RCG10

10th meeting of the Regional Core Group for Europe

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The 10th meeting of the Regional Core Group of the Regional Commission for Europe (RCG-10) was held in London, on the 2nd and the 3rd December 2019. The participants welcomed the arrival of three new RCG members: Dr Vasili Basiladze, OIE Delegate of Georgia and the two newly elected Members of the Bureau of the Regional Commission for Europe: Ms. Vesna Dakovic, OIE Delegate of Montenegro and Dr Ivan Smilghin, OIE Delegate of Belarus.

All the participants reviewed and committed themselves to the format of the meeting by increasing the participation of the members of the Core Group in delivery of particular topics of the meeting, and better ownership of all the activities. The OIE Delegates of Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Montenegro presented the OIE activities in their countries (WHO-FAO-OIE Joint Risk Assessment, OIE PVS training and OIE Communication Focal Point Seminar).

To better define and improve the functioning of the RCG, the participants discussed the draft of updated Terms of References for RCG aligned with the 7th Strategic Plan and with the OIE Basic text, as well as the provisions of the Regional Workplan Framework for the RCG. A regular update of this Workplan has been requested by the participants, to ensure it always address the real needs of the Europe Region.

This meeting confirmed the new appointment of the RCG Secretariat in the Regional Representation of the OIE in Moscow.

The Secretariat and other OIE representatives provided updated information on the activities of the GF-TADs for Europe related to the Standing Groups of Experts for ASF, LSD, and Rabies. A specific slot was dedicated to present the new communication strategy of the OIE. With African Swine Fever, Rabies, antimicrobial resistance, the OIE global website is now fully operational, providing a wider range of communication tools. The Europe OIE website, launched in mid-November in conjunction with those of the other regions, is expected to be a living tool, to regularly inform on regional activities and expertise. A specific session was committed to activities implemented under Animal Welfare Platform for Europe.

The presentations generated productive discussions on the recent and upcoming activities of the OIE Council and the OIE Specialist Commissions, the OIE newly developed projects proposal and draft strategies: Observatory project, OIE-WAHIS,  Aquatic Animal Health strategy, 7th OIE Strategic Plan and global framework for prevention and control of ASF, developed jointly by OIE and FAO.

As per previous years, the participants discussed the preparation of the 88th General Session and the possible chapters proposed for adoption, for which a common position of the 53 members of the Regional Commission for Europe should be envisaged.

The 18 follow-up actions identified during the discussions are detailed in the full report.

Georgia kindly proposed to host the next RCG meeting (RCG11) on the 21-22 April 2020 in Tbilisi. This meeting will give the opportunity to review the governance documents developed for the RCG, in order to request their endorsement by the Regional Commission during its meeting in the OIE General Session in May 2020.

Key documents

Agenda, List of participants