Brussels 10/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 10 November, the EU earmarked more than €203 million to support programmes to eradicate, control and monitor animal diseases and zoonoses, aiming to further strengthen the protection of human and animal health in 2012. From this amount €11.5 million will also be used to support emergency measures and vaccination plans taken to combat some animal diseases in nine member states (Germany, Austria, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, the Netherlands and Sweden). Representatives from member states meeting at the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH) unanimously endorsed the Commission proposals on this.
€11.5 million is relatively little (€45 million less than in 2011). According to John Dalli, EU Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner, “it is rewarding to witness the tangible benefits of the EU's efforts, which have resulted in a significantly improved situation on TSE, salmonella, rabies, bluetongue, classical swine fever, avian influenza, tuberculosis and brucellosis'. In a press release, he said that he was delighted with the news and explained that “being aware of the current budgetary constraints, the Commission has done its utmost to keep assisting particularly in areas where difficulties persist and to ensure the maintenance of the vigilance in order to better protect consumers”.
Thus it is that in 2012, 138 annual or multi-annual programmes have been selected for EU funding. The financing of bovine tuberculosis programmes in five member states with about €65 million will take the lion's share of the earmarked funds. More than €54 million has been made available to continue assisting member states in 2012 to fight transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE). An amount of €7 million is earmarked for eradicating blue tongue disease (as opposed to €16.2 million in 2011 and €97 million in 2010), €3.7 million has been earmarked for classical swine fever. An envelope of €2.3 million has been earmarked for fighting bird flu (in poultry and wild birds). For fighting rabies, the level of co-funding will be maintained in 2012 in an effort to support member states in their final efforts for getting rid of the disease and vaccination campaigns in third countries (Belarus, Ukraine and Russia). The fight to get rid of salmonellosis, which has steadily been declining for five years, will benefit from financial support of €16 million. (AN/transl.fl)