Romania has been waiting for over a month for the vaccines promised by Brussels for peste des petits ruminants, while exports remain blocked

Romania has not yet received the vaccines promised by the European Commission to combat peste des petits ruminants, although authorities in Bucharest were assured at the beginning of September that the doses would be delivered quickly. Acting Agriculture Minister Tanczos Barna said on Monday that the delay had exceeded one month and expressed hope that the shipment would arrive this week.

Romanian authorities say they have prepared all the conditions for receiving the doses and starting vaccination shortly after delivery. The National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA) is simultaneously preparing procedures to purchase the vaccines needed for the national campaign.

Internal procedures were slowed down to avoid using several types of vaccine produced by different factories. Romania is also awaiting a response from Brussels on the resumption of animal exports. The European Commission was expected to communicate the conditions in October, but so far it has provided neither details nor a proposal to amend the regulation on the export of vaccinated animals. The resumption of trade depends on implementing the vaccination plan and on subsequent decisions by the EU executive.