EU Livestock Workstream and Animal Health

Launched by Commissioner Christoph HANSEN, European Commissioner for Agriculture, the Livestock Workstream is continuing at a steady pace. FESASS had requested that the issue of animal health be considered in the ongoing discussions. We obtained a session of the working group to be devoted to this subject. It was entitled: Enhancing prevention and preparedness against animal diseases

This session took place on 11 December in Brussels. FESASS was represented by Hans-Peter SCHONS, Delegated Vice-President, who has been following this work since the beginning, and by Stéphane JEANNE, 1st Vice-President, who came to present FESASS’s contribution to the day’s discussions (see his presentation below). After a series of presentations by the Commission (DG SANTE), the competent authorities of two Member States (Slovakia and Spain) and the main stakeholders concerned (COPA-COGECA, AnimalHealthEurope and FESASS), the discussion focused on the following four questions:

Q1: What innovation and digital tools can enhance early disease detection, making surveillance more efficient, and enable further data sharing among the various actors concerned (farmers, vets, traders, authorities)?

Q2: How can on-farm biosecurity and disease prevention practices be further supported and strengthened, while remaining practical, cost-effective, and adaptable to different production systems and farm sizes?

Q3: What forms of public support (financial compensation, insurance products, training or infrastructure investments) are the most effective and acceptable to stakeholders for managing animal disease outbreaks? Which risk management and crisis response instruments could be improved or developed?

Q4: What forms of targeted support and preparedness initiatives should be prioritized for livestock farmers in regions particularly vulnerable to disease outbreaks?

Our concerns and proposals were well received. In particular, the idea of creating a European fund to help finance the fight against serious health crises.

You can find the full presentations on the DG AGRI Web pages.