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A team of experts from the European Commission was in Romania from Monday to Wednesday where it discussed with Minister of Agriculture Petre Daea and with the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA) specialists about establishing the most appropriate measures for the eradication of the African swine fever and reducing economic losses, a press release of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) announced on Thursday.
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The visit to Romania of the team from the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety with the European Commission was carried out following the request sent by the Romanian Minister of Agriculture, addressed to the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis. The European experts, accompanied by the ANSVSA representatives, traveled in the country, examining different situations onsite in order to establish the most appropriate measures against the disease.
In the opening of the talks, the Minister of Agriculture has made an account of the history of the disease since its onset in Romania, the presence of the African swine fever virus (PPA) in Romania being first signaled on July 31, 2017, in Satu Mare County. Since the first confirmed cases of African swine fever, the Romanian authorities have acted in line with Romania's contingency plan for PPA, the Ministry of Agriculture said.
The evolution of the disease has been and is constantly monitored through clinical and daily laboratory examinations, measures are being taken and actions are carried out according to circumstances, Agriculture Minister Petre Daea affirmed.
The European Commission representatives said they would work very closely with the Romanian authorities to get a clearer picture of the situation of the diseases evolution in order to identify the best solutions to the problems that Romania is facing and they will propose the supplementing of the funds aimed at combating this disease.
The Minister of Agriculture recalled that the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU will continue to facilitate the talks on African swine fever, given that Bucharest will host a ministerial conference on this disease, as well as other cross-border animal diseases that will establish the foundations of a scientific research forum hosted by Romania, the Agriculture Ministry's press release mentions.
AGERPRES .
