The EU must increase its level of vigilance against African swine fever with the summer peak of the disease approaching, said Health and Food Safety Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis in Brussels on Monday 15 July.
At the meeting of the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers, he recalled that the outbreak had recently spread, especially to Asia (including China), and said that the vast area across which the disease had spread in the last months "shows the excellent EU job in keeping this extremely infectious disease under control". He welcomed the eradication of the outbreak in the Czech Republic in February. Yet "last week's cases in Bulgaria are very worrying and show that vigilance levels are not up to the required levels", he warned. Hungary and Lithuania stressed the need to review the EU co-financing system for serological tests.
Germany (disease-free) insisted on preventive measures.
African swine fever "represents a major threat to the entire pig sector, we must remain very vigilant", said the Spanish minister. "We must win this fight," France said. Belgium has asked the Commission to take action to lift the "unfair" embargoes imposed by certain third countries. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)