Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/948 of 15 May 2025 concerning certain interim emergency measures relating to sheep pox and goat pox in Bulgaria (notified under document C(2025) 3155)
Date: 2025-05-15
Institutions: Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, European Commission
Subjects: Bulgaria, Haskovo region, animal disease, goat, sheep, trade restriction, transport of animals, veterinary inspection, viral disease








L_202500948EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
L series













2025/948


16.5.2025







            COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2025/948
of 15 May 2025
         
concerning certain interim emergency measures relating to sheep pox and goat pox in Bulgaria


(notified under document C(2025) 3155)


(Only the Bulgarian 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)


Sheep pox and goat pox is an infectious viral disease affecting caprine and ovine animals and can have a severe impact on the concerned animal populations 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 sheep pox and goat pox in caprine or ovine animals, there is a serious risk of the spread of that disease to other establishments of caprine or ovine 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 sheep pox and goat pox, 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)


Bulgaria has informed the Commission of the current epidemiological situation concerning sheep pox and goat pox on its territory following an outbreak of that disease in caprine and ovine animals in the region of Haskovo, which was confirmed on 7 May 2025. In response to that outbreak, Bulgaria has established a restricted zone, which comprises protection and surveillance zones, where the general disease control measures laid down in that Delegated Regulation are applied in order to prevent the further spread of that disease, in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687.












(5)


In order to prevent any unnecessary disturbance to trade within the Union and to avoid unjustified barriers to trade being imposed by third countries, it is necessary to rapidly identify, at Union level, the location and duration of this restricted zone for sheep pox and goat pox.












(6)


The size of the protection and surveillance zones, and duration of the measures to apply therein, are based on the criteria set out in Article 64(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/429, including the epidemiological situation as regards sheep pox and goat pox in the areas affected by that disease and the overall epidemiological situation of sheep pox and goat pox in the Member State concerned by that disease as well as the level of risk for the further spread of the disease, and are found to be in line with the rules laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687. The duration of the measures also takes into account the international standards of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) (4).












(7)


The areas identified as protection and surveillance zones in Bulgaria should therefore be set out in the Annex to this Decision accordingly, and the duration of that regionalisation should be fixed. The duration of that regionalisation takes into account the minimum periods for the measures to be applied in the protection and surveillance zones in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687.












(8)


Given the urgency of the epidemiological situation in the Union as regards the spread of sheep pox and goat pox and the need to prevent the disease spreading from the affected establishment in Bulgaria 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 Bulgaria 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
Bulgaria 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;










(c)


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






Article 2
This Decision shall apply until 7 June 2025.


Article 3
This Decision is addressed to the Republic of Bulgaria.




Done at Brussels, 15 May 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).

(4)  
            https://www.woah.org/en/what-we-do/standards/codes-and-manuals/terrestrial-code-online-access/.




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 Bulgaria referred to in Article 1


Date until applicable





Region of Haskovo

BG-CAPRIPOX-2025-00004


Protection zone:
Those parts of the region of Haskovo, contained within a circle of a radius of 3 kilometres, centred on UTM 30, ETRS89 coordinates Lat. 41.7231, Long. 26.3188 (2024/1).


29.5.2025




Surveillance zone:
Those parts of the region of Haskovo, contained within a circle of a radius of 10 kilometres, centred on UTM 30, ETRS89 coordinates Lat. 41.7231, Long. 26.3188 (2024/1), excluding the areas contained in the protection zone.


7.6.2025




Surveillance zone:
Those parts of the region of Haskovo, contained within a circle of a radius of 10 kilometres, centred on UTM 30, ETRS89 coordinates Lat. 41.7231, Long. 26.3188 (2024/1).


30.5.2025 - 7.6.2025







ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2025/948/oj
ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)