Romanian sheep farmers clashed with police in Bucharest on September 15 during a protest against European Union restrictions on live sheep and goat exports, with security forces using tear gas to disperse participants and several people taken into custody for questioning.

Bucharest prefect Andrei Nistor stated that the images captured with drones and analysed by the Gendarmerie command centre showed that large groups of demonstrators, later identified by Nistor as hooligans, were moving quickly towards the areas where incidents were breaking out. "Whose protest was today? The shepherds', sabotaged by hooligans? Or the hooligans', organised for some time, in which the shepherds were fooled?" wrote the prefect of the capital city on Facebook.

Romania is Europe’s largest and the world’s third-largest exporter of live sheep, with Arab countries among its main destinations. It exported €240mn worth of live sheep last year, 2.4 times more than a decade earlier, while exports had been projected at €260mn in 2026 before the restrictions. It recently expanded with a large frame contract on the Algerian market, traditionally controlled by Spain -- Europe's second-largest exporter.

The demonstration outside the government headquarters began peacefully but escalated after some protesters pushed against security barriers and threw objects at police. The rally had not been registered by organisers or authorised by the authorities.

Farmers are opposing European Commission restrictions on the movement of live sheep and goats from Romania to other EU member states and the ban on exports to third countries. The measures followed outbreaks of peste des petits ruminants (PPR), including a new outbreak in Mureş County this year, and have been extended through December 31, 2026.

The farmers are demanding more flexible rules for their activity, flexible labour regulations, compensation for losses caused by the restrictions and the resignation of the president of Romania’s National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA), Alexandru Bociu. They are also calling for a livestock “zootechnical radar” to improve traceability and monitoring, as well as criminal penalties for forged animal identification and movement documents.

The opposition nationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) has expressed support for the farmers’ demands and had representatives at the protest, while calling on participants to avoid violence.

Romanian authorities are seeking to restore exports at the end of 2026. Deputy Prime Minister and acting Agriculture Minister Tánczos Barna and Bociu met European Commission officials in Brussels on September 4 to discuss measures needed to resume exports. The action plan presented by ANSVSA was reviewed during the meeting.

“Concrete perspectives for unblocking exports have been identified,” Barna said.

The dispute has also acquired a commercial and political dimension in Romanian media because the European Commission official overseeing animal-health policy involved in the restrictions, Francisco Reviriego Gordejo, is Spanish. Reviriego Gordejo heads the Animal Health Unit within the Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE).

Romanian agricultural publication Agrointel highlighted his Spanish nationality in the context of competition between Romania and Spain in international sheep markets. Spain is Europe’s second-largest sheep exporter and has an established presence in North African markets, including Algeria, where Romania has recently sought to expand its exports. The publication described the coincidence as a potential commercial conflict, although there is no evidence presented that Reviriego Gordejo’s nationality influenced the Commission’s decision.

The issue is particularly sensitive because Romania had secured a major Algerian contract under which more than 200,000 sheep were due to be exported in 2026 at a negotiated price of €5.3 per kilogram. Romanian media have reported that the contract could have allowed Romania to capture market share from established suppliers, including Spain.

Romanian media have also criticised ANSVSA over the handling of the PPR outbreaks and the disclosure of commercial details surrounding the Algerian contract, arguing that publicising the negotiated price and other logistical details may have weakened Romania’s competitive position. Those claims remain media allegations rather than established findings.