November 21, 2006

EU making progress to persuade Russia to accept Polish meat
 

Recent negotiations between Russia and the EU over the Russian ban on Polish meat exports have been encouraging, Matti Vanhanen, the Finnish prime minister, said Monday (Nov 21).

Finland currently holds the EU presidency.

Poland has refused to allow the start of talks on a new EU-Russia partnership agreement unless Russia lifts the ban.

Russia has promised the ban would be lifted as soon as the outstanding technical issues have been resolved, Vanhanen said. This meant that the issue has become a technical one, which makes it resolvable through a practical way.

Poland is expected to comment on the Finnish presidency's undisclosed proposals by the end of the week.