Members of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA) held an initial exchange of views on Wednesday 19 February on the European Commission’s proposal to increase tariffs on agricultural imports from Russia and Belarus (see EUROPE 13567/1). The elected representatives encouraged the initiative, insofar as they were in support of the objective of cutting Russia’s income and therefore impacting its war effort.
However, many MEPs insisted on the need to monitor market prices following the measures so that any unsustainable rise in prices for the relevant products could be avoided. Among these, nitrogen-based fertilisers are particularly important for European producers. At a meeting of the European Council’s Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) on Friday 14 February, several Member States expressed the same fears (see EUROPE 13581/6).
The European Commission reassured MEPs that a safeguard had been included in the future regulation so that tariffs could be suspended in the event of a significant rise in prices compared to last year’s practices.
Responding to questions from MEPs, the European Commission also indicated that the EU had a list of partners capable of supplying it with nitrogen-based fertilisers, such as Morocco, Norway, Algeria and Egypt, and all without import tariffs.
They also noted that European production also covers a large proportion of needs. “Before the start of the war in Ukraine, European industry supplied 70% of demand”, said the European Commission representative.
The European Parliament’s rapporteur for the text, Inese Vaidere (EPP, Latvian), said she was in favour of the Commission’s proposal, which she had called for. “With this, we not only ensure that we are not vulnerable to manipulative actions by Russia, it also promotes our autonomy”, she insisted. She also called on colleagues to “swiftly adopt this necessary file”. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)