Circuswereld Forum

'EU moet Oostenrijks verbod op circusdieren bekijken'

De Europese Commissie moet onderzoeken of het verbod in Oostenrijk tegen circussen met wilde dieren wel past binnen de EU-regels. Europees Ombudsman P. Nikiforos Diamandouros heeft dat maandag gezegd in reactie op een klacht van de European Circus Association.

In Oostenrijk bestaat sinds enkele jaren een verbod op circussen die wilde dieren gebruiken in hun voorstellingen. Oostenrijk wil hiermee het welzijn van de dieren beschermen. Maar volgens de European Circus Assiociation is het verbod in strijd met het vrije verkeer van diensten in de EU.

De Europese Commissie had aanvankelijk willen optreden tegen de Oostenrijkse maatregel. Ze zag daar later van af omdat zij het verbod beschouwde als een zaak voor de nationale autoriteiten. Maar volgens de ombudsman moet de commissie ook rekening houden met haar rol als toezichthouder op het vrije dienstenverkeer.

http://www.depers.nl/buitenland/318285/ ... ijken.html

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Gelukkig zijn niet alle circussen hetzelfde....

Persbericht van de ECA (Engels)

European Ombudsman Finds Mal-Administration by the Commission:
Commission must Re-Examine Austrian Circus Animal Ban

Brussels, Belgium – Finding in favour of the European Circus Association, the European Ombudsman identified two counts of mal-administration by the European Commission as a result of the Commission’s closure of legal proceedings against Austria concerning its 2005 ban on non-domesticated animals in the circus.

In response to a compliant filed by the European Circus Association, the Commission informed Austria on 12 October 2005 that Austria had violated the European Treaty’s provision guaranteeing European citizens the right of freedom of movement to provide services throughout the European Community on the grounds that the ban was discriminatory and disproportionate. The letter stated that bans are very restrictive measures that are only legally valid if there are no alternatives. The fact that there are alternatives is clear from the regulatory systems adopted in Germany, France, Italy and other Member States.

The European Commission’s letter of notice, which is confidential between the Commission and the Member State concerned, was leaked to an animal welfare organisation in Austria. As part of their campaign against circuses, the organisation published the letter of notice and urged activists to complain. According to internal Commission documents, the Commission received more than 22,000 emails opposing legal action against Austria in the first six months of 2006.

During this same time frame, according to Austrian press, the responsible European Commissioner met with animal rights groups in Austria and agreed that the legal action should be terminated. The formal reason given for closure of the case in December 2006 was that the Commission had decided that the issue of protection of wild animals was best left to national authorities.

According to the Ombudsman, the Commission “abdicated its responsibility” as guardian of European law by failing to determine whether the total ban in Austria was a proportionate restriction on circus people’s freedom to provide services. The Ombudsman has informed that Commission that it must either continue infringement proceedings or provide the European Circus Association with a legally valid reason for closing the case. The Commission is directed to respond to the Ombudsman’s decision by 30 September 2009.

The European Circus Association is pleased that the Ombudsman has agreed that the Commission has failed to fulfil its responsibility as guardian of European law in this case. Speaking to members of the circus community over the weekend, Mr. Urs Pilz, President of the European Circus Association, said: “It’s clear that the guarantees provided to citizens under European law are equally applicable to circus directors, artists and workers and cannot be ignored just because some loud animal rights campaigners don’t like circus. We all know that the Commission bowed to political pressure from these organisations, which do not represent the views of most Europeans. The Ombudsman has seen through the subterfuge and has called upon the Commission to apply the law.”

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Gelukkig zijn niet alle circussen hetzelfde....

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Gelukkig zijn niet alle circussen hetzelfde....