{"id":120582,"date":"2026-07-13T14:13:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T12:13:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/?p=120582"},"modified":"2026-07-13T16:27:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T14:27:21","slug":"broken-promises-new-eu-pollution-rules-for-pig-and-poultry-farms-weakened-while-cattle-continue-to-get-a-free-pass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en\/broken-promises-new-eu-pollution-rules-for-pig-and-poultry-farms-weakened-while-cattle-continue-to-get-a-free-pass\/","title":{"rendered":"Broken promises: ”New” EU pollution rules for pig and poultry farms weakened while cattle continue to get a free pass"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels, 13 July<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0\u2013 EU Member States today approved new environmental “operating rules” for the Union\u2019s largest intensive pig and poultry farms.\u00a0But instead of tightening controls on industrial pollution as intended by the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED),\u00a0the final\u00a0text\u00a0granted\u00a0a \u201cgift\u201d to the biggest industrial farms\u00a0through various flexibilities and exemptions, warns the European\u00a0Environmental Bureau (EEB).<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The new rules, known as the Uniform Conditions for Operating Rules on Livestock (UCOL), were intended to\u00a0establish\u00a0clear and harmonised\u00a0minimum\u00a0standards for tackling major\u00a0health,\u00a0environmental and climate impacts from intensive livestock production, including\u00a0in relation to\u00a0ammonia emissions and manure management.\u00a0With the\u00a0IED only applying\u00a0to industrialised mega farms, the requirements\u00a0established\u00a0by UCOL\u00a0would not have affected\u00a0micro,\u00a0small and medium farms\u00a0[1].<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet instead of holding one of Europe\u2019s most polluting sectors\u00a0[2]\u00a0accountable for\u00a0the health and\u00a0environmental\u00a0damages it causes, the final text\u00a0largely\u00a0mirrors\u00a0requirements that have been in place since 2017\u00a0[3],\u00a0contains\u00a0numerous\u00a0exemptions and flexibilities, and will not begin to apply until between 2030 and 2032, depending on farm size.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s vote is a missed opportunity to strengthen environmental protection and reduce pollution from some of the EU\u2019s most intensive animal rearing operations. Cattle farming also continues to be completely excluded, despite its major environmental and climate impacts, particularly of methane, a potent climate-heating gas, cautions the EEB.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Aliki Kriekouki,\u00a0Senior\u00a0Policy\u00a0Officer for Industrial Production,\u00a0EEB,\u00a0said:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“The Commission promised a balanced process. What we got was a text shaped by\u00a0repeated\u00a0concessions.\u00a0The rules\u2019 environmental ambition\u00a0has been diluted\u00a0by\u00a0flexibilities,\u00a0exemptions, special\u00a0ceilings\u00a0for ”newly covered\u00a0farms”,\u00a0and\u00a0reduced monitoring.\u00a0Implementation\u00a0is further\u00a0delayed, even though many of the standards concerned have been in place for years.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than raising the bar on pollution from industrial livestock production, the final UCOL text lowers expectations of what the revised Industrial Emissions Directive can actually deliver.”<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The costs of granting intensive agriculture special treatment are already visible across Europe. Rural communities and taxpayers are paying the price as pollution from intensive livestock production\u00a0worsens:\u00a0rivers and lakes are turning green with excess nutrients, aquatic dead zones are expanding,\u00a0nitrate contamination is threatening drinking water supplies\u00a0[4]. At the same time,\u00a0ecosystems and our health keeps being threatened\u00a0by air pollution \u2013 with agriculture\u00a0being responsible for\u00a0almost all\u00a0ammonia emissions in the EU (a key precursor for\u00a0PM 2.5\u00a0[5]).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, emissions from factory farms continue to fuel climate change at a time when Europe is facing record heatwaves, wildfires, and other increasingly frequent extreme weather. Against this backdrop, the final UCOL text is a missed opportunity to tackle pollution\u00a0and climate change.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Margherita Tolotto, Head of Air and Noise,\u00a0EEB, said:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“The final UCOL text reflects a dangerous deregulation-first mindset, with flexibility repeatedly prioritised over protections for our health\u00a0\u2013 the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the stable climate we depend on.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With more than half of Member States still needing to reduce ammonia emissions to meet their already weak 2030 commitments (under the National Emission Reduction Commitments Directive). It is the duty of the European Commission and national governments to act in the interest of all citizens, rather than protecting those of one powerful lobby group which falsely claims to represent the entire farming sector.\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Over the past two years, Member States, the European\u00a0Commission\u00a0and stakeholders have worked to develop the implementing rules required under the revised\u00a0IED, which entered into force in August 2024. The EEB has also been part of this\u00a0process and\u00a0has repeatedly warned that successive drafts were becoming increasingly toothless, as policymakers weakened, rather than strengthened, key provisions, disregarding available\u00a0scientific evidence,\u00a0which was supposed to be the basis for the definition of these\u00a0rules.