countries that still have not come up to speed with the directive. Poultry farmers in this country have spent in excess of £400million to ensure that their systems meet these new welfare standards so it is vital that there is a level playing field throughout Europe.”

The statement issued by the European Commission said that it still looked forward to Italy and Greece ensuring compliance.