Answer given by Ms Bieńkowska on behalf of the European Commission
31.1.2019
The Commission does not collect statistics on accidental or natural (i.e. out of economic purpose) death of animals, or even livestock. Therefore, it has no data on how many animals have died in barn fires.
Fire safety of buildings, including barns, falls under Member States' responsibility. It is therefore for the Member States to consider regulating on the fire safety of barns.
The Commission does not have compelling proof that national regulatory provisions are not up to the task and does not intend to legislate beyond what is necessary to achieve the internal market for construction products under Regulation (EU) No 305/2011[1].
To enhance the uptake of fire safety solutions, the Commission has however set up the Fire Information Exchange Platform (FIEP) to facilitate the exchange of information between Member States’ authorities and other stakeholders, allowing them to benefit from lessons learned and best practices regarding fire safety.
Among the FIEP priorities is to establish common fire terminology and fire statistics to allow for knowledge based decisions on fire safety at Member States and at EU level. It is expected that the fire statistics will also cover fire damages on losses of animals in fires.
At the same time, FIEP could promote, with the contribution of the Commission, the implementation of fire safety measures in agricultural building as those in Parliament Resolution P8-TA-PROV(2018)0429 [2].
- [1] Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2011 laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC.
- [2] http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&reference=P8-TA-2018-0429&language=EN&ring=P8-RC-2018-0484