Brussels, 09/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is asking Moscow for clarification on its ban on Lithuanian dairy products. The political dimension of the Russian decisions is criticised.
The Commission will check if the ban in Russia on imports of dairy products from Lithuania is compatible with WTO rules, European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht announced on Tuesday 8 October. “We will check the compatibility of these measures with the rules of the WTO”, he told the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Russia has been a member of the WTO since 2012.
The measures announced by Moscow on 6 October - which in fact have been implemented since 12 September - will be discussed at the WTO on 18 October, De Gucht stated. “Measures which are not closely linked to specific risks are inappropriate and discriminatory, and their compatibility with WTO rules seems debatable”, he said, stating that the Russian authorities have still not justified their action. On Monday, the Russian health agency spoke only of health risks. On Tuesday, De Gucht pointed out the often political motivation of decisions taken by the Russian health authorities.
On Monday, the Commission tried to calm the situation, simply calling on Moscow to clarify its position. “In line with the rules of the WTO, any restriction decided upon by Russia for health reasons must be justified by the demonstration of risk, and the measure taken must be proportionate to the level of risk identified”, the staff of European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy Tonio Borg stated.
After months of vain discussions with the Russian authorities, the Commission's opening of a procedure at the WTO on 9 July against the Russian recycling tax imposed on imported vehicles (the first affair taken to the WTO by the EU against its Russian neighbour - see EUROPE 10884) had already rekindled trade tension. In August, the strengthening of Russian checks on Lithuanian lorries travelling in Russia - checks damaging Lithuania's hauliers - also caused waves.
However, this new trade disagreement illustrates the persistent tension between the EU and Russia on the eve of the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius on 28-29 November - a summit which is due to bring the EU and six former USSR countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) closer together. Russia, which wants to build its trade alliance with countries, does not look favourably on this rapprochement between the EU and the six former USSR countries.
European Parliament says pressure unacceptable. During the informal work of the Parliament's trade committee at the beginning of October, Russia's political and economic pressure on the Eastern Partnership countries and Lithuania had been clearly signalled to the Council. On Tuesday, during a debate at the Parliament with De Gucht, MEPs had strongly criticised the trade war conducted by Russia against the Lithuanian Presidency. As well as Russia's non-respect of its WTO obligations, some MEPs -like Daniel Caspary (EPP, Germany) - criticised moves aimed at sinking the Eastern Partnership. Calling for a united response from the EU, the MEPs asked the Commission to use all the means possible to remedy the situation quickly.
Dutch dairy products in Moscow's firing line. Three days after the announcement of their ban on Lithuanian diary products, the Russian authorities started criticising the health quality of dairy products from the Netherlands on Wednesday 9 October. “The preliminary results of the audit being conducted by Russian experts until 12 October are not satisfactory”, stated an official from the Russian health authority, quoted by the news agency Interfax (our translation throughout). This criticism comes the day after strong protests from the Russian authorities and Russia's President Vladimir Putin following the questioning of a Russian diplomat in The Hague. (EH/transl.fl)