Veronica Prokhorenko10:29, 03/09/24

Valdis Dombrovskis explained why the European Commission has not yet introduced a ban on the import of Russian food products.

Executive Vice President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis said that the EC is now conducting an assessment to block imports of agricultural products from Russia.

He recalled that relevant decisions at the government level have already been made by Poland and Latvia. “We are now assessing and will be able to move forward quite quickly,” Dombrovskis told UNIAN on this issue.

He also explained why sanctions on “food” from Russia were not introduced back in 2022, at the beginning of a full-scale war. According to Dombrovskis, interruptions in food supplies to the EU prevented this.

“Food prices were rising rapidly, which created risks for food security – especially in developing countries. Therefore, this decision was made,” he said.

At the same time, now, in 2024, the situation in the world is different. Last year, EU member countries began to take the first steps to resolve the issue of food imports from the Russian Federation, the official said. “In fact, last year we observed a significant increase in imports of Russian agricultural products, EU member countries began to respond to the situation,” he explained.

Now the European Commission is looking for the best way to limit the presence of food products from the Russian Federation on European markets, Dombrovskis concluded.

(C)UNIAN 2024