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Switzerland is to ban imports of live pigs and pork from several EU countries, including Bulgaria, in a bid to stop an African swine fever outbreak from reaching the country.
Imports from Bulgaria and Romania and some parts of Latvia and Croatia will be banned as of Wednesday, Swiss food safety authorities said on Tuesday.
All live pigs and boars, their meat, sperm, eggs and embryos will be covered by the ban, according to the decree.
Posing a lethal threat to commercial pig farms, African swine fever has spread throughout the Balkans, the Caucasus and Russia since 2007, and is endemic to areas of Africa, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
The disease was detected in late June in Latvia when three wild boar were found dead near the Belarus border. Authorities there responded by ordering a mass cull of pigs.
The disease is thought to have emanated from Belarus, and was also confirmed earlier this year in wild boar in fellow European Union countries Poland and Lithuania.
Unemployment in Bulgaria decreased to 3.9% in November 2024, down from 4.0% in October and significantly lower than the 4.4% recorded in November 2023,
Bulgaria is falling behind the EU average in terms of government expenditure as a percentage of GDP, particularly in the areas of social protection, education, and healthcare
Hristijan Mickoski, Prime Minister of North Macedonia, commented on the challenges of EU accession, stating that the process has been "Balkanized" rather than "Europeanized"
As of January 1, Poland has assumed the rotating presidency of the European Union for the next six months
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised the agreement reached by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to admit Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen Area by land, calling it a significant step
The President of the European Council, António Costa, expressed his personal commitment to addressing bilateral issues between countries as part of the EU enlargement process
The weather in Bulgaria on January 13 will bring snow to the southern regions, with significant accumulations expected in mountainous areas such as the Rila-Rhodope massif
Hospitals in major Bulgarian cities like Sofia, Pleven, Plovdiv, and Blagoevgrad have been found to be draining funds from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF)
Several Bulgarian municipalities have adjusted their local taxes and fees for 2025
Insurers have expressed concerns about a potential rise in the cost of "Civil Liability" insurance for car owners in Bulgaria
The Road Infrastructure Agency has urged drivers to ensure their vehicles are properly prepared for winter conditions in the coming days, as meteorologists forecast rain and snow in Northwestern Bulgaria and the Fore-Balkans
On January 11, the weather across Bulgaria will generally be mostly cloudy, with varying precipitation depending on the region
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