03/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - Belarus' embargo on EU potatoes. According to The Voice of Russia, Belarus' minister for agriculture has applied a temporary ban on potato seeds and supplies since 1 February. This is at the request of the Russian veterinary and phytosanitary monitoring agency, and in line with the customs union agreement with Russia and Kazakhstan on plant quarantine. Questioned about this issue on 3 February, European Commission staff said they knew about this ban through the press and unofficial sources, but the Commission had not yet been officially informed by the Belarusian authorities. (EH/transl.fl)