September 26, 2012

Croatia will be allowed by October 2012 to ship live pigs, pork and pork products to the EU, which was banned in 2005.

This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Neven Mimica in Brussels on Tuesday (Sep 25) after meeting European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection John Dalli.

"The European Commission has confirmed that it will recommend to the member states early in October to adopt such a decision, so we can expect that in the course of next month our exporters will again be allowed to export live pigs, pork and pork products to the EU," Mimica said.

The European Commission banned imports of live pigs, pork and pork products from Croatia in 2005 because pigs in Croatia were vaccinated against swine plague, which is forbidden in the EU. Croatia has in the meantime stopped such practice.

Also discussed at the meeting were the remaining commitments Croatia needed to meet in the area of sanitary and veterinary standards.

"The commissioner has acknowledged that Croatia is making good progress, drawing attention to the construction of border inspection posts (BIP) along the external borders of the EU where sanitary and veterinary inspections will be carried out," Mimica said, adding that both of the planned BIPs would be finished three months before Croatia's entry into the EU, due on July 1, 2013.

It was agreed as part of accession negotiations on Chapter 12 (Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Policy) and Chapter 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security) that two border inspection posts would be set up between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Stara Gradiska-Gradiska and Bijaca-Metkovic II border crossings.

These border posts will be used for the export of commodities subject to inspection, primarily for the export of livestock and products of animal origin, and plants and products of plant origin. Bosnia and Herzegovina has requested several more BIPs for this purpose.