EU food chief in 11th-hour bid to avert Russia ban

Europe's food safety chief, nervous about Moscow's threat to ban all EU plant exports, will make a fresh offer to his Russian opposite number next week in a bid to end months of trade tension, diplomats said on Friday. Russia has blocked imports of a string of farm products from EU countries, including Germany, Denmark, Estonia and the Netherlands, saying they do not meet sanitary standards, although it has partially lifted its ban on some Dutch products.
It wants a common safety certificate for EU plant and vegetable exports from April 1, to replace the 25 different national versions that are now in use.
The focus is now on a crucial Brussels meeting scheduled for Tuesday, when EU Food Safety Commissioner Markos Kyprianou will sit down with Sergei Dankvert, head of Russia's federal veterinary and phytosanitary inspection service.
"The general feeling is that we're running extremely close to the deadline. The focus now is on March 15 and trying to avoid a blanket ban," one EU diplomat said. "And the potential ban covers all plants and plant products.
"There is clear agreement in the Council (of EU ministers) on what we will offer the Russians. Not everyone is happy with all of it, but there is at least agreement," he said.
The EU-Russia meeting is expected to start at 1600 GMT.
Industry sources say a transitional period for the EU to finalise its common certificates looks likely, though its length is unclear. Precedent would suggest a period of three months.
Last year Russia agreed to a transition period for adopting single EU safety certificates on meat imports, agreeing to accept old certificates alongside the new ones for three months after initially setting a deadline of October 1.
Kyprianou will update EU farm ministers on Monday on the phytosanitary negotiations with Russia.
Some of the EU's newcomers have been particularly vocal over the food bans. Poland, for example, has already complained about lengthy Russian paperwork for accepting its dairy exports.
But diplomats warn that any deal struck between the two sides next week may not signal the end of the tension over agricultural trade, with more problems possibly on the horizon.
"I think what we can expect is a long period of difficulty because other products could become the subject of negotiation between the EU and Russia," a diplomat from current EU president Luxembourg told a news briefing.