Promoting EU standards at global level is achieved by various long term activities such as the negotiation of international standards at the World Organisation for Animal Health (today there are 13 international animal welfare standards thanks to the EU impulse) and including animal welfare in bilateral free trade agreements.

30. Shares the Commission’s view that there are today still shortcomings as regards compliance with animal welfare rules, despite the progress made in several fields; reminds the Commission that while current legislation on animal welfare is already, to a large extent, sufficient, it has not been applied to the desired extent in all Member States; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that legislation on animal welfare is complied with in all Member States;

30. Shares the Commission’s view that there are today still shortcomings as regards compliance with animal welfare rules, despite the progress made in several fields; reminds the Commission that while current legislation on animal welfare is already, to a large extent, sufficient, it has not been applied to the desired extent in all Member States; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that legislation on animal welfare is complied with in all Member States;

41. Stresses that the Commission, and in particular the Food and Veterinary Office, must be given increased resources, in keeping with EU budget recommendations and powers, to adequately control the animal welfare inspections carried out by the Member States, a proportion of which should be unannounced checks, and to address breaches; calls on the Member States to ensure that there are sufficient animal welfare inspectors who are adequately trained, with harmonised performance measures in place to ensure consistent checks across all ...[+++]Member States, and to consider giving greater responsibility and power to producer organisations;

13. Notes the results of the 2005 Commission Eurobarometer surveys on consumer attitudes to animal welfare, which indicate that European consumers are attaching increasing importance to the traceability and quality of food and other products, overwhelmingly stating that imported food products should be produced under animal welfare conditions at least as high as those applied in Europe, with over half of all European consumers willing to pay more for animal welfare-friendly food products; notes, however, that consumers feel that these products could be easier to identify and want clearer food labelling with regard to animal welfare stan ...[+++]dards, and therefore considers that information requirements, including mandatory labelling of products, should apply equally to those products produced within and outside the Community; urges the Commission, therefore, to press for inclusion of the IOE minimum standards in the WTO agreements on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and technical barriers to trade (TBT);

One for the consumer and his feeling for animal welfare and one for the economy and trade, which must not be allowed to suffer from the outbreak of a disease. I have requested a roll-call vote on this report and on Mr Mulder’s amendment, so that the public can see from Members’ voting behaviour the double tongue of this Parliament on animal welfare.