MEP Daniel Buda (PPE) has asked the European Commission whether it will reconsider the timeline or scope of the planned phase-out of cage rearing systems for laying hens, citing a 37% rise in egg prices above the five-year average and a 12% increase over the past six months. In a written parliamentary question submitted on 11 June 2026, Buda warned that the combination of avian influenza outbreaks and the transition to alternative rearing systems could further drive up prices and threaten food security.
The question, filed under Rule 144, presses the Commission on three specific points: whether it will adjust the cage-free transition in light of current market pressures; what support measures it envisages for producers to avoid production drops and additional price hikes; and how it plans to balance animal welfare goals with consumer affordability. Buda’s intervention reflects growing concern among centre-right MEPs that the EU’s animal welfare agenda may impose disproportionate costs on farmers and consumers at a time when food inflation is already straining household budgets.
a request for a possible recalibration of the phase-out timeframe or scope, and a demand for specific producer support mechanisms. The Commission is expected to reply within approximately six weeks, and its response will signal whether it is open to delaying or softening the cage ban in response to economic pressures, or whether it will maintain its current trajectory while offering compensatory aid. The outcome will affect EU egg producers facing investment costs for alternative systems, consumers already paying higher prices, and animal welfare advocates monitoring the EU’s commitment to ending cage farming.