Time for an EU Animal Welfare Commissioner?

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OVERVIEW

In the last term of the European Parliament, 208 MEPs joined the #EUforAnimals campaign, which demands that more relevance be given to animal welfare by making this responsibility explicit in the name of the relevant Directorate-General and the job title of the competent EU Commissioner.

In the present context, the Commissioner’s responsibility would become for “Health, Food Safety and Animal Welfare.”

Over 309,000 citizens joined this appeal by signing a petition in support of this proposal. The Petition Committee acknowledged its importance, deciding to ask the President of the Commission and the Commissioner for Health to comment on it.

The two most signed thematic oral questions in the history of the European Parliament shared the same ask, and the Parliament approved a recommendation saying that this would be important to tackle the problems deriving from long-distance live animal transport.

Dozens of new MEPs of all political areas are already joining this appeal.

In this round table event “Time for an EU Animal Welfare Commissioner?” livestreamed on this page from the European Parliament in Brussels, MEPs and other guests will discuss whether the appointment of the new Commission is the right time to implement this proposal.

PROGRAMME

16.00 – Christopher Burns with the introduction featuring an opening video presentation prepared by GAIA, followed by discussions with the participants below.

– Niels Fuglsang (S&D)

– Manuela Ripa (EPP)

– Adolfo Sansolini (#EUforAnimals)

16.31 – Christopher Burns with the introduction followed by discussions with the participants below.

– Anja Hazekamp (The Left)

– Tilly Metz (Greens/EFA)

– Michal Wiezik (Renew Europe)

– Adolfo Sansolini (#EUforAnimals)

17.02 – Christopher Burns with the introduction followed by discussions with the participants below.

– Reineke Hameleers (Eurogroup for Animals)

– Adolfo Sansolini (#EUforAnimals)

– Michel Vandenbosch (GAIA)

17.30 – Closing remarks and end of debate.

SPEAKERS

– Manuela Ripa, MEP, Group of the European People’s Party

MEP Manuela Ripa represents the German Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP) in the EPP Group. She is member of the CULT and substitute in the ENVI committee and SANT subcommittee. In addition, she is Vice-President of the Animal Welfare Intergroup. Her focus lies on environment, animal welfare, consumer protection and education.

– Niels Fuglsang, MEP, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats

Niels Fuglsang is a Danish member of the European Parliament since 2019 in the Socialists and Democrats group. He has been vice-president of the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals since 2019 and holds a PhD in political economy from Copenhagen Business School. 

– Michal Wiezik, MEP, Renew Europe Group

Michal Wiezik is an associate Professor in Ecology and scientist. In his work, he particularly follows the revision of animal welfare legislation advocating for shift from intensive farming and for better animal welfare for animals in transports and farmed animals, including ending the caged farming as requested by European citizens. He is a resolute supporter of a new Commissioner for animal welfare with a strong role to play in the revision process.

– Tilly Metz, MEP, Greens/EFA

Tilly Metz, born on May 26, 1967, is a Luxembourgish politician and psychologist. She holds a Master’s in Educational Psychology and has served as a humanities professor, deputy principal, and mayor. Metz is a member of the European Parliament since 2018 and is actively involved in environmental, animal welfare and public health committees.

– Anja Hazekamp, MEP, The Left Group

Biography coming soon.

– Michel Vandenbosch, President, GAIA

After his studies in moral philosophy at the Free University of Brussels, Michel Vandenbosch worked for the International Primate Protection League, the Royal Belgian League for Bird Protection, and for Veeweyde, the oldest animal protection organisation in Belgium. In 1992, he founded Global Action in the Interest of Animals (GAIA), which he still presides. GAIA is now Belgium’s most influential and successful animal interests organisation.

– Reineke Hameleers, CEO, Eurogroup for Animals

Reineke Hameleers is the CEO of Eurogroup for Animals, the leading pan European animal protection organisation convening more than ninety members in the EU and beyond. She is also a Vice-President of the World Federation for Animals and a member of the Netherlands Committee for the Protection of Animals used for Scientific Purposes.

– Adolfo Sansolini, Coordinator, #EUforAnimals campaign

Adolfo Sansolini is the Coordinator of the #EUforAnimals campaign, on behalf of the Belgian organisation GAIA. He has been active in animal rights and welfare since his teens. He has directed organisations, successfully led campaigns and coordinated international coalitions around the world. He also has more than 25 years’ journalistic experience.

Christopher Burns is a Franco-American journalist, moderator and media expert with decades of reporting experience in Europe, the U.S., Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East. He’s covered wars, terror attacks, election battles, financial crises, disasters and film festivals. He graduated in Political Economy at the University of California, Berkeley, and did post-grad studies in Europe. Chris speaks five languages, has dual US-French nationality, plays tennis, piano and guitar.