RUSSIA: European Union's envoy to Moscow says Russia's ban on imports of vegetables from EU countries not justified
Record ID:
560929
RUSSIA: European Union's envoy to Moscow says Russia's ban on imports of vegetables from EU countries not justified
- Title: RUSSIA: European Union's envoy to Moscow says Russia's ban on imports of vegetables from EU countries not justified
- Date: 4th June 2011
- Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (JUNE 3, 2011) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR MOSCOW GROCERY STORE 'AZBUKA VKUSA' CUSTOMERS SHOPPING FOR VEGETABLES AT GROCERY STORE CUCUMBERS AND TOMATOES AT GROCERY STORE PEOPLE BUYING VEGETABLES VARIOUS CUCUMBERS AND TOMATOES AT GROCERY STORE CUSTOMERS IN STORE POTATOES IN STORE CUSTOMER AND CLERK IN STORE SQUASH IN STORE MOSCOW, RUSSIA (JUNE 3, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EUROPEAN UNION ENVOY TO MOSCOW FERNANDO VALENZUELA TAKING SEAT AT NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN UNION ENVOY TO MOSCOW FERNANDO VALENZUELA, SAYING: "In our view, this ban is not justified because it is disproportionate and because there is not sufficient scientific base to justify a ban which is across the board for all the vegetables and for all the EU member states, as I said, without the scientific base for it." JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN UNION ENVOY TO MOSCOW FERNANDO VALENZUELA, SAYING: "It's a bit surprising that at the time that you are going to join the (WTO) organization you still take measures that go in the opposite direction. So, for these reasons we would like to see this ban lifted immediately or as soon as possible." MOSCOW, RUSSIA (JUNE 2, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS KREMLIN TOWERS
- Embargoed: 19th June 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Russian Federation
- Country: Russia
- Topics: International Relations,Health
- Reuters ID: LVA7CLUKD976NCZ67CFHW6QV46CE
- Story Text: The European Union's envoy to Moscow said on Friday (June 3) that Russia's ban on imports of raw vegetables from the EU was not justified and contradicted World Trade Organisation rules.
Russia enforced the ban after accusing Brussels of failing to give sufficient information about a deadly E.coli outbreak.
EU envoy Fernando Valenzuela repeated the EU's call for the lifting of the ban imposed on Thursday and said Moscow's move was disproportionate. The outbreak has killed at least 17 people and food poisoning appears to be spreading from Germany.
Speaking the week before Russia hosts EU leaders at a summit, Valenzuela said the ban was not justified.
"In our view, this ban is not justified because it is disproportionate and because there is not sufficient scientific base to justify a ban which is across the board for all the vegetables and for all the EU member states, as I said, without the scientific base for it," Valenzuela said.
The EU envoy also said that he hoped the situation would be resolved within days, expressing surprise that Russia would impose a ban, the breadth of which he said goes against WTO rules at a time when Moscow is pressing to join the world trade body.
"It's a bit surprising that at the time that you are going to join the (WTO) organization you still take measures that go in the opposite direction. So, for these reasons we would like to see this ban lifted immediately or as soon as possible," Valenzuela said, adding that the ban was hitting an important part of EU-Russian trade, and suggested it could undermine Russia's campaign to join the WTO, if it is not lifted soon.
Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said shortly after Valenzuela's announcement on Friday (June 3) that Russia will not consider lifting a ban on European Union vegetable imports until it hears from the EU about the source of a deadly E.coli outbreak.
Using stark language to parry EU accusations that the ban contradicts World Trade Organisation rules, Putin said he would not poison Russians just to act in the spirit of the WTO, which Russia hopes soon to join after 18 years of trying.
"All the Euro-zone countries have already fought among themselves because of these cucumbers. Now they're pulling us into the scandal. Yes, our sanitation service closed the import of vegetable produce from the European Union. We ourselves don't like this as it is not autumn now when we have enough of our own produce. Now it's just the beginning of summer and we, in principle, are interested in the import of this produce. Representatives of the EU commission are now saying that this decision of Russia contradicts the spirit of the WTO (World Trade Organization). Frankly speaking, I don't know what spirit that contradicts, but the cucumbers from which the people die really smell nasty," Putin said in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.
Russia announced the ban on Thursday, accusing Brussels of failing to give sufficient information about the E.coli outbreak that has led to 17 reported deaths, all but one in Germany, and made more than 1,700 people ill. It may be the deadliest strain of E.coli bacteria yet in human history, health officials said on Friday.
European Union countries exported 594 million euros ($853 million) worth of vegetables to Russia last year while EU imports of vegetables from Russia were just 29 million euros, EU data show. It was not clear what proportion of that was raw.
Germany is at the centre of the outbreak. But with the exact source of the illness still a mystery, consumers appear to be increasingly nervous around the world. Some 1,624 people in Europe and the United States have so far become ill, probably from eating contaminated vegetables and salads. The WHO said the strain was a rare one, seen in humans before, but never in this kind of outbreak.
The death toll is expected to rise further when Germany updates numbers later in the day after a public holiday on Thursday. Experts say the source is likely to be in Germany. People have also become ill in Austria, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, Britain and United States.
E.coli infections can spread from person to person but only by what is known as the faecal-oral route. Health experts in Germany have recommended consumers avoid eating raw vegetables. The outbreak is causing bad infections and in a number of cases, complications affecting blood and kidneys. Haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), which frequently leads to kidney failure and can kill, has been diagnosed in hundreds of the cases.
Many patients have been hospitalised, with several needing intensive care, including dialysis due to kidney complications. The strain is part of a class of bacteria known as Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli or STEC that produces a poison known as the shiga toxin. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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