The ECR Group welcomes the strong majority in the European Parliament backing a new direction for the EU livestock sector, putting farmers, food security and economic realism firmly back at the centre of European agricultural policy.

The own-initiative report, led by ECR rapporteur Carlo Fidanza, sets out a clear, science-based and non-ideological approach to support Europe’s livestock sector at a time of mounting economic pressure and global uncertainty.

Commenting after the vote, Fidanza said:

“I am particularly proud of the approval by a large majority of the European Parliament of the own-initiative report on the future of the European livestock sector, for which I was rapporteur. It is the result of months of work, carried out in constant coordination with the sector, and allows us to bring livestock farming back to the centre of European agricultural policy after years of underestimation, misinformation and ideological campaigns.

I now hope that this comprehensive and ambitious text can serve as a starting point for the forthcoming strategy of the EU Commission on sustainable livestock.”

The text calls for a strong and adequately funded Common Agricultural Policy, including coupled payments for key sectors, greater investment in innovation and genetic improvement, stronger animal health systems, and fairer trade conditions with stricter controls on imports. It also promotes circular solutions such as the use of livestock digestate as a natural European alternative to imported chemical fertilisers.

Fidanza said:

“And this is precisely one of the key points: we strongly affirm – and this is a Copernican revolution – that livestock farming is part of the environmental solution, not the problem.”

The report clearly rejects indiscriminate cuts to livestock numbers, warning that such an approach would lead to the abandonment of rural areas, loss of biodiversity and a reduction in Europe’s food security. Instead, it calls for balanced, evidence-based policies that support farmers while improving sustainability.

Fidanza said:

“For this reason, we reject a generalised reduction in livestock numbers, since indiscriminate cuts would lead to the abandonment of the countryside, loss of biodiversity and a reduction in European food security.

“The text strongly affirms the need to protect designations of origin, to combat counterfeiting, not to call meat what is not meat, to strengthen reciprocity in trade agreements concerning the livestock sector and to increase controls on imported products, including by introducing mandatory origin labelling, not to give the green light to synthetic meat in the absence of scientific evidence certifying its safety.

It calls to strengthen animal welfare as well as European systems for prevention and rapid response to animal diseases, including vaccines, to support European protein production, thereby reducing dependence on third countries, and to invest in innovation and genetic improvement of livestock.”

He further underlined the importance of circular production models and a strong CAP framework, saying:

“Furthermore, the report reaffirms the importance of supporting the circularity of livestock production, through authorising the use of livestock digestate as a natural and European alternative to our chronic dependence on extra-EU chemical fertilisers. All of this must take place within a strong, simplified and adequately funded Common Agricultural Policy, including coupled payments for cattle, sheep and goats, which are essential for the economic sustainability of our farms, accompanied by a strengthening of the agricultural crisis reserve to respond to increasingly frequent emergencies.”

He concluded:

“With this own-initiative report, we are outlining the future of a sector that is indispensable for European food sovereignty, for its competitiveness and for the local economies of rural areas, starting with inland regions.”

The text was adopted with by 426 votes in favour, 119 against and 40 abstentions.