Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi, in a 22 July 2026 answer to a parliamentary question by MEP Tilly Metz (Verts/ALE), defended the EU's existing legal framework for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) control in Cyprus, arguing that current rules already allow flexibility for emergency vaccination and that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has been asked to assess control measures for Category A diseases including FMD. The answer, which largely restates existing EU measures rather than announcing new ones, impacts livestock farmers in both communities of Cyprus, EU veterinary authorities, and the Turkish Cypriot community receiving EU aid.
Metz had asked whether the Commission would urgently request an EFSA assessment of emergency vaccination versus wider culling under Cyprus's island conditions, whether the EU framework should be adapted for island member states, and whether conditions on animal-health support in areas not under government control should be strengthened. Várhelyi replied that the Commission has already requested EFSA to assess control measures for Category A diseases under the Animal Health Law, including FMD, and that the current framework allows flexibility for emergency vaccination based on risk assessments, with provisions for lifting measures and movement derogations. He noted that the EU Reference Laboratory for FMD regularly reviews testing capacities of national reference laboratories, including Cyprus's.
On support to the Turkish Cypriot community, Várhelyi said the EU Aid Programme finances priority animal-health measures with conditionalities adapted to island-specific circumstances, and that the delegated body Bureau Veritas is bound to deliver reliable information on FMD control activities. He stressed that an effective response requires engagement from both communities, supported by the bicommunal Veterinary Sub-Committee. The answer contained no new numerical targets, deadlines, or legislative proposals, instead pointing to existing instruments and ongoing monitoring. Institutional follow-up is likely to focus on the EFSA assessment and continued EUVET deployments, with no immediate signal of a framework revision for island member states.