EU emergency veterinary team to be established
EU - The European Commission adopted a Decision to establish an emergency veterinary team, to provide the support of European experts if needed to respond rapidly to animal disease outbreaks in the EU and third countries.

EU pig production set to rise
EU - EU pig meat production is set to rise between now and 2013, according to latest forecasts from the British Pig Executive.

A healthier start to a pig’s life
EU - Participants in EUREKA project E! 2654 Healthy Weaning have been working on a cost-effective solution for farmers. They have developed a plant-based product which is given at a specific stage before weaning, helping piglets adapt from the digestive...

New Zealand and European Union agree disease outbreak strategy
EU - New Zealand and European Union negotiators have agreed a proposal that would have significant economic benefits should New Zealand ever have a serious animal health disease such as Foot and Mouth (FMD).

Animal welfare in transport: new EU rules enter into force
EU - The new Regulation on animal welfare in transport enters into force tomorrow, 5 January 2007. European Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said: "This important animal welfare legislation aims to reduce the stress and harm that animals can experience...

Human campylobacter infection rates overtake salmonella in EU
EU - An EU report announced last month that more EU citizens were infected with campylobacter than salmonella in 2005.

Study into the administrative burden for farmers
EU - Today the European Commission signed a contract to conduct a study into the administrative burden imposed on farmers by the direct payment rules introduced in the 2003 CAP reform.

EU Simplifies CAP With Single Common Market
EU - The European Commission today has proposed to the Council and the European Parliament to adopt one single Common Market Organisation for all agricultural products. This project, "the Single CMO" is another important step in the process of simplification,...

Abolish maize intervention, says EC
EU - The system of public intervention purchases for maize should be abolished from the 2007/2008 marketing year, says the EC.

Transitional food safety and veterinary measures agreed for Bulgaria and Romania
EU - Commission proposals for further post-Enlargement food safety and animal health measures for Romania and Bulgaria have been backed by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health.

EC gives Bulgaria and Romania money to fight animal disease
EU - The European Commission (EC) has approved a €11.5m (£7.7m) package to fight animal disease in Bulgaria and Romania in 2007.

Commission approves over €11.5 million to tackle animal diseases in Bulgaria and Romania in 2007
EU - A draft Commission Decision to allocate up to €11 506 000 to Bulgaria and Romania for the monitoring, eradication and control of animal diseases in 2007, was backed by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health yesterday.

FG Interviews EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel
EU - EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel’s patience with the UK is wearing thin. In a frank interview, she told ALISTAIR DRIVER about her aspirations for European farming – and how our Government is getting in the way of delivering them....

Commission approves €193 million to fight animal diseases in 2007
EU - The European Commission has approved a financial package of €193 million to support programmes to eradicate, control and monitor animal diseases in 2007.

EU food production responds to global changes
EU - Closures, restructuring. mergers and the offshoring of production are continuing to change the profile of the EU's food manufacturing sector, according to a report from an European Commission agency.

Classical Swine Fever: post-enlargement measures for Bulgaria and Romania agreed
EU - A Commission proposal to approve Romania's eradication plan and emergency vaccination programme for classical swine fever was endorsed by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health yesterday.

OIE Pig Health News for the week
EU - Report by the OIE on Aujeszky's Disease and Classical Swine Fever in Bolivia.

Pigs caused MRSA in humans
UK - Dutch researchers said they've found community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) among pig farmers and their families that can be traced to the animals themselves.

EU restricts accession funding to promote agricultural reform
EU - The EU is to place restrictions on aid payments to farmers in Bulgaria and Romania, unless they succesfully complete reforms in their agricutural policy.

EU's food agency battles attempts to hijack science
EU - Science and politics make poor bedfellows. Just ask Herman Koeter, deputy executive director at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which has felt the push and pull of national politics ever since the agency began operating four years ago....