The European Commission will decide today whether to expand the scope of restrictions due to African swine fever.

BarcelonaThe European Commission will decide this Wednesday at 3:00 PM whether or not to expand the 20-kilometer radius of restrictions imposed due to African swine fever (ASF), which affects up to 64 municipalities in the Barcelona area. This was confirmed by the Catalan Minister of Agriculture, Òscar Ordeig, in a statement to the Catalan Parliament. "A delegation from the European Commission [...] must decide which regionalization will be applied across Europe, whether it's the 20-kilometer radius or at the provincial level," he stated. This comes after Tuesday's announcement. The number of positive cases of the disease will rise to nine. Among wild boars.

The perimeter affected by the restrictions will determine which areas can export to other European countries and will affect any regionalization that non-EU countries can implement. According to sources at the Commission, the ARA (Aragonese Agricultural Registry) explained that, although Wednesday's decision is purely sanitary, it will directly affect which territories the sector can trade with. It should be remembered that the ban on exports from outside the EU initially affects the entire national territory, and that the Ministry of Agriculture must negotiate its regionalization on a country-by-country basis.

Some countries will follow the same criteria dictated by the EU—as is the case with the United Kingdom, according to Minister Luis Planas—while others, such as China, have already indicated that the restrictions will be limited to the Barcelona area. The Commission's decision is expected to be made public this Wednesday and will be published tomorrow in the Official Journal of the EU. The Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed will have to ratify it—or modify it, if it deems it necessary—at its next meeting, which will take place on December 16 and 17.

Ordeig calls for "unity"

With the outbreak of the crisis, the Catalan government established a two-pronged restriction zone to try to control the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak. The first zone, 6 km in diameter, coincides with the area where the infected wild boars have been found and affects 12 towns, where access to the natural environment has been prohibited. The same has been done for the entire Collserola Park. In the second zone, 20 km in diameter, leisure activities, hunting, activities related to biodiversity, or any activity that interferes with wild boar population control and biosecurity measures are restricted.

Pending the decision of the Commission, Ordeig called for "unity" among political parties and argued that a "serious image" must be projected in the management of the crisis. "The image we must project is one of rigor, seriousness, determination, responsibility, and awareness of what is at stake," he said. Regarding the criticism from political parties that President Salvador Illa has not returned from Mexico, where he is on an official trip, to address the crisis, Ordeig defended the government, stating that "this country is very fortunate to have the greatest expert in health crises" that the government could have.