Large pig and poultry farms will apply the new EU emissions standards starting in 2030

The European Commission has adopted common rules for pig and poultry farms covered by the Directive on industrial and livestock-rearing emissions. The requirements focus in particular on ammonia and the amounts of excreted nitrogen and phosphorus, and application will begin in stages between 2030 and 2032, depending on the farm’s size.

Pig and poultry farms exceeding the thresholds established by European legislation will have to comply with a new common set of rules for reducing pollution, adopted by the European Commission on 8 October 2026. The first obligations will become applicable in 2030 for the largest holdings, while smaller farms that nevertheless fall within the scope of the directive will have until 2032 to adapt.

In brief

1.The new rules target pig and poultry farms covered by the Directive on industrial and livestock-rearing emissions, not all farms in the EU.

2.The rules establish requirements concerning ammonia emissions and the amounts of excreted nitrogen and phosphorus and also cover feeding, housing and manure management.

3.Farms with at least 600 livestock units must comply by 8 October 2030 at the latest, those with at least 400 by 2031, and the other farms falling within the scope of the directive by 2032.

4.The Commission estimates that the directive covers approximately 30% of pig and poultry farms in the EU, with small and medium-sized farms representing approximately 70% and remaining outside these new obligations.

5.Member States may use a simplified farm-registration system instead of the individual permitting applied to industrial installations.

The decision adopted by the Commission establishes the so-called uniform operating conditions, UCOL, which Member States must apply to farms included within the scope of the Directive on industrial and livestock-rearing emissions. The system differs from the full regime applicable to large industrial installations and aims to combine emissions reductions with proportionate administrative requirements for livestock holdings. The Commission allows countries, for example, to use farm registration instead of a fully individual permitting system.

The inclusion criterion is not simply the number of animals, but capacity expressed in livestock units, LSU, a standardized unit that allows different categories of animals to be compared. The directive includes, among others, holdings with pigs of at least 350 LSU, farms exclusively with laying hens of at least 300 LSU, those with other categories of poultry of at least 280 LSU, and mixed pig and poultry farms of at least 380 LSU. A farm may fall within the scope of the directive through more than one of these criteria.

The Commission estimates that approximately 38,500 pig and poultry farms are covered by the revised Directive. Small and medium-sized pig and poultry farms that remain below the thresholds represent approximately 70% of all holdings of this type in the EU and are not subject to the new requirements. For Romania, the impact therefore depends on the size and structure of each holding, and the new rules should not be interpreted as obligations applicable to all households or all commercial farms.

The rules cover the entire chain of on-farm activities that influence emissions: managing animal nutrition, preparing feed, housing, collecting and storing manure, processing and spreading it on land, as well as storing dead animals. For these activities, the decision establishes techniques and performance levels intended to reduce pollution, without requiring farms to use a single technology. Farmers may also use other solutions if the national authorities validate, on scientific grounds, that they provide at least an equivalent level of protection for the environment and health.

A central component is the reduction of ammonia released into the air from animal housing. The decision establishes maximum values or, if a country chooses this option, permits a system based on minimum emissions reductions compared with a reference system. Performance limits are also established for the total amounts of excreted nitrogen and phosphorus. These substances are relevant because excess nitrogen contributes to air, water and soil pollution, while ammonia emissions are also associated with the formation of fine particles that affect health.

The timetable varies depending on the farm’s capacity. Holdings within the scope of the directive with at least 600 LSU must apply the uniform conditions no later than four years after 8 October 2026, that is, by 8 October 2030. For those with at least 400 LSU, the deadline is five years, until 8 October 2031. All other holdings covered by the annex have a six-year deadline, until 8 October 2032. This transition period is intended to allow farms to adapt their investments and working practices.

The new conditions stem from the revision of the Directive on industrial emissions adopted in 2024. It expanded and restructured the regime for intensive pig and poultry farming, but created a simpler system for the livestock sector than the one intended for conventional industrial installations. The revised Directive entered into force on 4 August 2024, and Member States had until 1 July 2026 to transpose the amendments into national legislation.

The Commission separately proposed, in December 2025, further simplifications to the legislation on industrial and livestock-rearing emissions. The adoption of the rules on 8 October does not mean that all those proposed amendments automatically became law. The Commission states that the current operating conditions will have to be adjusted if the final text of the legislative simplification changes the relevant requirements.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/news/fermele-mari-de-porci-si-pasari-vor-aplica-noile-norme-ue-privind-emisiile-incepand-din-2030