The complaint, submitted by Eurogroup for Animals, FOUR PAWS and Respect for Animals on behalf of the Fur Free Europe ECI’s committee, argues that the EC has breached the principle of political equality and equal stakeholder engagement when it proactively met with fur industry representatives while ignoring requests for meetings from civil society organisations.
As it prepares for its official reply to the ECI by March, the EC held three workshops with fur industry representatives, and subsequently refused to provide details or minutes of these workshops when asked by the claimants. The industry submitted multiple “pre-workshop brainstorming” documents that clearly shaped the meetings’ agenda.
At the same time, the EC did not acknowledge a request for a meeting with Health and Animal Welfare Commissioner Oliver Várhejli by Eurogroup for Animals, on behalf of the Fur Free Europe Citizens’ Committee.
The EC’s actions reveal a systematic disregard to the EFSA’s scientific opinion, which clearly states that under no circumstances, can the welfare of animals on fur farms be upheld. A stakeholder survey, which the EC conducted in November, only elaborated on continued fur farming scenarios, with no reference to the EFSA’s survey, published only months before. The claimants argue that during the assessment stage, the EC should evaluate all policy scenarios, and not just ones which allow fur farming to continue.
“We are extremely concerned about the impartiality of this exchange of information that favours the interests of a few above the demands of 1.5 million citizens who have clearly asked for a ban on fur farms. If the European Commission fails to ban fur farms, it would not only contradict all scientific evidence but it will also undermine the very democratic value of the ECI itself,” commented Reineke Hameleers, CEO, Eurogroup for Animals.
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