Commission establishes foot-and-mouth disease restriction zones in Brandenburg

Germany has reported its first case of foot-and-mouth disease in 37 years in a buffalo herd in the Brandenburg region. In response, the European Commission has implemented emergency measures to limit the disease's spread and reduce its impact on EU internal trade and third-party trade restrictions. The measures, based on Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687, include creating protection and surveillance zones with specific boundaries, acting quickly without awaiting advice from the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals and Food for Human and Animal Consumption. The deadlines for these zones are set until February 11, 2025. All stakeholders, including producers and farmers, are called upon to comply with the regulations to ensure public health and prevent the disease from spreading further.

Last Friday, January 10, the first case of foot-and-mouth disease in Germany in 37 years was confirmed, detected in a herd of buffalo in the Brandenburg region. Faced with this situation, the European Commission, in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687, adopted urgent measures to prevent the spread of the disease and minimize the impact on internal trade within the European Union, as well as to prevent unjustified trade restrictions by from third countries, publishing Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/87 in the OJEU. Given the seriousness of the epidemiological situation, these measures were applied immediately, without waiting for the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals and Food for Human and Animal Consumption. Furthermore, the duration of these specific zones was defined and included in the annex to the decision. Protection zone: includes the zones of the Brandenburg region located within a circle with a radius of 3 kilometers, centered on the ...