European Commissioner Dacian Ciolos has vowed to come forward with appropriate new measures on EU agricultural products hit by the Russian ban early next week. Speaking after a meeting of the Horizontal Agricultural Markets Management Committee, attended by experts in agriculture, he said “the meeting agreed that the situation is the most urgent for certain perishable vegetables hit by the ban, where the season has already begun and a key export market has suddenly disappeared with no immediate prospect of an obvious alternative.”
A Commission press release notes that “based on the new information received today from the Member States, the Commission confirmed that it would come forward with appropriate new measures at the beginning of next week”.
At the same time, further measures targeting animals products are being considered. The Commission also announced its intention to finalise a full analysis of the potential impact of the Russian sanctions on the EU sectors concerned – together with an assessment of the potential policy responses – as soon as possible. This will be presented to Member States and the European Parliament in order to facilitate further political discussions on the subject. “My message is again clear: I am prepared to propose EU wide measures as and when needed”, Tsiolos said. Addressing producers across the EU, he assured them that “we are following every sector and every market and as material risks emerge, I will act”. “Through the reformed Common Agriculture Policy we have the budgetary and legal instruments for European action together with the Member States; market confidence through European solidarity is the overriding objective”, he concluded
