Our own Birthe Steenberg, closes this years #AVECGA2026 with a key message to our members and companies across Europe 👉AVEC is only as strong as the voice we build together. "We have spent 60 years building that voice. Let's make sure we use it". 🎯

💬 “Europe has the potential to grow. In the next six or seven years, we will need around 2.2 million tonnes more poultry in the EU. The big question is: where will we produce it, and will we have the permission and investment capacity to do so?” @NanDirkMulder at #AVECGA2026 on one of the defining questions for the future of #EUPoultry: turning growing demand into European production.

💬 “The poultry sector already generates huge amounts of data. AI gives us the opportunity to bring that information together, detect changes earlier and support farmers in making better decisions.” Andrea Rosati, Secretary General of @EAAPofficial on how #AI can turn data into practical tools for more efficient poultry production. #AVECGA2026 #EUPoultry

🎤 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ❓ That was the question at the heart of today’s panel discussion at #AVECGA2026. The conversation went well beyond technology. Innovation needs #investment. It needs #science. It needs the right regulatory conditions. And ultimately, it needs to strengthen the #competitiveness of European production. 🗯️ “I want this sector to be even more competitive than it currently is. That it doesn't have to fear competition from third countries. That we are able to expand production to meet customer demands. And that this is a profitable business for all actors along the value chain.” - @CHansenEU , European Commissioner for @EUAgri 🗯️ “We need a good policy. That would be the best innovation.” - @GOplaat, President of AVEC 🗯️ “We have to defend our values. We have to defend our values about science.” - Prof. @ilariacapua 🗯️ “While the sector solve big problems with big solutions, you need to ensure that you understand customers on the smallest and most intimate level you can.” - @steve_lerch And a fitting challenge from Prof. Ilaria Capua to the sector: 🗯️ "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘵". 💫 Europe’s poultry sector has the expertise, technology and capacity to innovate. The discussion today made equally clear that turning that innovation into competitiveness requires the conditions to invest, modernise and keep moving forward. #EUPoultry

Thank you, Commissioner @CHansenEU, for joining us today at the #AVECGA2026 and for your clear recognition of the strategic role of livestock and the potential of #EUPoultry. 🇪🇺🐔 We look forward to continuing the work together.

🔥 A high energy, thought provoking intervention from Professor @ilariacapua at our #AVECGA2026, challenging us to rethink how we approach avian influenza, animal health and the future: 🔸Avian influenza is NOT the disease it used to be. 🔸It is influenced by the delicate balance between Earth, Air, Water and Fire. 🔸Poultry farming is more sustainable than other meat production systems. 🔸Vaccination against avian influenza should become the rule, not the exception. 🔸Animal welfare should become a priority and an asset. And perhaps her starkest message: 💬“Mass culling is a failure of the entire system.”

💬“We welcome the new direction in European policy. The @EU_Commission has started changing the conversation around #livestock, #competitiveness and food security. Now we need to build on that momentum and create the conditions for #EUPoultry to invest, innovate and remain competitive.” @GOplaat @EUAgri

💬“Food affordability matters. At the end of the month, people still need to feed their families. Policymakers need to differentiate between organised pressure and the priorities expressed by European consumers themselves.” - @GOplaat President of AVEC, at #AVECGA2026

Italy's Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida opens the #AVECGA2026: 💬"We are extraordinarily proud of what you (the #EUPoultry sector) represent: a strong sector in Europe and self-sufficient in Italy. We intend to defend this sector and our producers who have invested heavily in technology and innovation. We are proud of our entrepreneurs who reinvest market success into job creation, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare. We must make our production model resilient and ensure trade reciprocity: Europe must stand by our farmers and protect those who uphold the highest standards".

🌞 GOOD MORNING from Sorrento 🍋 where the 𝟲𝟴ᵗʰ 𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗖 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗹𝘆 is about to begin! 💡 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: With the EU's Livestock Strategy setting a new direction for European agriculture, today's discussions will focus on turning ambition into action. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 #𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦? 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 #𝘌𝘜𝘗𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦? 👀 Stay tuned for highlights throughout the day

🆕 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁! 6️⃣ 0️⃣ 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘈𝘝𝘌𝘊 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦. 🇪🇺 Food security and competitiveness are firmly back on Europe’s agenda. Prevention matters. And the strategic role of #livestock in Europe’s food system is being recognised more clearly. 📖 Our 2026 Annual Report looks at where we stand today, what AVEC and its members have achieved together over the past year and, importantly, where we go from here. 𝟲𝟬 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀. 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲. 🔗 Download the report 👉 avec-poultry.eu/wp-content/u… #EUPoultry

Commissioner @OliverVarhelyi opens today's #AnimalHealthLaw conference stressing the importance of animal health: "People only think of animal health when farms are affected but it matters everyday. The findings of the Animal health Law evaluation are encouraging but we now need to focus on preparedness, implementation and prevention."

Commissioner @OliverVarhelyi opens today’s @animalhealthEU conference with a strong message on animal health: the EU must move from a crisis response mindset to a #prevention first mindset 👏

6️⃣ 0️⃣ 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒. 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩. 🎂 Nobody writes films about poultry processors. Nobody makes documentaries about veterinary certificates... And yet, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞'𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬. 📸 Last night, we celebrated the PEOPLE behind that story. For 60 years, AVEC has brought together competitors, partners, friends and colleagues from across Europe. People who don't always agree. People who sometimes debate passionately. But people who understand that some challenges are bigger than any one company or country. 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘪𝘹 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 1966 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 17 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘈𝘝𝘌𝘊'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨: 𝙒𝙊𝙍𝙆𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙏𝙊𝙂𝙀𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙍. 🙏 Thank you to everyone who has been part of that journey over the past six decades and to all those who joined us in Brussels to celebrate this milestone. Here's to friendship, cooperation and the next 60 years. 💫