The European Union Reference Laboratory (EURL) for Foot-and-Mouth Disease held its 7th annual workshop in Antwerp, Belgium, on September 30^th and October 1^st 2025. The event was held in person and brought together nearly 50 participants, including representatives from laboratories in EU member states, candidate countries and neighboring nations. Francesco Berlingieri represented DG-SANTE of the European Commission.

The workshop began with welcome and introductory remarks from Nick De Regge (Sciensano, Deputy Head of EURL), Labib Bakkali Kassimi (former Head of EURL, retired), and Guillaume Girault (Anses, Head of EURL). Francesco Berlingieri then addressed to the participants, thanking them and emphasizing the essential role of the EURL, particularly in managing the Foot-and-Mouth disease outbreaks that occurred in the European Union in 2025. Stephan Zientara (Anses, Director of Animal Health Laboratory in Anses and Chair of the EuFMD Standing Technical Committee (STC)) also welcomed the participants and praised the teams from Anses and Sciensano for their commitment. He then presented the new composition of the STC, which now includes Nick De Regge and Guillaume Girault.

Following a roundtable introduction, the scientific part of the workshop began with a presentation by Guillaume Girault on the EURL’s activities over the past year (2024–2025). The next session focused on the global and regional epidemiological situation of Foot-and-Mouth disease. Guillaume Girault provided a global overview, followed by Can Çokçalışkan (SAP Institute, Turkey), who presented the situation in Türkiye. A third session was dedicated to the outbreaks that occurred within the EU and their consequences for affected and neighboring countries. Michael Eschbaumer (FLI, Germany), Adrienn Örkényi (Nebih, Hungary), and Martin Tinak (SVU, Slovakia) shared their respective experiences, while Adi Steinrigl (AGES, Austria) offered the perspective of a disease-free country located near affected areas.

The next session, focused on diagnostics, began with a presentation by Aurore Romey (Anses) on the types of samples best suited for effective virus and disease detection. Phaedra Eblé (WBVR, Netherlands) then presented the results of a study on the use of oral and nasal swabs. Finally, Anne-Laure Salomez (Anses) shared the results of the EURL’s annual proficiency test. The first day concluded with a group discussion on preparedness strategies in the event of suspected Foot-and-Mouth disease, illustrated by the experiences of the three countries affected in 2025.

The second day began with a session on genomic sequencing and the use of databases. Guillaume Girault presented the use of full-genome sequencing during the 2025 EU outbreaks, as well as the online tool OpenFMD, developed by the Pirbright Institute (UK). The final session, focused on vaccination and biosafety, began with a presentation by Anne-Sophie Bultinck (Sciensano) on the results of an animal experiment. Aldo Dekker (WBVR, Netherlands) then raised concerns about potential risks associated with the combined use of dry ice and “diagnobags.” The workshop concluded with a summary of key messages and closing remarks from Guillaume Girault and Nick De Regge.

This workshop was marked by rich exchanges, particularly around the outbreaks that occurred in 2025. The involvement of the Sciensano and Anses teams, along with the active participation of EURL members, greatly contributed to its success.