New confirmed cases in both Baltic states trigger tighter movement restrictions
Implementing Regulation 2026/97 amends Annex I to Commission Implementing Regulation 2023/594, which establishes the EU-wide framework of special control measures for African Swine Fever. The amendment responds to two new confirmed outbreaks in captive pigs reported by Latvia and Lithuania in December 2025.
In Latvia, an area in Augšdaugava, which had previously been classified as a Zone II restricted area has been upgraded to Zone III status, following a confirmed ASF outbreak in captive pigs. The boundaries of Zone II and III areas have also been redrawn to reflect the new epidemiological situation. In Lithuania, the same reclassification applies to an area in Šiauliai county, which was also previously registered as a Zone II, now elevated to Zone III following a confirmed captive pig outbreak in December 2025.
Zone III designation carries the most stringent controls under the 2023/594 framework. It prohibits the movement of live pigs, pork products, and related materials out of the zone except under strictly controlled conditions, and subjects operators within the zone to enhanced biosecurity and surveillance requirements. The upgrade from Zone II to Zone III reflects a material increase in disease risk that the existing lower-tier controls were insufficient to contain.
The Regulation replaces Annex I in its entirety with an updated version incorporating all current zone designations across the affected member states, including previously established zones in Germany, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Italy, Czechia, Greece, and Croatia, as well as the two new Latvian and Lithuanian upgrades.
