EU extends emergency measures against sheep and goat pox in Romania

The European Commission has extended the emergency measures against sheep and goat pox in Romania, adopting Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/2075 of 10 September 2026, published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series, 2026/2075) on 14 September 2026. The act, notified under document C(2026) 6510 and addressed to Romania, amends the restricted zones and the duration of the control measures laid down in the base act, Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1108.

Why the measures were extended

Sheep and goat pox is an infectious viral disease affecting caprine and ovine animals that can severely hit animal populations and farm profitability, and it disrupts movements of consignments of those animals and their products within the Union and exports to third countries. Since the previous amendment by Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1956, Romania notified the Commission, between 20 August and 7 September 2026, of twelve additional outbreaks in establishments keeping ovine and caprine animals.

The new outbreaks were located in the counties of Brăila, Buzău, Galați, Gorj and Tulcea. Some fell outside the restricted zones already established from earlier outbreaks, notably in Galați, where the disease had not previously been reported. In response, Romania set up protection and surveillance zones where the control measures of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687 are being applied.

The legal framework

The decision is adopted under Article 259(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/429 (the Animal Health Law). The size of the protection, surveillance and further restricted zones, and the duration of the measures, are based on the criteria in Article 64(1) of that Regulation and on the rules of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687, and are aligned with the international standards of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).

The restricted zone comprises a protection zone, a surveillance zone and, where necessary, further restricted zones. The decision replaces the annexes to Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1108 to reflect the new epidemiological situation.

The updated restricted zones

Under the amended Annex I, protection zones (5 km radius) and surveillance zones (20 km radius) are established around each confirmed outbreak, with measures applicable until dates ranging from mid-September to early November 2026. The further restricted zones cover the entire counties of:

• Ialomița, Buzău, Brăila, Iași, Neamț, Gorj, Vâlcea, Hunedoara, Tulcea, Constanța, Galați and Vrancea, excluding areas already inside protection or surveillance zones, with measures applicable until 7 November 2026.

Under the amended Annex II, additional areas covering the whole of Mureș, Cluj, Bistrița-Năsăud, Ialomița, Buzău, Brăila, Iași, Neamț, Gorj, Vâlcea, Tulcea, Hunedoara, Constanța, Galați and Vrancea counties are subject to measures applicable from 8 November to 7 December 2026.

Given the urgency of the epidemiological situation in the Union and the need to prevent the disease from spreading from affected establishments in Romania to other parts of that Member State or to any other Member States, the measures apply as soon as possible. The decision was signed for the Commission by Olivér Várhelyi, Member of the Commission, and only the Romanian text is authentic.

What it means for readers

For Romanian livestock farmers, the extension means continued movement restrictions and disease-control obligations in a large swathe of the country, with protection and surveillance zones running through the autumn. For the wider Union, the decision keeps intra-EU trade in sheep and goats and their products under tighter scrutiny, safeguarding other Member States from the spread of a disease that can disrupt both domestic farming and exports to third countries.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, L series, 2026/2075, 14.9.2026 (official reference: CELEX L_202602075).