Brussels, 26/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - In a report published on Tuesday 26 April, the European Court of Auditors highlighted the success of European monitoring, control and eradication programmes on certain animal diseases. However, the study says that it is difficult to determine cost-effectiveness.
With EU funding of €1.3 billion for the period from 2009 to 2014, EU animal health programmes have enjoyed great success. The measures taken by the European Commission, in particular, have brought fine results in eradicating bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, but better known as mad-cow disease) in cattle. Cases of the disease fell from 125 in 2008 to just 10 in 2014. Significant reductions were also noted in cases of salmonella in poultry and rabies in wildlife.
Positive assessment. Auditors visited seven member states (Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Romania and the United Kingdom) which together represent 72 % of the total expenditure in this area. They found that the approach taken by the European Commission was generally sound and supported by good technical advice, risk analysis, and a mechanism for prioritising resources. The national programmes examined were, the auditors found, generally well designed and implemented well, with adequate systems to identify animal disease outbreaks and facilitate their eradication.
Areas for improvement. The cost-effectiveness of programmes is difficult to determine, due to the lack of available models for analysis. Auditors noted examples of programmes which had been insufficiently monitored by the member states, and of unreasonably high costs. In Italy, for example, compensation paid for animals destroyed as part of veterinary programmes was sometimes higher that the market value of healthy animals. In 2012, farmers received on average €87 and up to €111 per sheep destroyed as part of disease eradication programmes when the average market price for healthy sheep carcasses was, at that time, below €60.
The Court of Auditors offered a reminder the European Commission. “Animal diseases can spread rapidly across borders and some animal borne diseases are transmissible to humans”, said Bettina Jakobsen, the member of the Court responsible for the report. The Court notes that outbreaks of disease can occur anywhere and at any time.
Continuing challenges. A number of diseases, such as bovine brucellosis and tuberculosis, and ovine and caprine brucellosis, continue to pose challenges in some member states. The Court made recommendations for the Commission: for example, it should facilitate the exchange of epidemiological information between member states and support member states in acquiring vaccines, when this is epidemiologically justified. Jakobsen pointed out that “continuous vigilance and effective action at EU level is essential”. (Original version in French by Maëlle Didion)