A second outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease has been discovered in France's Seine-et-Marne region east of Paris, the agriculture ministry announced tonight.
The first outbreak was discovered in the western department of Mayenne on March 13.
Yesterday French agriculture minister Mr Jean Glavany said he was becoming more confident with each passing day that a "way out" of the foot-and-mouth crisis would be found.
In Italy preliminary tests have proved negative on 12 goats - which were part of a herd imported from France - suspected of having foot-and-mouth disease, the Italian health ministry said today.
But it said in a statement on its website that final test results from the animals would not be available until next week.
The 332 goats were imported from Montreuil in France to a farm in Montefoscoli di Palaia, near Pisa. Italy so far has escaped the foot-and-mouth outbreak.
The EU's Standing Veterinary Committee meet today in Brussels to debate whether to relax a long-standing ban on foot-and-mouth vaccinations. Any decisions the committee takes must be approved by the European Commission.
The issue of mass foot-and-mouth vacation of livestock was not raised during 15-20 minute roundtable discussion by EU leaders at the EU summit in Sweden today, said Sweden's state secretary for European affairs Mr Lars Danielsson.
Though the summit was called to focus mainly on economic issues, Mr Danielsson said its host, Swedish Prime Minister Mr Goeran Persson, promised to add foot-and-mouth to the final communique tomorrow.
Mr Danielsson said it was unlikely the EU leaders would again bring up foot-and-mouth before the end of the summit.
AFP &