Brussels, 02/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 2 March, Russia threatened to “suspend” the import of products of animal origin from the EU, after the discovery, it said, of meat which contained dangerous bacteria. Moscow has given EU member states until 31 March to provide reports on the quality of their products. Chief Russian veterinary officer Sergei Dankvert, it would appear, has sent a letter to the European Commission calling on each EU member state to provide him, before the end of the month, with reports on the possible presence of “banned toxic substances” in meat imported into Russia by European operators in 2006, and a monitoring plan for these substances for 2007. The Russian veterinary control agency says that, in 2006, it discovered salmonella in samples of meat from Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, and listeria in Dutch meat. By Friday afternoon, the European Commission had yet to receive the said letter, and hoped that a solution to this possible problem could be found thanks to the protocol of agreement on trade in farmed products between the two parties. This document was signed about thirty days ago precisely to remove the threat of a Russian embargo on EU agricultural products (see EUROPE 9349). This latest pressure further lessens the chances of a rapid lifting of the Russian embargo on Polish meat. Because of this embargo, Warsaw is continuing to block the opening of negotiations on a new EU-Russia partnership agreement. (lc)