Council Directive 2002/60/EC4 lays down the minimum measures to be applied within the Union for the control of African swine fever, including the measures to be taken in the event of an outbreak of African swine fever on a pig holding and in cases where African swine fever is suspected or confirmed in feral pigs. Those measures include plans to be developed and implemented by Member States, and approved by the Commission, for the eradication of African swine fever from a feral pig population.

African swine fever is present in Sardinia, Italy since 1978, and has since 2014 been introduced in other Member States situated in Eastern Europe including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland from neighbouring third countries where that disease is widely present.

In order to focus the control measures and to prevent disease spread as well as any unnecessary disturbance to trade within the Union and to avoid unjustified barriers to trade by third countries, the concerned Member States urgently established infected areas and areas at risk for infection that were defined at Union level in collaboration with the Member States concerned by means of Commission Implementing Decisions that were consolidated by Commission Implementing Decision 2014/178/EU5. That Decision also lays down animal health control measures on the movement, dispatch of pigs and certain pig products and marking of pigmeat from the areas set out in the Annex to that Decision in order to prevent the spread of that disease to other areas of the Union.

Commission Decision 2005/362/EC6 approved a plan submitted by Italy to the Commission for the eradication of African swine fever in feral pigs in Sardinia and Commission Implementing Decision 2014/442/EU7 approved the plans for the eradication of African swine fever in feral pigs in certain areas of Lithuania and Poland.

African swine fever can be considered an endemic disease in the domestic and feral pig populations of certain third countries bordering the Union and represents a permanent threat for the Union.

The disease situation is liable to endanger the pig herds in unaffected areas of the Member States currently concerned by the disease namely Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland well as pig herds in other Member States, notably in view of trade in commodities from porcine animals.

Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have taken measures to combat African swine fever within the framework of Directive 2002/60/EC and Estonia and Latvia are due to submit their plans for the eradication of African swine fever in feral pigs to the Commission for approval in accordance with Article 16 of that Directive.

It is appropriate that the Member States and areas concerned are listed in an Annex differentiated by the level of risk. The different parts of the Annex should consider the epidemiological situation of African swine fever including whether it concerns both pigs holdings and the feral pig population (Part III and IV), only the feral pig population (Part II) or the risk is due to certain proximity to the infection in the feral population (Part I). In particular it should be differentiated whether the epidemiological situation has been stabilised and the disease has become endemic (Part IV) or the situation is still dynamic with uncertain evolution (Part III). However, the classification of Member States' territories or parts thereof as Parts I, II, III and IV according to the swine population concerned may need to be adapted by taking into account additional risk factors due to the local epidemiological situation and its evolution, especially in newly infected areas where less experience on the disease epidemiology under different ecological systems is available.

In terms of risk of spread of African swine fever, movements of different porcine commodities pose different levels of risk. As a general rule the movement of live pigs, their semen, ova and embryos and animal by-products of porcine origin from infected areas pose higher risks in terms of exposure and consequences than the movement of meat, meat preparations and meat products as indicated in the Scientific Opinion of the European Food Safety Authority of 20108. Therefore, the dispatch of live pigs and their semen, ova and embryos, animal by-products of porcine origin as well as the dispatch of certain meat, meat preparations and meat products from certain areas in Member States listed in Parts I, II, III and IV of the Annex to this Decision should be prohibited. This prohibition includes all Suidae as referred to in Council Directive 92/65/EEC9.

In order to take account of the different risk levels depending on the type of porcine commodities and the epidemiological situation in the Member States and areas concerned, it is appropriate to provide for certain derogations for each type of porcine commodity from the territories listed in the different parts of the Annex hereto. Those derogations are also in line with the risk mitigation measures for importation as regards African swine fever indicated in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the World Organization for Animal Health. The additional safeguard measures and animal health requirements or treatments of the respective commodities applicable in case such derogations are granted should also be provided for in this Decision.

Due to the current epidemiological situation and for precautionary reasons the concerned Member States, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, have established new areas of a sufficient and appropriate size as described as Parts I, II and III of the Annex to this Decision that are adapted to the current epidemiological situation and where adequate restrictions for movements of live pigs, semen, ova and embryos and fresh pig meat and certain pig products apply. The situation as regards African swine fever in Sardinia, Italy, differs from that in other Member States due to the long lasting endemicity of the disease in this part of the Italian territory and the insular geographic location; it is therefore deemed necessary to have Part IV in the Annex to this Decision to continue covering the whole territory of Sardinia in Italy.

The veterinary restrictions currently applicable are particularly stringent for the areas listed in Part III of the Annex to this Decision and which therefore may lead to logistic and animal welfare problems in case the slaughtering of pigs in the respective areas is not possible, in particular due to the absence of an appropriate slaughterhouse or limitations in slaughtering capacity within the relevant areas listed in Part III.

The movement of live pigs for immediate slaughter poses less risk than other types of movements of live pigs provided that risk mitigation measures are in place. It is therefore appropriate that when the above described circumstances concur the Member States concerned may exceptionally grant derogations for the dispatch of live pigs from the areas listed in Part III of the Annex for immediate slaughter to a slaughterhouse located outside that area in the same Member State provided that rigorous conditions are met in order not to jeopardise disease control.

Council Directive 64/432/EEC10 and Commission Decision 93/444/EEC11 provide that health certificates are to accompany the movements of animals. Where derogations from the prohibition on the dispatch of live pigs from the areas listed in the Annex to this Decision are applied to live pigs intended for intra-Union trade or for export to a third country, those health certificates should include a reference to this Decision so to ensure that adequate and accurate health information is provided in the relevant certificates.

Commission Regulation (EC) No 599/200412 provides that health certificates are to accompany the movements of certain products of animal origin. In order to prevent the spread of African swine fever to other areas of the Union, where a Member State is subject to a prohibition on the dispatch of fresh pigmeat, meat preparations and meat products consisting of, or containing pigmeat from certain parts of its territory, certain requirements should be laid down, in particular as regards certification, for the dispatch of such meat, meat preparations and meat products from other areas of the territory of that Member State not subject to that prohibition and those health certificates should include a reference to this Decision.

In addition, it is appropriate, in order to prevent the spread of African swine fever to other areas of the Union and to third countries, to provide that the dispatch of fresh pigmeat, meat preparations and meat products consisting of, or containing meat of pigs from Member States with the areas listed in the Annex, is subject to certain more stringent conditions. In particular, such fresh pigmeat, meat preparations and pigmeat products should be marked with special marks which cannot be confused with the identification mark provided for in Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council13 and with the health marks for pigmeat provided for in Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council14.

The period of application of the measures provided for in this Decision should take account of the epidemiology of African swine fever and the conditions to regain the African swine fever free status according to the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the World Organization for Animal Health and therefore this period should last at least until 31 December 2018.

For reasons of clarity Implementing Decision 2014/178/EU should therefore be repealed and replaced by this Decision.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,