LONDON, England -- European Union foreign ministers on Tuesday declared the spread of bird flu from Asia into Europe a "global threat" requiring international action. The meeting issued a statement saying bird flu posed a serious, global health threat if it shifted from birds to humans and one that required "a coordinated international reaction." However, European Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said that the presence of bird flu in southeastern Europe did not increase the risk of a pandemic."The fact we have avian flu in Europe does not affect the possibility of a human influenza pandemic," Kyprianou told a news conference, calling for increased preparedness on the part of Europe if bird flu spread to humans. Kyprianou said most of the 25 EU governments lack sufficient stocks of anti-viral drugs designed to boost resistance to the common flu of such risk groups as the elderly, the young, diabetics and others.He said the EU was working on a deal with the pharmaceutical industry whereby EU governments will "increase vaccination for seasonal flu ... and the industry will invest more to build up manufacturing capacity.""We have not reached the level of (vaccination) preparedness that we should have," Kyprianou told reporters after updating the EU foreign ministers on the westward spreading of bird flu."The ministers met as 12 new cases of bird flu were discovered in Romania and a day after tests in Greece indicated the virus has reached the EU for the first time. (Full story)And samples from a dead bird were sent from Macedonia to London for testing after a large number of birds died in the village of Bitola near the border with Greece, a member of Macedonia's parliament said Tuesday.Gorgi Orovcanec, who is also former minister of health, said that while "many" birds died only one was suspected of having "some kind of disease." The EU was also preparing to ban sales of live birds and poultry from the Aegean Sea region of Chios pending tests on samples taken from turkeys feared infected with the deadly Asian H5N1 strain.Swiss drug maker Roche, pressed to raise output of antiviral flu drug Tamiflu, said it would consider allowing rival firms and governments to produce it under licence for emergency pandemic use. A Dutch company said it was working on a vaccine. The EU's Kyprianou told the news conference that that in the Greek case antibodies had been found but bird flu had not been confirmed.He called for "international action and international solidarity -- especially with the countries most affected in Asia." Poultry from Turkey and Romania have already been banned by the EU as bird flu found there was confirmed as H5N1. Tests were also being carried out on birds in Bulgaria and Croatia.EU officials moved to reassure the public."We have already taken all steps necessary. Once it has touched European soil, then we have raised all the measures we should take," Kyprianou told reporters."I don't think we have to enter into panic," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said. The EU foreign ministers stressed the need for the EU to coordinate any efforts to stamp out bird flu in consultation with specialized United Nations organizations. Officials stressed the EU does not consider bird flu to be a European problem but that it recognizes there is a threat of a pandemic. Also seeking to calm public fears, the head of the EU's new agency for disease prevention on Monday downplayed the current risk to humans."The risk to human health, to public health, at this stage is minimal," said Zsuzsanna Jakab of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. However, she said the Stockholm, Sweden-based agency was drawing up guidelines on how workers who deal with infected animals can protect themselves against infection. Romania detected 12 new cases of suspected bird flu in the Danube delta Tuesday, one of them close to the border with Ukraine, Agriculture Minister Gheorghe Flutur said. (Full story)"A swan tested positive with antibodies close to the border with Ukraine, near the village of C.A. Rosetti," Flutur told reporters. "A few swans in Maliuc and a wild duck in Ceamurlia de Jos also tested seropositive." The southernmost German state of Bavaria -- which lies along the fight path of migrating birds -- banned poultry sales Tuesday in an effort to avoid the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu.The Bavarian Ministry for Consumer Protection and Health said Tuesday, "Since Monday, poultry markets in Bavaria are banned."As of Wednesday, all poultry in this state will have to be indoors.""Bavaria is taking these measures as its area covers many migrating birds' flight path," the ministry said. "Bavaria is asking for a Germany-wide indoor rule for poultry."TestsGreece was testing a bird found on the tiny eastern Aegean island of Inousses to establish if the bird flu virus it bore was the H5N1 strain, which first emerged in Hong Kong in 1997 and has killed more than 60 people."As a purely precautionary measure we have ... imposed an export ban of living poultry, meat and other poultry products from the region of Chios to other areas, the EU member states and third countries," Greek Agriculture Minister Evangelos Basiakos told Reuters.No human cases of the virus have been found in Europe.The World Health Organization has expressed fears that alarm in Europe could distract attention from what is the real seat of the danger in southeast Asia. More than 60 people have died of the disease in Asia where, by contrast to Europe, people often live close to poultry and are exposed to a greater peril.In Bulgaria, which neighbors Romania and Turkey, newspapers have spoken of "panic" and "hysteria."Sofia has urged calm but is preparing a national crisis headquarters and stepping up border controls and surveillance of poultry farms and wetlands near its Danube River boundary -- seen as a major conduit for migrating birds.Croatia is also testing dead birds found by citizens.Focus on GreeceGreece, however, was the focus of attention on Tuesday, where results of tests for the H5N1 virus were awaited.People on the Greek island of Inousses, where the suspect bird was discovered, found themselves the center of media attention. The farmer who alerted authorities after seeing turkeys fall ill said he feared for his island."Yes I am concerned, but not just for me but for all the people here," Dimitris Komninaris told reporters. "But everyone on the island is keeping calm."Greeks sought out the antiviral drug Tamiflu, reflecting growing demand throughout Europe.European officials say the 25 nations in the EU, as well as Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, have only 10 million doses now for an area of almost 500 million people, and will have only 46 million doses by the end of 2007. Stockpiling vaccines is difficult as flu viruses can mutate quickly. Roche Holding said it would be willing to discuss giving a production licence for Tamiflu to rival firms including Indian generic drug maker Cipla. Executive David Reddy told Reuters however the firm had not yet been approached by Cipla, which says it could make a copy-cat version to help governments build stockpiles.Dutch company Akzo Bobel said it was working on a human vaccine against H5N1 and would begin clinical trials next year.Besides the human danger, countries visited by bird flu in its various forms can face grave economic losses. The milder H5N7 strain struck the Netherlands in 2003, prompting slaughter of 30 million birds and losses estimated at 500 million euros.Journalist Anthee Carassava in Athens contributed to this reportCopyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.