Romanian MEP Ioan-Rareş Bogdan (PPE) has submitted a written parliamentary question to the European Commission, challenging the proportionality of a total ban on exports of live sheep from Romania imposed by Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1217. The ban, triggered by isolated outbreaks of sheep pox, has halted production, distorted competition, and pushed family farms toward bankruptcy, according to Bogdan. He argues that the measure favours large industrial slaughterhouses imposing monopoly prices and will cause an inflationary shock in importing Member States.
The question, filed on 16 June 2026 under Rule 144, asks the Commission to explain why strict regionalisation—applied in similar crises in western EU countries—was not used for Romania. Bogdan also demands action to mitigate market abuse by large processors forcing farmers to sell below production costs, and calls for activation of direct compensation from the agricultural crisis reserve to prevent the sector's collapse.
Bogdan's question signals a push for proportionality in EU animal health measures, with concrete asks: regionalisation, market oversight, and crisis fund activation. The Commission is expected to reply within approximately six weeks, and its answer will indicate whether it will adjust the ban or provide relief to Romanian sheep farmers. The issue pits animal health protection against economic viability of a strategic sector, with Romanian farmers, large slaughterhouses, importing Member State consumers, and EU regulatory bodies as key stakeholders.