WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3418/97 by Hiltrud BREYER to the Commission. World trade and protection of animals
30. 4. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 134/159 (98/C 134/215) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3415/97 by Hiltrud Breyer (V) to the Commission (28 October 1997) Subject: World trade and protection of animals Article XX provides a series of grounds for trade restrictions, including protection of human and animal life and health and respect for general public morals. How are these provisions to be interpreted? Can they be interpreted such that EU animal protection 1. standards can be maintained or improved without objections? How are the restrictive considerations actually determined? To what extent must restrictions on animal 2. health be accepted and when is a restriction on trade permitted? Who decides what is in line with public morals, etc. ? To what extent is protection of the well-being of animals or prevention of psychological suffering, such as 3. fear, taken into account? Is it possible for an interpretation which satisfies animal protection considerations to be implemented at 4. international level, or must the WTO provisions be made more definite? (98/C 134/216) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3417/97 by Hiltrud Breyer (V) to the Commission (28 October 1997) Subject: World trade and protection of animals At present the WTO provisions do not permit any differentiation on the basis of criteria which are not demonstrable in the final product. For the protection of animals such non-product related process and production methods › e. g. breeding and rearing conditions, methods of capture or use of animals in testing vaccines › are however essential. To what extent can this provision be brought together with the protection concerns in Article XX? Is it even 1. possible in animal protection to make a distinction between áproductioní and áfinal productí? If non-product related criteria could be taken into account, could the EU animal protection standards be 2. maintained or improved without objections even if Article XX were to be interpreted to the disadvantage of animal protection? (98/C 134/217) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3418/97 by Hiltrud Breyer (V) to the Commission (31 October 1997) Subject: World trade and protection of animals The Commission has stated on many occasions that it would be more promising to promote animal protection through multilateral agreements with third countries. In the light of the experience of negotiating animal protection provisions within the Union, is this idea 1. realistic? What actual type of agreement is envisaged? 2. If it is realistic, could an improvement of the WTO regulations be pursued at the same time? 3. What measures can be taken by the EU to encourage animal protection in third countries?