EU to set environmental targets for livestock farms
The European Parliament has agreed to set limits for reducing emissions and waste from pig and poultry farms and will review in 2026 whether cattle should be included.
The new rules will add environmental performance and water consumption targets. For waste, resource efficiency, energy efficiency and raw material use, targets will be within a range.
Some European farmers have recently protested against the EU green rules, which they said burden them with costs and bureaucracy.
In response to the protests, the EU has weakened some rules.
MEP Radan Kanev said: “Today's vote shows Parliament’s commitment to the zero pollution goals of the Green deal and the health of Europeans. It also demonstrates that those goals can be achieved without placing an additional administrative burden on businesses and especially on European farmers. The vote emphasises that MEPs understand the reasons behind the farmers’ protests.”
By the end of 2026, the Commission will review whether to add rearing cattle, and a reciprocity clause to ensure producers outside the EU meet requirements similar to EU rules when exporting to the EU.
