EU, Russia agree on meat imports
A Russian ban on EU meat imports has been averted after talks between Russian Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev and EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou. Russia threatened an embargo on all European Union meat imports due to concerns over sanitary standards in future EU member states Bulgaria and Romania. The talks took away Russia’s concerns and will preserve uninterrupted trade between Russia and the EU. The two officials did not discuss the Russian ban on Polish meat, which caused Poland to veto vital Russia - European Union trade talks since November.
“The main goal is preserving uninterrupted trade between Russia and the EU, and I believe that we achieved that,” Kyprianou told journalists at a joint news conference.
Gordeyev said the two sides had come to an agreement that allayed Russian concerns that meat from Bulgaria and Romania might reach Russia via other EU countries.
“We recognize the fact that the banned products will not come through third countries that are part of the EU,” Gordeyev said.
The European Commission added in a statement that “the verbal agreement remains subject to finalization by experts” and the signing of a memorandum of understanding on January 18.Read the full article at EUBusiness by clicking here.
Administrator @ December 20, 2006