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The final text\u00a0[6]\u00a0does little to address these concerns and now risks undermining broader\u00a0fundamental\u00a0objectives\u00a0of the IED, a cornerstone of the EU’s efforts to reduce industrial pollution.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Once formally adopted, as required by the revised IED by 1 September 2026, UCOL will become the benchmark for how industrial pig and poultry farms\u00a0operate\u00a0across the EU. For many stakeholders, today’s vote raises\u00a0serious questions\u00a0about whether the new framework will deliver meaningful\u00a0health and\u00a0environmental improvements or simply preserve the status quo under a new name.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ENDS.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Notes to editor:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[1]\u00a0Up to July 2024, the IED covered about 23,100 pig and poultry farms, which corresponds to around\u00a0<\/span>18% of the existing pig and poultry farms in the EU. The revision expands the IED scope to include an\u00a0additional\u00a015,400 farms, resulting in a total coverage of the 30% largest pig and poultry farms.\u00a0Large farms will fall under the revised directive if they exceed specific livestock unit thresholds. For example, farms with the following number of places are included: 21,439 places for laying hens, 37,500 places for ducks, 40,000 places for broilers, 1,167 places for swine, or 700 sows. Additionally, organic pig farming is also excluded from the scope of the directive.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[<\/span>2<\/span>]\u00a0<\/span>Animal agriculture accounts for\u00a0<\/span><\/span>65%<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0of all agricultural greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. Around 56% of EU methane emissions is attributable to livestock production systems and manure management.\u00a0<\/span>Agriculture accounts for<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>94% of all EU ammonia emissions,<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>animal rearing<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>is responsible\u00a0<\/span>for<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>t<\/span>he vast majorit<\/span>y of<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>these\u00a0<\/span>(<\/span><\/span>75%<\/span><\/span><\/a>)<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[3]\u00a0<\/span>Commission Implementing Decision<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(EU) 2017\/302 of 15 February 2017\u00a0establishing\u00a0best available techniques (BAT) conclusions, under Directive 2010\/75\/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, for the intensive rearing of poultry or pigs<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[4]\u00a0Across\u00a0Spain,\u00a0<\/span>260,000 people<\/span><\/a>\u00a0are unable to drink tap water due to contamination from nitrates\u00a0from intensive agriculture.\u00a0In Galicia, northern Spain,\u00a0longstanding pollution of water and air from intensive animal rearing operations has contaminated a\u00a0key reservoir, leading\u00a0local residents\u00a0to file a case on\u00a0<\/span>human rights<\/span><\/a>\u00a0grounds \u2013 which was\u00a0ultimately upheld\u00a0by the Supreme Court.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[5] PM 2.5 is\u00a0a very dangerous\u00a0form of air pollution, which travels\u00a0deep in our respiratory system\u00a0and body. The World Health Organisation\u00a0links\u00a0exposure to\u00a0PM 2.5\u00a0to\u00a0various\u00a0health issues, including cardiovascular\u00a0and respiratory diseases, cancer, neurological and metabolic disorders, including dementia,\u00a0and heavy consequences also on maternal and foetal health.\u00a0A\u00a02022\u00a0<\/span>study<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>shows\u00a0that\u00a0ammonia contributes to 50% of PM2.5 air pollution\u00a0in the EU.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[6] The final draft UCOL text\u00a0that was put on vote today can be found\u00a0<\/span>here<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>25 of the 27 Member States voted in favour,\u00a0while\u00a0France\u00a0further\u00a0secured a late amendment allowing Member States to apply\u00a0maximum\u00a0total phosphorus-excretion values collectively across all poultry categories on the same farm.\u00a0A\u00a0similar flexibility may also be introduced for nitrogen excretion and for pig farms.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: Selene Magnolia Gatti, 2024 (Poland), We Animals<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brussels, 13 July\u00a0\u2013 EU Member States today approved new environmental “operating rules” for the Union\u2019s largest intensive pig and poultry farms.\u00a0But instead of tightening controls on [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":120583,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,116,118,128,132],"tags":[325,528,1058],"class_list":["post-120582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release","category-nature-agriculture","category-agriculture","category-industry-health","category-industrial-emissions","tag-pollution","tag-industrial-pollution","tag-factory-farms"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/WAM41483.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120582\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}