Brussels, 23/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - At the end of negotiations on 21-22 of April in Limassol (southern Cyprus), the EU and Russia had still not managed to conclude an agreement that would have seen Moscow lift its embargo on Polish meat. Russian and European leaders were only able to agree to continuing their discussions on the dossier, without, nonetheless, setting a date for another meeting. Warsaw will therefore continue to block this impetus for EU-Russia negotiations on a new partnership agreement.
On 22 April, the European commissioner for health and consumer protection, Markos Kyprianou, declared to the press that they had identified subjects on which they expected to obtain an agreement, but had not on this occasion concluded an agreement. These comments followed a meeting with the Russian delegation, led by the Russian minister for agriculture, Alexey Gordeyev. The commissioner added: “But we did get an agreement on continuing discussions, our experts will continue to work on these subjects and we will both be personally involved after the discussions”. Neither of the two leaders, however, gave a date for finally concluding the embargo hitting Polish meat, which has existed since November 2005. Kyprianou declared the day before: “We have different approaches and we need to see if we can obtain a compromise with results that are acceptable to both parties”.
Mr Gordeyev had hinted that the EU was expected to make further efforts to get Russia to lift the ban on Polish meat imports. The Russian minister indicated: “Our European partners are expecting a lot from these negotiations but we are mainly interested in getting the meat market back in order, particularly with regard to Polish products”. Russia has sent the EU a draft action plan on subjects that still need resolving. According to the Russians, the first goal is to prevent fraudulent practices on the market.
Before the meeting between the two sides, the Commission was rather optimistic about the possibility of convincing Russia to lift the embargo. Since the embargo on meat imports, Poland has been blocking the relaunch of negotiations for a new agreement, which is expected to include a chapter on energy, which the Europeans regard as being key. Warsaw considers that these restrictions are a choice for the EU and Russia, while Moscow believes that health inspection problems come from Poland. Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski made a surprise declaration on 22 April, explaining that Warsaw would maintain its veto on the EU-Russia partnership agreement, as long as Moscow refused to lift the embargo on Polish meat. Quoted by the PAP agency, the latter stated: “Everything is the same as before. We do not agree in beginning discussions with Russia on a new agreement as long as this affair is not sorted out”. The German minister for foreign affairs, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, is still hoping that the problem will be settled in time for the next EU-Russia summit on 18 May in Samara, on the banks of the Volga, in an effort to give a boost to the negotiations on this date.(lc)