EU agriculture ministers, meeting in Brussels on Monday 17 July, have welcomed the new action plan on antimicrobial resistance (see EUROPE 11819).
The Estonian Presidency of the Council said that the plan was a “further stage” in this particular fight.
Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis presented the broad thrust of the antimicrobial resistance action plan, “one of the main threats to our society”. Stronger, better coordinated action is needed, he argued. After the ministers spoke, he welcomed the “complete support” for the action plan. He said that the Commission would prepare a roadmap with “a range of measures”. “Environmental issues also have to be taken in to account”, the Commissioner said, too.
“Together with the measures to ensure proper hygiene, biosecurity measures and improved animal welfare standards, these proposed actions will help to better tackle the spread of antimicrobial resistance in agriculture in particular”, Andriukaitis said, adding: “We need to ensure that we use less antibiotics for prophylaxis and metaphylaxis”.
The Dutch agriculture minister felt the action plan needed to be more detailed. He asked the Commission how it intended to attain its goals and measure the outcomes achieved.
The United Kingdom hailed the Commission action in this area. Nationally, the UK recorded a 10% drop in the use of antibiotics between 2013 and 2015 and has set itself the target of 50mg/kg by 2018.
This is not a matter that can be resolved alone, stressed Denmark, adding that Europe should “become a region of good practice”. Germany welcomed the plan and argued that the use of medicines as growth agents without prior analysis should be stopped.
France, Portugal, Belgium, Luxembourg, Greece, Finland and Slovakia also welcomed the action plan. Slovakia made the point that the large number of animals on the farms and the shorter distances between holdings “are helping to produce a high-risk environment”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)