Speeches

Mr President, Commissioner, highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in cattle in the United States. It is worrying that the virus now also appears to spread in cattle and even from cow to cow. More and more mammal species are becoming infected. Humans, too, are ultimately mammals. The WHO therefore warns that this pandemic can also spread to humans in animals. I call on the Commission and the Member States to step up and speed up research from a One Health perspective: For example, does the virus already occur among European cows, goats and pigs? How does it spread? I call for more attention to be paid to vaccine development for humans and animals and for unnecessary barriers to be removed as much as possible in order to be able to proceed with vaccination. It is now that we can prevent another pandemic.

Madam President, in this new pharmaceutical legislation, steps forward are being taken to reduce AMR (antimicrobial resistance). AMR is a suicide killer that can cause the next pandemic. Resistant pathogens threaten us not only directly, but also indirectly. Ordinary surgeries, like knee or heart operations, will no longer be possible if there are no antibiotics to cure simple infections that can occur after surgery. Therefore, it is a step forward to support research and development of new antibiotics. However, AMR is one health topic. Not only are the R&D of human medicines, but also of veterinary medicines in need of support. AMR is also not only a European threat. Cooperation at global level is key. I strongly recommend the new legislation to take an active role in strengthening global coordination.

Mr President, Commissioner, as the first Dutch veterinarian in the European Parliament, I think it is a very special privilege to draw attention to an animal welfare issue that has particularly affected me in my second speech here. 23 years ago, on 20 March 2001, foot-and-mouth disease broke out in the Netherlands. Vaccination has been banned in the European Union since 1991, resulting in the large-scale killing, removal and destruction of healthy cattle, sheep, pigs and deer in this outbreak. More than 300 000 animals were culled and dozens of farmers committed suicide. Since 2003, emergency vaccination has been allowed and vaccinated animals are allowed to live. However, vaccination should only be used if there is already an outbreak and causes numerous barriers to trade, which means that in practice it will probably be decided to clear up again in the event of a subsequent outbreak. I call for a further review of the European non-vaccination policy!