The highest experts of the European Commission (EC) on Slintečka and Krávka arrived in Slovakia. This was confirmed by the head of the Slovak agrorezort Richard Takáč (Smer-SD) after the meeting of the Council of the European Union (EU) for agriculture in Brussels, which also addressed the issue of possible compensation. This is informed by TASR.
Takáč recalled that The EU Council dealt with the occurrence of clinkers and coffers in Europe at the initiative of Hungary, which discovered this disease in early March near the Slovak border. Meanwhile, the virus got to the south of Slovakia, which was also the subject of discussions.
According to him, the Council of Ministers, together with the European Commissioner for Agriculture Christoph Hansen, also addressed the issue of possible compensation for breeders. Negotiations took place by representatives of the head of the EC for Health and Food Security (DG Sante), at the level of European veterinarians who record all animal diseases in the EU.
“They have informed us that from Monday morning there are two largest specialists in Slintečka and Krivaj, which was sent by the European Commission,” Takáč said. He stressed that the experts of the European Commission know well the head of the State Veterinary and Food Administration of the Slovak Republic Martin Chudý, with whom they have been working for a long time. They acknowledged that Slovakia has taken the best possible measures to prevent the transmission of the virus.
After negotiations with Hansen and the Council of Ministers, Takáč stated that Both Slovakia and Hungary have the support of other EU Member States, Three countries have already helped Slovakia – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria. Member States will proceed in the spirit of Union legislation, which imposes on them what measures to take to protect themselves from this infection.
“I believe that other countries also want to help because they perceive that this is not just a problem of Slovakia and previously Hungary, that it is a problem in the European space. Therefore, what the European Commission has confirmed will be essential to deal with compensation, “ Takáč explained.
According to him, these will concern technical things such as the spending of animals and disinfection and also compensation for farmers who have lost their farms. “We will gradually quantify the damage. Of course, the basis is to get it completely under control, so that it does not spread and other infected farms. We are already analyzing individual steps and gradually counting the costs associated with it,” specified.
According to him, the amount of EU aid cannot be estimated. The Union has funds for such cases, paid through DG Sante through the state and veterinary administration. Takáč also spoke about the use of unused sources from the previous programming period and added that there would be several possibilities for compensation. The Minister appreciated Hansen’s promise that he would use all the possibilities for compensation to be provided to the highest possible extent.
In Slovakia and Hungary, the clinker and Krivačka appeared after more than fifty years. Takáč said that even experts from the European Commission are unable to explain the occurrence of the virus after such a long time. In January, this disease was recorded in Germany, but a different variant of the virus than in Slovakia and in Hungary. According to him, experts want to explore this mystery and find an explanation.
