EU member states demand more activity in combating animal diseases
The European Commission must take more responsibility for the joint fight against animal diseases than before. This is the central point of a declaration that France and Spain presented at the Agriculture Council in Luxembourg. They are calling for jointly coordinated vaccination programmes against infections such as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), bluetongue disease and African swine fever (ASF). The declaration from Madrid and Paris was widely welcomed by the other member states.
Spain's Agriculture Minister Luis Planas emphatically underlined the importance of vaccinations. Member states must be supported in setting up antigen banks and in providing sufficient quantities of vaccines. At the same time, with a view to budget negotiations for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) next year, the socialist insisted that the EU budget for animal health must under no circumstances be cut. France also pushed for more cooperation between EU countries on the issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir called on the Commission to make concrete proposals on how vaccinations could be used to jointly combat animal diseases. Brussels has a duty here.
Dutch Agriculture Minister Femke Wiersma stressed that the Strategic Dialogue (SD) provides a good basis for the Commission's future course. It is essential to pursue common paths, particularly in the case of bluetongue, said the politician from the Farmers' and Citizens' Movement (BBB). Italy also expressed similar views.
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