Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/87 of 13 January 2025 concerning certain interim emergency measures relating to foot and mouth disease in Germany (notified under document C(2025) 206)
Date: 2025-01-13
Institutions: Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, European Commission
Subjects: Brandenburg, Germany, cattle, foot-and-mouth disease, import (EU), veterinary inspection








L_202500087EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
L series













2025/87


14.1.2025







            COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2025/87
of 13 January 2025
         
concerning certain interim emergency measures relating to foot and mouth disease in Germany


(notified under document C(2025) 206)


(Only the German text is authentic)
(Text with EEA relevance)


THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,


Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on transmissible animal diseases and amending and repealing certain acts in the area of animal health (‘Animal Health Law’) (1), and in particular Article 259(2) thereof,

Whereas:







(1)


Foot and mouth disease is an infectious viral disease affecting animals in the mammal order of Artiodactyla and can have a severe impact on the concerned animal population and the profitability of farming causing disturbance to movements of consignments of those animals and products thereof within the Union and exports to third countries.












(2)


In the event of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in animals in the mammal order of Artiodactyla, there is a serious risk of the spread of that disease to other establishments keeping susceptible animals.












(3)


Commission Delegated Regulation 2020/687 (2) supplements the rules for the control of the listed diseases referred to in Article 9(1), points (a), (b) and (c), of Regulation (EU) 2016/429, and defined as category A, B and C diseases in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1882 (3). In particular, Articles 21 and 22 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687 provide for the establishment of a restricted zone in the event of an outbreak of a category A disease, including foot and mouth disease, and for certain measures to be applied therein. In addition, Article 21(1) of that Delegated Regulation provides that the restricted zone is to comprise a protection zone, a surveillance zone, and, if necessary, further restricted zones around or adjacent to the protection and surveillance zones.












(4)


Germany has informed the Commission of the current foot and mouth disease situation on its territory, following an outbreak of that disease in an establishment keeping water buffalo animals in the state of Brandenburg in the federal state of Germany, which was confirmed on 10 January 2025, and, in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687, it has established a restricted zone, which comprises protection and surveillance zones, where the disease control measures laid down in that Delegated Regulation are applied in order to prevent the further spread of that disease.












(5)


In order to prevent any unnecessary disturbance to trade within the Union and to avoid unjustified barriers to trade by third countries, it is necessary to rapidly identify at Union level the restricted zone for foot and mouth disease, which comprises the protection and surveillance zones in Brandenburg in Germany in collaboration with that Member State.












(6)


Accordingly, the areas identified as protection and surveillance zones in Brandenburg in Germany should be set out in the Annex to this Decision and the duration of that regionalisation fixed.












(7)


The size of the protection and surveillance zones and duration of the measures to apply therein have been based on the criteria laid down in Article 64(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/429 and on the rules laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687, including the epidemiological situation as regards foot and mouth disease in the areas affected by that disease and the overall epidemiological situation in Germany as regards that disease, as well as the level of risk for the further spread of the disease. The duration of the measures should also take into account the international standards of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).












(8)


Given the urgency arising from the epidemiological situation in Germany as regards the spread of foot and mouth disease and the need to prevent the disease spreading from the affected establishment in Germany to other parts of that Member State or to other Member States, it is appropriate that the measures laid down in this Implementing Decision apply as soon as possible.












(9)


Accordingly, pending the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed, the protection and surveillance zones in Germany should be established immediately and listed in the Annex to this Decision and the duration of that zoning fixed.












(10)


This Decision is to be reviewed at the next meeting of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,





HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:



Article 1
Germany shall ensure that:






(a)


a restricted zone, which comprises a protection zone and a surveillance zone is established immediately by the competent authority of that Member State in accordance with Article 21 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687, and under the conditions laid down in that Article;










(b)


the protection and surveillance zones referred to in point (a) comprise at least the areas listed in the Annex to this Decision;










(c)


the measures required to be applied in the protection and surveillance zones, are applied at least until the dates listed in the Annex to this Decision.






Article 2
This Decision shall apply until 11 February 2025.


Article 3
This Decision is addressed to the Federal Republic of Germany.




Done at Brussels, 13 January 2025.


For the Commission

Olivér VÁRHELYI
            

Member of the Commission






(1)  
            OJ L 84, 31.3.2016, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/429/oj.

(2)  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687 of 17 December 2019 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and the Council, as regards rules for the prevention and control of certain listed diseases (OJ L 174, 3.6.2020, p. 64, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2020/687/oj).

(3)  Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1882 of 3 December 2018 on the application of certain disease prevention and control rules to categories of listed diseases and establishing a list of species and groups of species posing a considerable risk for the spread of those listed diseases (OJ L 308, 4.12.2018, p. 21, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2018/1882/oj).




ANNEX
Protection and surveillance zones established around the confirmed outbreak








Region and ADIS reference number of the outbreak




Areas established as protection and surveillance zones, part of the restricted zone in Germany referred to in Article 1




Date until applicable






Region of Brandenburg


DE-FMD-2025-00001




Protection zone:
Those parts of the region of the state of Brandenburg, contained within a circle of a radius of 3 kilometres, centred on ETRS89 coordinates Lat. 52.558301, Long. 13.630104


11.2.2025





Surveillance zone:
Those parts of the region of the state of Brandenburg, contained within a circle of a radius of 10 kilometres, centred on ETRS89 coordinates Lat. 52.558301, Long. 13.630104, excluding the areas contained in the protection zone


11.2.2025







ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2025/87/oj
ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)