PARTIES ARE CALLING FOR IMMEDIATE MEASURES FOR FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE AFTER MEETING WITH THE EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER - ''A MESS, LIVESTOCK IS BEING DESTROYED'' - Filenews 13/3
Leaders and representatives of parliamentary parties called for immediate measures to limit the spread of foot-and-mouth disease and to address its wider impact on the economy, after their meeting in the morning with the European Commissioner for Animal Health and Welfare, Oliver Várhely.
The Government must finally assume its responsibilities and tell the truth to the people, said the President of DISY and Speaker of the Parliament, Annita Demetriou, after a meeting held at the House of Europe in Nicosia. "It's a mess really the situation, I'm really sorry. At the moment, it is more important to state the realities and data than to give hope for a differentiation of the protocols. At least this was clarified today," he said.
And let's see, he continued, how we will support these people, because we are no longer just talking about the livestock sector, we are talking about the entire economy of the country.
Asked if there is no issue of modifying the protocols, Ms. Demetriou said that the Commissioner was explicitly (negative) and told them that instructions had been given since December when the virus appeared that there could be no issue of differentiation. "So I really wonder what we expected, what actions would be taken and why we didn't tell the realities of the world from the beginning," he noted.
Unfortunately, once again the government proves to be running behind the facts, said AKEL MP, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Giannakis Gabriel, saying that if this meeting had taken place in December, when the disease was diagnosed in the occupied territories, we would be talking about completely different results.
He asked, he said, a number of questions, including how the EU manages the occupied territories, why it allows vaccinations there and only killings here, but he did not answer. "So you understand that we are again running after the facts. Let them finally come out and tell the truth to the world so that the people can support them. Otherwise, there is no solution to this problem," he said.
They will exterminate the animal population of Cyprus without having assurance that the next day they will have an animal population, he added. "Because it takes years to build a livestock unit and produce products for you, whether it's milk or meat," he noted.
Asked what he can do as Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, Mr. Gabriel said that the Committee will monitor the development of the situation and if necessary will convene a meeting "even if extraordinary".
The EU's clear position is that the European protocols must be implemented, if we do not do so then we risk that foot-and-mouth disease will spread throughout Cyprus and lead to a complete destruction of livestock farming with consequences for the entire economy, said the President of DIKO, Nikolas Papadopoulos.
Things are particularly serious and we appeal to all sides to lower the tone, he said. We must all work together to deal with this pandemic, he added, and with the European protocols to return livestock farming to a normal state as soon as possible.
Mr. Papadopoulos said that they received clear assurances that compensation to livestock farmers will not only include the replacement of animals, but also the loss of revenue, which he considers particularly positive.
If we follow the European directives, he continued, the Commission's assessment is that we can overcome the crisis by the summer. If we do not follow them, he added, there is a huge risk that livestock farming will disappear from the island in the next 5 years.
Therefore, we must all listen carefully to these suggestions, concluded the President of DIKO.
The Commissioner's position was clear that we cannot deviate from European regulations, said the President of EDEK, Nikos Anastasiou, adding that the sooner we act, the smaller the problem will be.
Mr. Anastasiou expressed satisfaction with the assurance from the Commissioner that they will compensate not only for the animals that will be killed, but will also cover the lost profits. If we act immediately, he added, the animals will be able to be replaced in the fall.
What is needed on the domestic front at the moment, he continued, is unity, to see how we deal with the crisis and how we support livestock farmers, but above all we need to protect the areas that have not yet been infected with foot-and-mouth disease.
Implementation of the European protocols without any discount, was the briefing by the European Commissioner, said the Parliamentary Representative of DIPA, Alekos Tryfonidis, saying that the situation with the virus can be dealt with with full compliance with the European protocols in the infected area of three km. At 10 km from the polluted area, he continued, the animals will be slaughtered and the meat will only be able to be consumed in Cyprus.
He pointed out that if we do not do what is foreseen, the consequences will be tragic with the spread of the virus throughout Cyprus with sad consequences for the entire livestock sector.
Additionally sad, said Mr. Tryfonidis, are the consequences for tourism, stating that the Commissioner was "very clear". Only with a plane with tourists, he told them, the virus will be able to be transferred to Europe and "we will be put out of European principles".
Mr. Tryfonidis said that he conveyed to the Commissioner that the EU should exert pressure so that the same measures are applied to the occupied areas to be able to prevent the subsequent spread of the virus, but he did not get an answer. "We told him very clearly that he must oblige the Turkish Cypriot side to apply the same because there is a constant risk of transmission of the virus," he pointed out.
As DIPA, he said, they will contribute constructively and positively, with unity so that all political forces, together with the Government, can deal with this sad situation and he is optimistic that they will soon succeed. "Because otherwise, the disaster will be over 10 years," he said
The compensations, he continued, will be co-financed by the EU and Cypriot funds, both for the slaughter of the animals and for the replacement of the animal head.
The management of the foot-and-mouth crisis was wrong, Elena Lympouri Kozakou, spokesperson of the Ecologists - Citizens' Cooperation movement, assessed in her statements, noting that based on Protocol 10 of the EU Accession Treaty, the Government of the Republic of Cyprus had the right, from the appearance of the first case in the occupied territories, to proceed with animal vaccinations in the free areas, since the occupied areas of the Republic are also part of its territory.
Instead, he added, we chose not to proceed with vaccination and we are now facing a crisis due to which a large part of the animal kingdom of our country has been destroyed, we are also losing the free zone status, so "someone has to think about what went wrong and take responsibility".
For the Ecologists' movement, he said, the issue also has a political dimension because the occupied territories of the Republic of Cyprus are part of its territory.
Asked if halloumi is in danger, Ms. Kozakou said that the issue of halloumi was not discussed.
The Member of Parliament for Nicosia, Alexandra Attalidou, called on the President of the Republic and all those responsible to reflect on their responsibilities and save the economy of the country to note that "that is why they are in the position they are in".
He expressed the position that the Government handled the situation in the worst way and said that tourism is also in danger. The Commissioner's message was very clear, he noted, whether we follow the protocols, or the entire livestock farm is destroyed for the next 5-10 years.
It seems, he said, that they told the Commissioner to talk to the political parties to appeal to the people and clarify the situation.
