Poultry imports from North Macedonia and Bosnia & Herzegovina

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/641 of 25 March 2025 amending Annexes V, XIV and XV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 as regards the entries for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, the Republic of North Macedonia, the United Kingdom and the United States in the lists of third countries, territories or zones thereof authorised for the entry into the Union of consignments of poultry and germinal products of poultry, of fresh meat of poultry and game birds, and of meat products from poultry

Update

Following an outbreak of Newcastle disease, the European Union (EU) has restricted imports of poultry products from North Macedonia to those products that have received specific risk-mitigating treatment (risk-mitigating treatment D).

Regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina, the EU has lifted its suspension of imports of poultrymeat, and removed requirements to apply risk-mitigating treatment to poultry products that were put in place in February 2025 in response to an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) infection. The country has demonstrated that poultry exports are not a risk to animal or public health in the EU.

Impacted Products

Poultry meat and products

What is changing?

Due to an outbreak of Newcastle disease in poultry in the municipality of Jegunovtse, confirmed on 12 March 2025, exports of poultry products from the Republic of North Macedonia to the EU are only permitted if the following risk-mitigating treatment D is applied to the products:

• heated to a minimum temperature of 70°C, which must be reached throughout the meat

(Regulation 2020/692, Annex XXVI).

Following measures undertaken by Bosnia and Herzegovina to manage an outbreak of HPAI in February 2025 (see HPAI: Restrictions on poultry from Bosnia and Herzegovina), the EU is lifting the prohibition of imports of fresh poultry. It is also removing the requirement that poultry products must undergo risk-mitigating treatment D. ( “D” is replaced by “A”, meaning no treatment, in column 10 of the table set out in Part 1, Section A of Annex XV.)

Regulation 2021/404 Annexes XIV and XV are amended accordingly. (The consolidated version is not yet available; current consolidated version: 13/11/2024.)

Why?

The EU regularly updates the list of non-EU countries authorised to export animal products in response to emerging animal health risks in exporting countries, in order to protect the animal health status of the EU.

On 11 March 2025, Bosnia and Herzegovina submitted updated information about the measures it has taken to prevent the further spread of HPAI outbreaks declared in February. The European Commission concluded that HPAI outbreaks have been cleared and that there is no longer any risk associated with exports of poultry fresh meat and products from Bosnia and Herzegovina to the EU.

Timeline

The Regulation applies from 26 March 2025.

What are the major implications for exporting countries?

North Macedonia: only poultry products that have undergone risk-mitigating treatment D can be exported to the EU.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: poultry meat and products can once more be exported to the EU without restrictions.

Recommended Actions

Animal health rules must be strictly applied by non-EU countries in order to be able to export animals and animal products to the EU while avoiding the spread of diseases. It is important that competent authorities and operators work together to monitor animal health and keep diseases under control. Exporters should follow the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), where rules can be found for each disease.

Background

The EU’s Animal Health Law (Regulation 2016/429) provides a framework for monitoring animal health issues and responding to risks. To export products of animal origin to the EU, non-EU countries must be listed for particular species and categories of animals and germinal products (semen, ova, and embryos).

Regulation 2020/692 supplements the Animal Health Law regarding the animal health requirements for imports into the EU.

Implementing Regulation 2021/404 establishes the lists of authorised “third countries” (non-EU countries). The list is regularly updated, for example in the event of an outbreak of a notifiable disease, or if there is an improvement in the animal health situation in a country.

Resources

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