Nine in ten EU citizens say imported food should meet EU standards: new Eurobarometer
A new Eurobarometer from the European Commission shows overwhelming public support for requiring agricultural imports to meet the European Union's own production standards, including on animal welfare.
The Special Eurobarometer on Europeans, Agriculture and the CAP, published on 22 September 2026, surveyed 26,456 people across all 27 EU Member States in May and June this year. It found that:
89% of respondents agree that agricultural imports of any origin should enter the EU only if their production has complied with "the EU's environmental, animal welfare and labour standards".
The finding holds across the entire EU with at least three in four respondents in every member state agreeing, with support highest in Hungary (96%), Ireland (95%), and Spain and Malta (both 94%).
The survey also highlights that 89% say that food being produced to higher environmental and animal welfare standards is an important factor in their purchasing decisions.
The results have been published at a key moment for EU animal welfare policy. In July 2026, the European Commission's Livestock Strategy committed to proposing a revision of welfare rules for laying hens and broilers by the end of the year, including the phase-out of cages and WTO-compliant equivalent requirements for imported products, with rules for pigs to follow in 2027.
Import requirements will complete a welfare reform and without them products produced in systems the EU has prohibited can continue to reach EU consumers. The Eurobarometer shows that applying the same standards to imports is a settled public expectation, widely supported and stable over time.
From citizens' initiative to legislation
2021: European Commission commits to propose a cage phase-out and apply it to imports too, in response to the End the Cage Age initiative
February 2025: Vision for Agriculture and Food announces stronger alignment of welfare standards applied to imports
July 2026: Livestock Strategy adopted, committing to equivalent import requirements
End of 2026: laying hens and broilers proposal due
Q2 2027: pigs proposal due
Frequently asked questions
What did the 2026 Eurobarometer find about imports and animal welfare?89% of EU citizens agree that agricultural imports of any origin should enter the EU only if produced in line with the EU's environmental, animal welfare and labour standards. 8% disagree.
Is support consistent across the EU? Yes. In every one of the 27 Member States, at least 75% of respondents agree, with support highest in Hungary (96%) and Ireland (95%).
What is the EU proposing and when? Under the July 2026 Livestock Strategy, the European Commission will propose revised welfare rules for laying hens and broilers by the end of 2026, and for pigs by mid-2027. Both are set to include equivalent import requirements.
Do import requirements breach WTO rules? The Commission has committed to designing them to be WTO-compliant. WTO case law has accepted that public moral concerns about animal welfare can justify trade measures, provided measures are applied even-handedly.
