Czechia seeks EU ban on Russian, Belarusian grain imports

Czechia will propose banning imports of Russian and Belarusian grain from entering the EU at this week’s European Council, according to Agriculture Minister Marek Výborný.

EU member states will meet at the European Council summit on Thursday and Friday, at which agriculture will be high on the agenda.

“Russian or Belarusian commodities have no place in Europe. I don’t see any reason why Russian grain should be in Europe. I am convinced nobody should support an aggressor by buying grain from it. This is what I will be advocating in the EU,” Výborný said.

“We will push for cereals and oilseeds to be on the sanctions list and not to be sent to Europe,” he added.

According to the draft conclusions, EU leaders should agree on the importance of a strong and sustainable agricultural sector for food security and should revert “to the current challenges in the agricultural sector and concerns raised by farmers”, with a surplus of grain from Ukraine and Russia and the drop in its price being among the key issues.

Besides the European Council meeting this week, Výborný will have the possibility to raise the issue during the next Agriculture and Fisheries Council to be held on 26 March.

He says there is no risk of a significant rise in food prices following a possible ban on Russian grain imports.

“The Czech Republic has surpluses for export. There was a surplus harvest worldwide,” he added.

“The European Commission is evaluating the possibility of introducing restrictions on imports of agricultural products from Russia to the European Union. On this basis, the Commission will come forward with a proposal shortly,” the read-out of the call between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on 15 March reads.

Similar comments were made by Polish Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski.

“When Russia uses food as a weapon, we must react. Russia will export over 50 million tons of wheat. When one country has a quarter of all wheat exports, it can destabilise the situation. And this is what we see,” he told the Polish press on Friday.

Last month, Latvia introduced a unilateral trade ban on Russian agricultural imports, and Tusk suggested similar measures could be taken in Poland.

MEPs also backed the idea from different political parties during last week’s debate in Strasbourg.

(Aneta Zachová | Euractiv.cz)