Member States have endorsed a number of European Commission decisions on import restrictions and biosecurity measures currently in place against the risk of Avian Influenza, at the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCFCAH) on Wednesday.
It was agreed that, for Turkey and Croatia, the existing ban on import to the EU will be regionalised to cover only the areas previously affected by Avian Influenza, given the strict control measures applied in these countries.
In relation to Romania, the ban on imports of live poultry will continue to apply for the whole country, while a regionalised approach is now taken for poultry meat and poultry products.
For Russia, it was agreed to prolong the existing measures and to further apply the principle of regionalisation. The Standing Committee also voted in favour of a Commission proposal to extend until May 31, 2006, biosecurity measures in place to protect domestic flocks from Avian Influenza.
