On the initiative of Benoît Cassart MEP (Renew Europe, Belgian), a written question signed by 40 Members of the European Parliament (EPP, S&D, Renew Europe) and sent to the European Commission on Thursday 12 September calls for the adoption of Community measures to prevent the spread of the bluetongue virus in Europe.
In particular, Benoît Cassart deplores the lack of coordination at European level in managing the crisis. The European Commission does not seem to have any centralised vaccination strategy in mind, he regrets. Some Member States reimburse part or all of the cost of the vaccine, while in other Member States farmers have to pay the full cost of the vaccine.
The virus, known as bluetongue, is spreading among European livestock herds. In Belgium, a large majority of farms have been affected, with the loss of 11,000 sheep and 6,000 cattle and a reduction in milk production. The situation is similar in the Netherlands. The number of households is also increasing in Luxembourg, France, Italy, Germany and the Czech Republic. The problem of bans on meat imports from third countries was raised. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)