The EU’s Council of Agriculture Ministers have achieved political agreement on revised legislation on EU measures to control outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).
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The European Commission said FMD is not dangerous for human health but outbreaks of this highly contagious viral disease in livestock have an exceptional economic impact on the rural and national economy in the EU.
The amended directive details the measures to rapidly control and eradicate the disease and outlines procedures on recovering the status “free of FMD and infection without vaccination”, which is of crucial importance for trade. Control actions are supplemented with measures to ensure a high level of preparedness against the disease.
“Outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in individual Member States impact on the EU as a whole as we saw in 2001. The amended law aims to maintain or, in the event of an outbreak, quickly regain the ‘FMD-free’ status that is of key importance for trade in animals and animal products. Emergency vaccination is moved to the forefront of control measures instead of being the last resort. The agreement is a true reform,” said David Byrne, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection.
The Commission said the new draft law has broad support from the European Parliament, the European Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee.
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