The new Uniform Conditions for the Operating Rules for Poultry and Pig Rearing (UCOL), recently adopted under the Industrial and Livestock Rearing Emissions Directive, provide farmers with a clear and proportionate regulatory framework for reducing emissions of ammonia, nitrogen and phosphorus—pollutants linked to respiratory diseases, ecosystem degradation and water pollution—without the complexity of obtaining a full industrial environmental permit.

Developed in close collaboration with Member States, livestock producers and environmental organisations, the UCOL replace the different national approaches to emissions from poultry and pig farms with common minimum standards, reducing unnecessary administrative burdens while maintaining a high level of environmental protection.

The EU simplifies emissions rules for pig farms — Illustration 1

Main benefits

  • Less complexity and better results: The UCOL focus on management measures, such as improving livestock manure management, feed management and animal housing conditions. Simplified rules will make it possible to reduce pollution more effectively.
  • Flexibility: Farmers will be able to choose the techniques they wish to apply, provided they meet the established environmental requirements.
  • Proportionate rules for farms: Smaller farms will have to apply techniques and comply with emission limits adapted to their characteristics.
  • Economic viability:The UCOL give priority to feeding strategies to reduce emissions, as these are proportionate and economically viable measures, especially for smaller farms within their scope and for existing farms.
  • Scope for innovation:Techniques not expressly covered by the UCOL may be used, provided that Member States validate, on the basis of scientific evidence, that they offer equivalent environmental performance. This flexibility is intended to foster innovation without lowering environmental protection standards.
  • A level playing field:The UCOL will help ensure a level playing field in the internal market by establishing common minimum environmental standards for poultry and pig farms across the EU.

The UCOL will begin to apply to farms between 2030 and 2032, depending on their size, giving farmers time to adapt.

8 October 2026 / EC / European Union.
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/