Minister of Agriculture Florin Barbu will ask Brussels to unblock sheep and goat exports before December 31

Minister of Agriculture Florin Barbu will meet on Friday at 11:00 a.m. in Brussels with the European Commissioner for animal health to discuss lifting the restrictions affecting exports of sheep and goats from Romania.

Barbu maintains that Romania has fulfilled its vaccination plan and will present the European Commission with all the measures taken by the authorities. The minister stated that Romania is the first member state to have started vaccination and that the operation has been completed in the counties of Constanța and Tulcea, in accordance with the established plan.

The discussions primarily concern unblocking exports to countries outside the European Union. Romania already has contracts and technical specifications for delivering vaccinated animals to Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Jordan and Algeria.

The restrictions are currently valid until December 31, but the Romanian authorities are trying to have them lifted sooner. The minister stated that he will not request, at the meeting in Brussels, the unblocking of exports to the European Union's internal market, but will focus on access to third-country markets. The statements were made at the AGRI4FUTURE National Conference: Romania – Objective 2035.