Russia reschedules prospective EU potato ban to June 1
MOSCOW. Feb 26 (Interfax) - Russia does not plan to impose a ban on imports of potatoes from the EU until June 1, rather than April 1 as planned previously, the head of food safety watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor Sergei Dankvert told Interfax.
Agreement on the postponement was reached following talks in Moscow on Tuesday between Dankvert and Ladislav Miko, the deputy general director of the European Commission Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection (DG SANCO).
The sides agreed that working groups would seek a solution that would eliminate the need for a ban altogether.
"We are not trying to impose a complete ban. Our goal is to ensure the safety of the produce brought into the country," Dankvert said. "If we work effectively, there will be a significant reduction in the number of organizations exporting to Russia," he said.
Russia decided to impose the ban after the EU failed to supply it with information concerning the zones that are free of quarantined items and plant diseases. Only potatoes from those zones may be exported to Russia.
The European Commission representatives have agreed to provide the information, Dankvert said.
At a press conference following the talks, Miko said the EU is ready to undertake any measures, provide any information, in order to avoid imposition of the ban.
"We agreed to postpone the ban for two months. That extra time will enable the European side to put into place the measures that are necessary to avoid enacting the ban," he said.
The talks also touched on the recent sale of horsemeat as beef in the EU. "So far, according to the information from out European colleagues, no horsemeat product has been detected in Russia," he said. "But our colleagues promised that if it is, they will notify us in a timely fashion."
The sides agreed to closely cooperate on the issue, he said.
