FESASS’ 2026 Annual General Assembly
On Thursday, March 26, 2026, FESASS held its Annual General Meeting in Brussels. The meeting focused mainly on the issue of funding for the European Union’s animal health policy in the coming years.
To provide some background context, Dr Bernard Van Goethem, Director of Crisis Preparedness at the Commission’s DG SANTE, gave an overview of the situation in the EU regarding the major animal diseases. He emphasised that 2025 had been the worst year for animal health in a long time. His presentation, available for download below, details the situation for nine regulated diseases.
Next, Dr Mark Schipp, former Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) of Australia and former President of the OIE, presented his country’s animal health management system. This system is structured in a highly original way, centred on a public-private partnership agreement known as EADRA (Emergency Animal Disease Response Agreement), based on a cost-sharing and responsibility-sharing scheme. This presentation was very inspiring in relation to the issue at stake.
Dr Chantal RETTIGNER, Belgium’s Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO), presented the Belgian system, which ensures solidarity between operators and sectors. This system is based on three pillars: co-financing, shared responsibility and co-management. She explained that contributions to the animal health fund are determined by the health risks inherent to the species, the type of farm, the age of the animals or any other factor that may influence these risks.
Dr Katelijne SMETS, Director General of ARSIA, then presented FESASS’s views on future funding requirements. She indicated that there is a real need for additional funding at European level (see presentation available for download below) and that a system of cost and responsibility sharing appears to be a suitable solution given the nature of the problem and the challenges involved. She added that this approach should complement existing mechanisms and be geared towards prevention and the coverage of indirect losses.
During the round table that followed, the panellists discussed the possibilities of implementing such a scheme at EU level. They reaffirmed the need for a pragmatic approach combining public and private funding. They considered that this option should be explored and that further discussion should take place involving all stakeholders.
Dr Lajos BOGNAR, WOAH Sub-Representative for Europe, then provided an update on the various activities of the Regional Representation. In particular, he detailed the actions undertaken through the GF-TADS in response to major animal diseases, as well as within the animal welfare platform. He emphasised the need to work together to protect Europe’s animal health status and commended FESASS’s involvement in this regard.
Finally, the President of FESASS presented the 2025 activity and the 2026 orientation report (see attached report).
We would like to thank all participants, and especially the speakers, as well as Dr. Miguel-Angel HIGUERA, Chair of the Working Party on Animals Health and Welfare, at COPA-COGECA, who took part in the roundtable, and Dr. Hans-Peter SCHONS, Deputy Vice-President of FESASS, who moderated the discussions.
Download the presentations: