Brussels, 08/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 8 July, Poland's Deputy Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak denounced the fact that Russia's embargo on vegetable imports was still in place. Moscow had, on 2 June, imposed an embargo on imports of all fresh vegetables from Europe as a measure to contain the epidemic caused by the deadly E.coli bacteria in Germany, a measure that had immediately given rise to protest from the EU. Since then, several EU member states including Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium have managed to have the embargo lifted, at bilateral level.
Pawlak, cited by the PAP agency, said that, as far as European trade relations go, the Russian approach is unacceptable, as is that of a number of European countries that have quietly approached Moscow “on their knees” calling for special treatment. “It is time for the EU to become a united market”, said Pawlak, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union. Poland's Deputy Agriculture Minister Jaros³aw Wojtowicz is currently in Moscow seeking to find an overall solution to the Russian embargo. Each year, the EU exports 1.1 million tones of vegetables, worth around €600 million, to Russia, the European Commission states. The main exporters of such products to Russia include Poland, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Belgium. (L.C./transl.jl)