Bulgaria complies with Welfare of Laying Hens Directive

Bulgaria’s egg farmers are now compliant with the EU Welfare of Laying Hens Directive.

Earlier in June, the country’s agriculture minister, Miroslav Naydenov, said that Bulgaria had managed to meet the end of June deadline set by the European Commission as part of infringement proceedings. "All poultry farms in Bulgaria have been raising happier hens and we met the deadline we were given,” he said.

In late January, the European Commission began infringement proceedings against those European Member States that had missed the original January 1 deadline. Italy, Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands are thought to be not totally compliant with the directive.