The vision is based on a strategic dialogue, and the resulting report highlights the multiple benefits of livestock production: maintaining the vitality of rural areas, biodiversity, nutrient cycling and the production of quality food. In Finland, the sector is seen as particularly sustainable, with high animal welfare, low use of antibiotics and production adapted to the arable sector.

Agriculture Commissioner Hansen, himself a livestock farmer, has stressed the exemplary nature of Finnish production methods and promised concrete measures to support the sector throughout the EU. In future, the emphasis will be less on regulation and more on incentives, which will be increased. At the same time, imported products will be required to reciprocally meet European standards.

EU livestock production has declined in recent years as a result of structural and geopolitical crises such as the war in Ukraine. The vision is to improve the competitiveness of production and to manage the risks associated with imports, including through more effective controls.

The Commission is now building a long-term workstream that takes into account the regional diversity of livestock production. The aim is not to create a single model for the whole Union, but to create a sustainable production model that is adapted to local conditions. For Finland, this means opportunities to highlight its own specific expertise and influence future solutions.

Jussi Savander

EU Advisor - Animal Husbandry & Cooperatives, Brussels Office

+32 47 733 1958

topics: eu, livestock, eu-commission