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RUSSIA HALTS LITHUANIA DAIRY IMPORTS IN TRADE ROW
7 October 2013 Last updated at 17:37 GMT
Russia is a major market for Lithuanian dairy exporters
Russia has halted imports of Lithuanian dairy produce amid tensions
over EU plans to forge closer ties with ex-Soviet republics.
Russia's consumer watchdog said the levels of yeast and mould in
Lithuanian dairy produce were unacceptable.
Lithuania is already involved in a bitter dispute with Russia over the
cost of Russian gas, which Moscow's former Soviet bloc allies rely on.
Lithuania is leading EU efforts to sign new trade deals with those
countries.
Russia's consumer watchdog Rospotrebnadzor has previously imposed
various bans on food and drink imported from former Soviet neighbours,
for example on wine from Georgia and Moldova, citing health concerns.
In July Russia halted imports of chocolate from the big Ukrainian
firm Roshen.
Such actions have been widely seen as Russia using trade to put
political pressure on its neighbours.
In recent weeks Russian customs officers have imposed time-consuming
checks on Lithuanian lorries on the Russian border, leading to long
delays and queues.
Last week Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius warned that
Vilnius could retaliate on the border with Kaliningrad, a Russian
enclave surrounded by Lithuania and Poland. The city of Kaliningrad
is a major port on the Baltic.
Speaking to Reuters news agency, Mr Linkevicius said: "The Kaliningrad
region is isolated, geographically isolated, so we could apply some
measures also to cut something".
"We could cut off trains, but not only trains, also the supply of
goods, whatever. It is theoretically possible. It was not discussed,
it's not our way of thinking, it's not our methods," he said.
The European Commission is investigating Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom
over alleged market-rigging in Eastern Europe. Last week Lithuania's
Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius said that in 2006-2012 the cost
of Russian gas had soared by 600%, seriously undermining Lithuania's
competitiveness.
EU forges closer ties
Russia is a major export market for Lithuanian dairy produce, the
bulk of which is cheese, Russia's Itar-Tass news agency reports. In
2012 Lithuania exported 370,000 tonnes of dairy produce to Russia,
worth $193m (£120m).
The Russian market also accounts for almost 85% of all Lithuanian
exports, Itar-Tass reports.
The EU and Ukraine are preparing an association agreement, with plans
to sign it in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius in late November. Such
agreements, along with a free trade partnership, are seen as key
steps towards eventual EU membership.
Moldova and Georgia - also former Soviet republics - may initial
association agreements with the EU.
Russia has been urging former Soviet republics to join a Russian-led
customs union, and Armenia recently said it would do so. The EU had
been expecting Armenia to sign an association agreement, and told
Yerevan that it could not join both trade blocs.
Only Belarus and Kazakhstan have joined Russia in the customs union so
far, which Russian President Vladimir Putin sees as a step towards a
"Eurasian union".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24433418
7 October 2013 Last updated at 17:37 GMT
Russia is a major market for Lithuanian dairy exporters
Russia has halted imports of Lithuanian dairy produce amid tensions
over EU plans to forge closer ties with ex-Soviet republics.
Russia's consumer watchdog said the levels of yeast and mould in
Lithuanian dairy produce were unacceptable.
Lithuania is already involved in a bitter dispute with Russia over the
cost of Russian gas, which Moscow's former Soviet bloc allies rely on.
Lithuania is leading EU efforts to sign new trade deals with those
countries.
Russia's consumer watchdog Rospotrebnadzor has previously imposed
various bans on food and drink imported from former Soviet neighbours,
for example on wine from Georgia and Moldova, citing health concerns.
In July Russia halted imports of chocolate from the big Ukrainian
firm Roshen.
Such actions have been widely seen as Russia using trade to put
political pressure on its neighbours.
In recent weeks Russian customs officers have imposed time-consuming
checks on Lithuanian lorries on the Russian border, leading to long
delays and queues.
Last week Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius warned that
Vilnius could retaliate on the border with Kaliningrad, a Russian
enclave surrounded by Lithuania and Poland. The city of Kaliningrad
is a major port on the Baltic.
Speaking to Reuters news agency, Mr Linkevicius said: "The Kaliningrad
region is isolated, geographically isolated, so we could apply some
measures also to cut something".
"We could cut off trains, but not only trains, also the supply of
goods, whatever. It is theoretically possible. It was not discussed,
it's not our way of thinking, it's not our methods," he said.
The European Commission is investigating Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom
over alleged market-rigging in Eastern Europe. Last week Lithuania's
Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius said that in 2006-2012 the cost
of Russian gas had soared by 600%, seriously undermining Lithuania's
competitiveness.
EU forges closer ties
Russia is a major export market for Lithuanian dairy produce, the
bulk of which is cheese, Russia's Itar-Tass news agency reports. In
2012 Lithuania exported 370,000 tonnes of dairy produce to Russia,
worth $193m (£120m).
The Russian market also accounts for almost 85% of all Lithuanian
exports, Itar-Tass reports.
The EU and Ukraine are preparing an association agreement, with plans
to sign it in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius in late November. Such
agreements, along with a free trade partnership, are seen as key
steps towards eventual EU membership.
Moldova and Georgia - also former Soviet republics - may initial
association agreements with the EU.
Russia has been urging former Soviet republics to join a Russian-led
customs union, and Armenia recently said it would do so. The EU had
been expecting Armenia to sign an association agreement, and told
Yerevan that it could not join both trade blocs.
Only Belarus and Kazakhstan have joined Russia in the customs union so
far, which Russian President Vladimir Putin sees as a step towards a
"Eurasian union".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24433418