Summary: Bird flu: EU Parliament calls for tougher measures (15 November 2005: Strasbourg)
The Agriculture Committee wants to see a bigger EU contribution to the costs of destroying poultry infected by bird flu, as well as more research into vaccines and better prevention and coordination. The committee on Monday welcomed proposals by the European Commission for fighting avian flu but called for further EU action if there are any outbreaks of the disease, whether in its benign or lethal forms.
The report by Neil PARISH (EPP-ED, UK), adopted by the committee on 14 November in Strasbourg, seeks to beef up the measures to be taken by the EU if bird flu hits Europe. Firstly, early warning systems must be improved, say MEPs: the authorities must be informed immediately of any outbreak of the virus, even if it is believed to be low pathogenic.
Temporary restrictions could be introduced on the transport of birds and eggs in the event of a crisis, pending the findings of epidemiological surveys. Poultry and other birds must not be moved to other establishments until it is established that there is no risk they will spread the disease. Eggs can be exempted in order to be transported to a processing plant, as thermal elimination of the virus is regarded as more effective by MEPs than destruction on the spot.
The measures to be taken in the event of a crisis in the EU's neighbouring countries should also be tightened up, with restrictions on movements and imports from non-EU countries, the extension of protection zones to the EU's neighbours and the supply of vaccines where these countries are unable to combat a crisis without outside assistance.
For cases of human contamination, MEPs believe coordinated emergency plans should be envisaged, notably to determine the measures to be put in place in the event of a confirmed risk. These emergency plans would promote coordination between Member States as well as targeting populations needing to be vaccinated as a matter of priority. Anti-virals and vaccines must be as widely available as possible: Member States must create sufficient stockpiles of anti-virals and ensure that they have
adequate capacity to produce vaccines against the strain causing the crisis. If a crisis occurs outside the EU, MEPs believe the Commission should be able to act within 24 hours by imposing measures such as quarantine, the disinfection of any airports receiving flights from certain regions and travel restrictions.
The Agriculture Committee also recommends closer cooperation with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, based at Solna in Sweden. The role of this agency, which began operations in May 2005, is to help strengthen Europe's defences against infectious diseases such as influenza, SARS and HIV/AIDS.
More funding for veterinary measures
A report by Ilda FIGUEIREDO (GUE/NGL, PT) on veterinary expenditure was also adopted on 14 November. Here the Agriculture Committee underlined the need for increased funding for Member States if a major crisis occurs. New points proposed by MEPs include: a Community contribution of 80% of the costs of prevention measures incurred by Member States and a 100% reimbursement of vaccination costs. In addition, the EU should support the development of cooperation measures and technical
assistance for non-EU countries, especially Asian countries, to ensure that prevention and screening can be carried out in the countries in which bird flu originates.
These two reports have been adopted following the presentation by the European Commission of a directive designed to update measures to be taken in the event of an outbreak of avian influenza. Once the reports are adopted by the full Parliament, in principle on 1 December, the ball will be in the court of the Council, which plans to push through the legislation (a priority of the UK Presidency) before the end of the year.
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