The BVA maintains close links with the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE). See below for more information.
Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE)
The BVA continues to lobby on behalf of the profession at the European level through membership of the FVE. The FVE now represents 37 countries and has four professional sections: the practitioners (UEVP), the state veterinary officers (EASVO), the hygienists (UEVH) and the new group for professionals involved in education, research and industry (EVERI). The BVA and a number of its specialist divisions, together with the RCVS, constitute the UK delegation to FVE and its specialist groups.
One profession, one vision, one voice
Much of the legislation which governs our professional lives now originates in Brussels. Whether in the field of professional conduct, animal health, veterinary medicinal products, animal welfare or public health, by the time the legislation gets to Westminster, Defra, the FSA or VMD, all that is left for discussion is the detail of implementation.
It is therefore imperative that the veterinary profession in the UK has an active and effective voice in the European Commission and Parliament. The key route into these corridors of power is the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE), representing the views of approximately 200,000 veterinarians from 37 European countries, under the banner of ‘one profession, one vision, one voice’.
The BVA – represented by Nick Blayney and Robert Huey - and a number of its specialist divisions, together with the RCVS, constitute the UK delegation to the FVE and its sectional groups. In order to influence policy it is important that representatives are well placed within the FVE structure. Stephen Ware, past RCVS President is currently one of the four FVE vice-presidents and Robert Huey, a past-president of the Veterinary Public Health Association is the current President of the public health section of FVE, the Union of European Veterinary Hygienists. In addition, Harvey Locke and Andrew Chirkowski are on the boards of the practitioners (UEVP) and state veterinary officers’ (EASVO) sections, respectively.
FVE policy is developed through a system of working groups. To illustrate the case, Robert Huey currently chairs the FVE working group on animal welfare at slaughter which is considering the redrafting of the current directive (93/119/EC). With BVA’s assistance, Mr Huey convened a group from across BVA’s specialist divisions to consider what changes to the current legislation they would like to see implemented. The resulting policy document was then taken to the FVE working group and assimilated into FVE policy which was then used by FVE to lobby the Commission directly for inclusion in the draft Regulation.
BVA delegates have also been involved in working groups on food hygiene, the welfare of animals during transport, veterinary medicinal products, the welfare of poultry and many other topics. The next big challenge is the development of the ‘Community Animal Health Policy’ which promises to be the biggest review of European animal health for over forty years. Through FVE, the BVA, once again, has the opportunity to influence the policy at the drafting stage to the benefit of the UK veterinary profession, the UK farming industry and the animals for which they care.
A new Board was voted in at the June 2007 General Assembly held in Krakow. Dr Walter Winding (Austria), the former Treasurer, was elected FVE President; the four Vice-Presidents being Stephen Ware (UK), Ljiljana Markus-Cizelj (Croatia), Ms Margereta Widell (Sweden) and Rainer Schneichel (Germany).
The FVE website – www.fve.org - and the production of a quarterly newsletter and regular news bulletins continued to keep the profession abreast of developments in Europe.
The FVE’s Strategic Plan is available at: http://www.fve.org/about/pdf/strategic_plan_2006.pdf
History of the FVE
A working group, the Veterinary Liaison Committee, was set up in 1961 with the aim of reaching agreement within the veterinary profession on general terms concerning training in the EEC.
Membership of this committee was limited to representatives from the national organisations of the six existing EEC Member States.
In 1975, the committee was replaced by the Federation of Veterinarians of the EEC. Full membership of the Federation remained restricted to veterinary organisations of EEC Member States, while other European countries could become observers. The Federation furthermore represented the various sectional interests of the profession: practitioners, veterinary food hygienists, veterinary state officers, and veterinarians in industry and research.
In 1994, the FVE became the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe and welcomed veterinary organisations from all EFTA countries as full members. Full membership was further extended to Eastern and Central European countries in 1998.
Updated: October 2007