Russia is threatening to impose an import ban on all European Union (EU) meat products from 1 January over concerns about the safety of the meat produced in Bulgaria, Romania and Poland.
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Moscow has written to the European Commission warning of a potential embargo following the recent admission of Bulgaria and Romania into the EU. Russia claims safety concerns over meat products produced in these countries, which would henceforth have free circulation in the EU.
In recent announcements, the EC has stressed that it has restricted pig meat exports from these new member states over swine fever concerns. The Commission has also blocked all trade with 387 Romanian meat producers until it is satisfied that the foodstuffs manufactured are safe.
The row comes as Poland is blocking progress towards a broad based Russia-EU trade deal because of an existing Russian ban on its meat exports, leading European health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou to call the ban “unjustified” and stress the EU’s “strict food safety mechanisms”, which he expects “third countries to respect.”
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