von der Leyen: No compensation for foot-and-mouth disease was paid either in the TRNC or in the Republic of Cyprus

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that no compensation from European Union funds had been paid in connection with the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Cyprus — neither to farmers in the Republic of Cyprus nor to livestock breeders in the TRNC. She sent the written reply to Michalis Hadjipantela, a Member of the European Parliament from the Republic of Cyprus.

The issue was prompted by a request from the MEP, who forwarded complaints from Cypriot livestock breeders to the European Commission. They claimed that farms in the TRNC do not comply with European requirements and that granting them the same compensation would be discriminatory. The newspaper Fileleftheros published the request and the response to it.

Von der Leyen confirmed that the European Commission was aware of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Cyprus and stressed that, in order to stop and eradicate the disease, all necessary measures provided for under EU animal health legislation must be applied across the entire island. Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious viral disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals; outbreaks usually lead to quarantine measures and bans on the movement of livestock.

According to her, no compensation for foot-and-mouth disease had been paid from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) fund, and no payments had been made to livestock breeders in the TRNC either. CAP funds for the country are distributed by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Cyprus under the CAP Strategic Plan for 2023–2027.

EU funds, von der Leyen added, will go only to the “areas controlled by the Republic of Cyprus that are implementing the measures required by Brussels to eradicate foot-and-mouth disease in Cyprus”.

The European Commission President noted that her services were maintaining contact with the government of the Republic of Cyprus on prevention issues and welcomed cooperation between the two communities — including through the veterinary subcommittee of the Technical Committee on Health. The European Commission, she said, would continue to support measures aimed at eradicating foot-and-mouth disease throughout Cyprus as soon as possible.