(1)

Infection with peste des petits ruminants virus is an infectious disease affecting caprine and ovine animals and can have a severe impact on the concerned animal population and the profitability of farming causing disturbance to movements of consignments of those animals and products thereof within the Union and exports to third countries.

(2)

In the event of an outbreak of infection with peste des petits ruminants virus in caprine or ovine animals, there is a serious risk of the spread of that disease to other establishments of caprine or ovine animals.

(3)

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687 (2) supplements the rules for the control of the listed diseases referred to in Article 9(1), points (a), (b) and (c), of Regulation (EU) 2016/429, and defined as category A, B and C diseases in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1882 (3). In particular, Articles 21 and 22 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687 provide for the establishment of a restricted zone in the event of an outbreak of a category A disease, including infection with peste des petits ruminants virus, and for certain measures to be applied therein. In addition, Article 21(1) of that Delegated Regulation provides that the restricted zone is to comprise a protection zone, a surveillance zone, and, if necessary, further restricted zones around or adjacent to the protection and surveillance zones.

(4)

Romania has informed the Commission of the current situation in its territory as regards infection with peste des petits ruminants virus, following an outbreak of that disease in kept caprine and ovine animals in the Gepiu locality in the county of Bihor, which was confirmed on 5 March 2025, and, in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687, it has established a restricted zone, which comprises a protection zone, a surveillance zone, and a further restricted zone where further disease control measures as provided for in that Delegated Regulation are applied. This is a recurrence of infection with peste des petits ruminants in that Member State, since the last outbreak of that disease in Romania was reported on 4 September 2024, although it is the first ever outbreak reported in the county of Bihor.

(5)

In order to control the spread of the disease, and to prevent any unnecessary disturbance to trade within the Union or any unjustified barriers to trade being imposed by third countries, it is necessary to rapidly identify at Union level the restricted zone for infection with peste des petits ruminants virus, which should comprise the protection and surveillance zones, as well as a further restricted zone, in Romania.

(6)

In the current epidemiological situation, there is a high risk of further spread of peste des petits ruminants virus, within Romania and to the rest of the Union, in particular due to the fact that, according to the information provided by Romania, this is a recurrence of that disease in an area never affected before, more than five months since the last reported outbreak in Romania and more than two months since the lifting of all restrictive measures in relation to that disease in that Member State, with very little information about the origin of the outbreak and the possible spread in between the outbreaks, which indicates that the disease may have already circulated in multiple areas of Romania, undetected and without any restrictive measures in place to prevent or slow down its spread.

(7)

The size of the protection, surveillance and further restricted zones, as well as the duration of the measures to be applied therein are based on the criteria set out in Article 64(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/429, and the rules laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687, including the epidemiological situation as regards infection with peste de petits ruminants virus in the areas affected by that disease, and the overall epidemiological situation in Romania, as well as the level of risk for the further spread of that disease. The duration of the measures also takes into account the international standards of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).

(8)

Due to the severity and urgency of the situation, and in order to immediately limit the spread of the disease, it is necessary to ensure that movements of caprine and ovine animals from the protection, surveillance and further restricted zones to destinations outside the external perimeter of the further restricted zone do not take place, and to exclude possible derogations from the prohibition on the movements of those animals as laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687, for a certain period of time.

(9)

In addition, in view of the uncertainty and the lack of information regarding the current epidemiological situation, it is necessary to prohibit movements of ovine and caprine animals from the entire territory of Romania to other Member States for a certain period of time.

(10)

In view of the urgent epidemiological situation, it also necessary to identify the areas in Romania where further measures, such as those applicable to further restricted zones, as provided for in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687, should apply, and where movements of ovine and caprine animals outside the external perimeters of those areas, should be prohibited, for a certain period of time, after the expiry of the dates for the measures which apply in all the protection and surveillance zones.

(11)

Given the urgency of the epidemiological situation in the Union as regards the spread of infection with peste des petits ruminants virus, and the need to prevent the disease from spreading from the affected establishments in Romania to other parts of that Member State or to other Member States, the measures laid down in this Implementing Decision should apply as soon as possible.

(12)

Accordingly, pending the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed, the protection, surveillance and further restricted zones in Romania should be established immediately, and listed in the Annex to this Decision, and the duration of that zoning fixed and additional measures specified.

(13)

This Decision is to be reviewed at the next meeting of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,

(a)

the measures required to be applied in the protection, surveillance and further restricted zones listed in Annex I, are applied at least until the dates listed in that Annex; that

(b)

movements of caprine and ovine animals from the protection, surveillance and further restricted zones listed in Annex I to a destination located outside the external perimeter of the further restricted zone, as set out in Part B of Annex I, are prohibited until the dates listed for each zone in that Annex; and that

(c)

movements of caprine and ovine animals from the entire territory of Romania to a destination located in another Member State are prohibited.