FT: EU wants to adjust sanctions on Russian food

Germany, France, the Netherlands and other EU countries have called on the European Commission to make an amendment to clarify sanctions on food exports from Russia, according to a position paper that got acquainted newspaper Financial Times.

The European Commission has previously provided EU countries with recommendations to allow the transit of Russian grain and fertilizers, while some governments and transport operators say that this is not reliable enough to guarantee legal protection for these activities.

The document argues that cargo is sometimes delayed in European ports longer than necessary because companies are concerned about participating in deals with the Russian side. Financial institutions, insurers, carriers and wholesalers are reluctant to engage in commercial deals to export Russian food and fertilizers, disrupting supply chains, the document says.

There is currently an “undesirable” situation where the EU is stricter on agricultural deals than the US and UK. “This appears to be in conflict with the EU’s common food security policy,” says the document, which Spain, Belgium and Portugal have also joined.

The EC, in turn, insists that none of its sanctions were directed against trade in agricultural and food products, including wheat and fertilizers.

President Vladimir Putin said earlier that Russia would continue to provide assistance to countries facing food shortages. He noted that after sanctions were imposed on Russia, some states and global corporations used their monopoly advantages, competencies in the field of breeding, production of genetic materials to deter competitors and “aggressively conquer sales markets.”

On November 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that the participants in the grain deal, including Russia, had extended its validity by 120 days. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that the extension of the agreement took into account the concerns that Moscow had previously expressed. “There is an assurance from the UN that the work to ensure Russian exports of food, grain and fertilizers will be finalized. This work has its results,” he said.

On July 22, representatives of Turkey and the UN signed separate agreements with representatives of Russia and Ukraine on the export of Ukrainian grain, as well as on assistance in the export of Russian grain and fertilizers. However, the Russian authorities soon accused the West of non-compliance with the second part of the agreement, which concerns the memorandum between Russia and the UN. At the same time, the UN said that they were working to remove restrictions that hinder the export of Russian grain and fertilizers.

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