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European Commission has published Decision 2014/84/UE on measures to prevent the introduction into the Union of the African swine fever virus from certain third countries or parts of the territory of third countries in which the presence of that disease is confirmed and repealing Decision 2011/78/EU
Background
Due to the African swine fever situation in Russia, the Commission adopted Decision 2011/78/EU establishing measures to prevent the introduction of that disease into the Union. Following the confirmation of an outbreak of African swine fever in Belarus, close to the border with Lithuania and Poland in June 2013, the Commission adopted Implementing Decision 2013/426/EU ( 3 ) which repealed and replaced Decision 2011/78/EU.
Implementing Decision 2013/426/EU lays down measures which provide for appropriate cleansing and disinfection of all ‘livestock vehicles’ which have transported live animals and feed and which enter the Union from Russia and Belarus and it provides that such cleansing and disinfection is to be properly documented.
Current situation
The implementation of the measures provided for in Implementing Decision 2013/426/EU has been audited by the the Food and Veterinary Office of the Commission’s Health and Consumers Directorate-General (FVO) in four Member States bordering Russia and Belarus. The audits revealed that the cleansing and disinfection of trucks transporting feed cannot be fully implemented because of the difficulty to detect such trucks. In addition, it is not possible to know if those trucks have been in places which may represent a risk for the introduction of African swine fever. The audits also revealed that the competent authorities of the Member States bordering Russia and Belarus have already put in place additional bio-security measures which increase the level of prevention against the introduction of African swine fever, such as the disinfection of vehicles other than livestock vehicles but for which there is a suspicion that they may constitute a risk for the introduction of that disease. The results of the FVO audits should be taken into account in order to enhance the measures laid down in Implementing Decision 2013/426/EU.
It is appropriate to limit the obligation to clean and disinfect trucks only to those trucks transporting live animals. Conversely, new bio-security measures for the disinfection of vehicles which could represent a risk should be introduced.
Friday February 14, 2014/ OJEU/ European Union.
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/
