Commission claiming limited greening impact

Claims over income loss

The Russian ban on food imports from the EU will continue into next year.

This was confirmed by Russia after the EU agreed to extend by six months the sanctions imposed on Moscow last year because of its actions in Ukraine.

This prompted confirmation that the Russian ban would also continue and may be widened to other farm products.

The ban has hit EU exports badly, initially for fruit and vegetables from countries, including Poland, that were daily exporters to Russia. It quickly spread to other products. It forced the introduction of a private storage scheme to take pork off the market to stabilise prices.

Thishasworked, butthereareconcerns that gains could be reversed when this productcomesbackontothemarketfrom August onwards.

The loss of the Russian market for cheese is one of the factors behind the EU-wide plunge in milk prices. Figures fromtheEuropeanCommissionthisweek confirmed that agri-food exports have dropped by 4% since the Russian ban came in last August. Predictably the biggestloserswerethosecountriesreliant onexportstoRussia– Poland, Finlandand the Baltic states.

A number of countries in the World Trade Organisation have cast further doubts over European Commission plans toallowmemberstatestodecidewhether to import and use genetically modified (GM) crops for livestock feeds.

This adds to the pressure on the Commission from MEPs and national governments to drop this proposal.

The objections are from countries with – or planning to have closer trade ties with – the EU, which grow and use GM crops. These include the United States, Canada, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Brazil.

They have echoed warnings that this would be an illegal ban on trade because it would lack a scientific basis.

They have also said it would threaten freedom of movement under Single Market regulations, which would hamper importers who produce products for sale to other EU member states.

Against this background it is difficult to see how the Commission can do anything other than drop this proposal, although it will be reluctant to admit defeat.