EU does not see the ‘vegetable scandal’ as a cataclysm in its relations with Russia

Fernando Valenzuela, the top EU representative in Moscow, has said he does not see Moscow’s European vegetables importation embargo as a ‘cataclysm’ in their bilateral relations. Russia imposed the embargo on all EU vegetables on June 2 as a prophylactic measure against the spread of a deadly intestinal infection in Europe, which has already killed dozens of people, mostly in Germany. Specifically, Gennady Onishchenko, the head of the Russian consumer foods agency, has said that Moscow will maintain the embargo till the intestinal infection is eradicated or put under control. 

Commenting on this issue on the Echo of Moscow radio station, Valenzuela conceded the existence of sticky issues between Russia and EU, including on trade and sanitation concerns. “But this is normal. And, despite the existence of problems, most important thing is the existence of a mechanism for resolving them.”