On 6 March 2026, representatives of the Fur Free Europe campaign met the European Commission to raise serious concerns about its handling of the Fur Free Europe European Citizens’ Initiative, which is backed by more than 1.5 million EU citizens. The meeting was attended by Fur Free Alliance members Eva Lauwens of FOUR PAWS and Richard Bissett of Respect for Animals, alongside Eurogroup for Animals. The initiative calls for an EU ban on keeping and killing animals for fur, and on placing farmed fur products on the EU market. The Commission is expected to outline its policy position on fur farming by the end of March 2026.

The meeting took place only after a complaint was lodged with the European Ombudsman over the Commission’s failure to engage properly with the initiative’s organisers, while holding exclusive meetings with fur industry lobbyists. According to the Ombudsman, the complaint concerned the Commission’s failure to reply to a meeting request sent on 12 December 2025, as well as wider procedural concerns about how the initiative had been handled.

In that context, the absence of Olivér Várhelyi, the Commissioner responsible for Health and Animal Welfare, was particularly striking. For a meeting that occurred only after Ombudsman intervention, the failure of the responsible Commissioner to attend sent an extremely poor signal. It does not resolve the underlying concerns that led to the complaint, nor does it suggest that the Commissioner yet appreciates the seriousness of the European Ombudsman inquiry. Politico Europe reported this week that Commissioner Várhelyi is seeking a weak standards-based approach, as wanted by the fur industry, but it is facing strong opposition from other figures in the European Commission who favour a full ban. 

This comes at a time of mounting pressure on the Commission over how it will respond to the Fur Free Europe ECI. The scientific case for decisive action is already clear. In its 2025 opinion on animals kept for fur production, EFSA identified serious welfare problems affecting mink, foxes, raccoon dogs and chinchillas kept for fur production in the EU.

There is also a compelling case for action on environmental and public health grounds, given the wider harms and risks associated with fur farming. A 2025 report by economist Griffin Carpenter concluded that the EU fur sector imposes costs on society that outweigh its economic contribution, underlining how weak the case is for preserving the industry on economic grounds.

The Fur Free Alliance strongly urges the European Commission to opt for the evidence-based policy position and bring forward a full ban on fur farming and the sale of farmed fur products in the EU, in line with the clear demands of more than 1.5 million citizens.