First Reading Agreement in Sight

9^thApril 2009

Following a meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives on Friday 27^th March, the Czech Republic Presidency confirmed that a qualified voting majority exists in the Council in support of a total ban on trade in seal products. We understand that this would include special arrangements for traditional Inuit communities. Humane Society International applauds all supporting nations for backing the complete ban.

	Taking a swim. © HSI/Labchuk

Because this majority emerged, the Council authorized the Czech Presidency to open exploratory talks with the other two institutions concerned, the Parliament and the Commission. The objective was to review the possibilities of achieving a common line in the coming weeks that would enable the adoption of a regulation banning the trade in seal products in a single reading before the European elections.

Results of Talks

Those talks occurred on Monday 30^th March and the Parliament and Council delegates agreed to attempt to conclude before the elections. The Commission reserved its position that day, however. Its original proposal envisaged wide exemptions, which both Council and Parliament do not want in the final legislation. Accordingly, the Commission needed further time to reflect and consult internally on how to proceed from its point of view. Meanwhile, we are delighted that the Commission has agreed to follow the position of MEPs and Member States and support a robust ban with special arrangements for Inuits. In addition, the Czech Presidency has also put forward a compromise text to address the matter of small-scale hunting for population control purposes.

Next Steps

This and the other elements of a commonly agreed-upon package will need to be discussed among the three institutions via the so-called "trilogue" process—negotiations involving a core group of MEPs, the Czech Presidency and the Committee of Member State Permanent Representatives (COREPER I) and senior Commission officials. Once agreement has been achieved informally, the package will be submitted to Parliament's plenary session for adoption as a package and the Council will rubber stamp this subsequently.

Time to end cruel slaughter of seal pups. © HSI/Glover

So far, Parliament's conference of presidents (the committee of the heads of the different political groups in Parliament) has not yet confirmed that the item will be on the agenda of the May plenary session in Strasbourg. May is the last chance for Parliament to adopt the legislation before it dissolves for the elections, so it is crucial that the compromise package that will emerge from the "trilogue" be voted on in May. It is expected that inclusion of the seal trade ban on the agenda will be confirmed in the coming days.

Time to Act

"After decades of campaigning, it appears that the European institutions are at last going to do the right thing and adopt a full ban," said Mark Glover, of HSI UK. "We are taking nothing for granted, however, and will be working to ensure that this becomes an electoral issue across the EU."

In summary, one of the final acts of this current Parliament can be the adoption of a historic agreement to stop the trade that leads to the cruel slaughter of hundreds of thousands of defenseless young seals. This will be a marvelous achievement to bring to Europe's electorate just before the polls in June. We hope and trust that all the EU institutions will resist the last-minute threatening, scaremongering tactics of the Canadian government and answer the call of millions of European citizens by adopting a robust ban.