On Tuesday 22 October in Strasbourg, several MEPs argued that the European Commission should do more to help countries combat cases of animal diseases, particularly African swine fever (see EUROPE 13252/5).
During questions to the European Commission at the European Parliament plenary session, Sunčana Glavak (EPP, Croatian) said that farmers needed “financial support” following outbreaks of African swine fever.
Commissioner for Health Stella Kyriakides acknowledged that animal diseases in the EU are “more frequent and more severe than in the past”. EU support linked to African swine fever amounted to more than €230 million (veterinary programmes and emergency measures), she explained. She added that the EU Veterinary Emergency Team (EU VET) had carried out on-site visits to Member States.
Dario Nardella (S&D, Italian) reported 27 active outbreaks of African swine fever on various Italian farms: 19 in Lombardy, seven in Piedmont and one in Emilia-Romagna. More than 120,000 pigs have been slaughtered in the country. “What efforts have been made in terms of scientific research into a vaccination?”, he asked.
“We are investing in the search for a vaccine”, replied Ms Kyriakides. Because of the particularities of this virus, there is currently no safe and effective vaccine that meets the EU’s safety criteria, insisted Stella Kyriakides. The EU is supporting research projects to develop vaccines that can be used against African swine fever, she concluded. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)