Brussels, 05/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - Last week, the European Commission agreed to provide EUR 4.5 million to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), more specifically to the FAO European Commission for the Control of FMD (foot and mouth disease), with the aim of preventing the entry of the FMD virus from infected areas outside Europe, with a focus on neighbouring countries such as Iran, Iraq, Turkey and the Caucasus. In a FAO press release, FAO expert Keith Sumption explains: 'The EC funding will enable us to improve FMD surveillance and control activities in countries that continue to pose a risk to Europe, mainly by strengthening their veterinary services.' He added: 'the lack of transparency and reliable information on the occurrence and scale of epidemics in some high-risk areas and the lack of reporting to international agencies like FAO and the World Animal Health Organisation is still often of major concern.' The new funding will enable the FAO to send FMD experts to affected countries within 24 hours. The FAO will set up a pan-European training and capacity building network to improve expertise at national level to recognise and react to FMD. The most recent FMD outbreak in the EU occurred in the United Kingdom in 2001.