§ Mr. GummerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what evaluation she has made of the pig welfare regulations in force in Poland; how they will change on accession to the EU; and in what respects they(a) differ now and (b) will differ upon accession from those in force in the UK. [150030]
§ Mr. BradshawWe have made no evaluation of the existing pig welfare rules in Poland. Poland is committed to implementing the EU pig welfare rules in full, by 1 May 2004, into its national legislation. The European Commission is responsible for monitoring how each accession state is progressing in preparing to implement Community law (the 'acquis').
After 1 May 2004, the Commission will continue to monitor Poland's application of the animal welfare acquis, in the same way as it does in existing member states, in order to ensure uniform application of EU legislation.