The German Animal Welfare Federation is concerned about a partially leaked work program of the EU Commission for 2026. The document lacks the long-announced and overdue reform of EU animal welfare legislation. According to the Commission's announcement, the first legislative proposals for the revised animal welfare regulations were to be presented in 2026. This was not only a key promise made as part of the European Citizens' Initiative “End the Cage Age” to abolish cage farming, but was also publicly reaffirmed on several occasions by the EU Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, Olivér Várhelyi.
"For years, EU citizens have been waiting for the Commission to finally deliver on its promises on animal welfare. The appointment of a dedicated Commissioner for Animal Welfare raised clear expectations. It is therefore all the more worrying that this key project is missing from the leaked work program. We expect the EU Commission to keep its word and not put off this urgently needed reform," says Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Federation.
The absence of animal welfare legislation in the leaked draft is particularly contradictory in view of the ongoing public consultation on the modernization of EU regulations, which has already received more than 500 comments. The strategic dialogue on the future of EU agriculture – now the European Board on Agriculture and Food (EBAF) – has also identified the revision of animal welfare regulations as an important area for action.
Despite these worrying signals, the German Animal Welfare Federation and other member organizations of the European animal welfare umbrella organization Eurogroup for Animals are urging the EU Commission to keep its promises and firmly include the revision of animal welfare legislation in its 2026 work program. This is crucial in order to meet the clear expectations and demands of EU citizens, who have been campaigning for years for a higher level of protection for animals.
