EC READY TO LET RUSSIAN VETS IN NEW EU COUNTRIES TO CHECK MEAT

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BRUSSELS, June 7 (RIA Novosti) - The European Commission is ready to let Russian veterinarians in new EU member states to check the quality of meat exported to Russia. This was announced on Monday in Brussels at a daily briefing of the European Commission.

Anny Claus, a spokeswoman of the EU Directorate General Press and Communication, said Brussels has not yet received an official answer of the Russian government to the European Commission's message sent at the end of last week to Moscow in the wake of the Russia-imposed ban on meat importation from EU member states.

The European Commission also expressed serious concern in this regard.

"We hope the ban will be lifted soon," Ms. Claus said, reassuring that EU-exported meat and meat products are strictly in line with the high internal standards of European quality.

Last week high representatives of the EU and the Russian Federation agreed to complete by October 2004 technical talks on veterinary certificates.

A European Commission spokesman, Reijo Kemppinen, said that everything depends on the Russian authorities.

In his words, yesterday during a phone talk with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, EC Chairman Romano Prodi said all meat and meat products exported from the EU to Russia are strictly in line with high internal standards of European quality.

According to the EC spokesman, the Russian Premier promised Mr. Prodi that the ban on meat importation from EU countries will be lifted.

During the talk, the sides, Kemppinen said, agreed that it was necessary to complete technical talks between the EU and the RF on veterinary certificates.

On June 1 Russia stopped importing meat from all EU countries because Russia does not have a veterinary certificate with the EU in general. There are such certificates with some countries, but, the Russian Agriculture Ministry said, as the borders within the EU are open, guarantees of deliveries security are required on the part of the whole European Union.

In a sense, the EU provoked this situation itself. The original date of signing the unified certificate, May 1, was postponed for a month on an EU request. The month has passed, but the sides failed to reach agreement.

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