THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Directive 89/662/EEC of 11 December 1989 concerning veterinary checks in intra-Community trade with a view to the completion of the internal market, and in particular Article 9(4) thereof,
Having regard to Council Directive 90/425/EEC of 26 June 1990 concerning veterinary and zootechnical checks applicable in intra-Community trade in certain live animals and products with a view to the completion of the internal market, and in particular Article 10(4) thereof,
Having regard to Council Directive 2002/99/EC of 16 December 2002 laying down the animal health rules governing the production, processing, distribution and introduction of products of animal origin for human consumption, and in particular Article 4(3) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Commission Implementing Decision 2014/709/EU lays down animal health control measures in relation to African swine fever in certain Member States, where there have been confirmed cases of that disease in domestic or feral pigs (the Member States concerned). The Annex to that Implementing Decision demarcates and lists certain areas of the Member States concerned in Parts I to IV thereof, differentiated by the level of risk based on the epidemiological situation as regards that disease. The Annex to Implementing Decision 2014/709/EU has been amended several times to take account of changes in the epidemiological situation in the Union as regards African swine fever that need to be reflected in that Annex. The Annex to Implementing Decision 2014/709/EU was last amended by Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/950, following outbreaks of African swine fever in domestic pigs in the counties of Tulcea and Satu Mare in Romania and in certain other Member States in June 2018.
(2)
The risk of the spread of African swine fever in wildlife is linked to the natural slow spread of that disease among feral pig populations, and also the risks linked to human activity, as demonstrated by the recent epidemiological evolution of that disease in the Union, and as documented by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in the Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Animal Health and Welfare, published on 14 July 2015; in the Scientific Report of EFSA on Epidemiological analyses on African swine fever in the Baltic countries and Poland, published on 23 March 2017; and in the Scientific Report of EFSA on Epidemiological analyses of African swine fever in the Baltic States and Poland, published on 7 November 2017.
(3)
Since the date of adoption of Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/950, the African swine fever virus has spread in Romania. In June and July 2018, more than two hundred outbreaks of African swine fever in domestic pigs were observed in the county of Tulcea in Romania. In addition, in July 2018 several outbreaks of African swine fever in domestic pigs were observed in the counties of Braila and Constanta in Romania. These outbreaks of African swine fever in domestic pigs constitute an increased level of risk which should be reflected in the Annex to Implementing Decision 2014/709/EU. Following the reinforced actions taken by Romania to control the movement of live pigs, porcine commodities, animal by-products and other products (which might further spread the disease from areas affected by African swine fever to areas where there has been no notification of African swine fever), the area in Romania between the river Danube and the Romanian coast from the Danube delta to the town of Constanta should be listed in Part III of that Annex. Therefore, the parts of the aforementioned area previously listed in Part I of that Annex should now be listed in Part III thereof.
(4)
In order to take account of recent developments in the epidemiological evolution of African swine fever in the Union, and in order to combat the risks associated with the spread of that disease in a proactive manner, new high risk areas of a sufficient size should be demarcated for Romania and duly listed in the Annex to Implementing Decision 2014/709/EU. That Annex should therefore be amended accordingly.
(5)
The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: