Poland has dealt with meat safety concerns, top EU health official says

Poland has done enough to address concerns over the safety of its meat exports in the face of a Russian ban, the European Union's top food safety official said Monday.

EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou described as unjustified the embargo on Polish meat imports that Russia, citing safety concerns, imposed in late 2005.

Moscow's ban prompted Warsaw to block the start of EU-Russia negotiations on a new trade and energy agreement.

Kyprianou said Poland has fixed past shortcomings in the transit and safety of meats.

Speaking after holding talks with Agriculture Minister Andrzej Lepper, Kyprianou said an EU fact-finding mission, which completed its work in Poland on Sunday, determined "the correct measures have been taken to make sure that the systems were cooperating and the causes for concern were removed."

Asked if the Russian embargo was justified, Kyprianou said there had been "weaknesses" in Poland "especially in terms of trade, but these weaknesses, these deficiencies do not justify this ban."

Monday's talks were two days before a planned meeting in Berlin between experts from Poland, Russia and the European Commission aimed at resolving the issue. Kyprianou said the Commission would urge Moscow to drop the ban.

The embargo has prompted alarm in the European Union at a time when suspicions are already growing about Russia's reliability as an oil and natural gas supplier.

Source:kyivpost.com