AGRI rubber-stamps political deal on new animal health rules

The European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture (AGRI) backed without amendments, on 17 June, the early first-reading agreement reached on 1 June on a proposal for a new law on animal health. The draft text of the regulation, tabled by the European Commission in May 2013, merges and updates several elements from the old legislation, streamlining the procedures and making them easier to apply. "This agreement is a big step forward for the farming community. The most important achievement is that…