RUSSIA: The Meat of the Polish Dispute is Politics

By Kester Kenn Klomegah Reprint | | Print |

Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW, Dec 19 2007 (IPS) - When Russia agreed to lift its ban on import of Polish meat and dairy products, it was something of a diplomatic breakthrough.

The agreement between Russian minister for agriculture Alexey Gordeyev and his Polish counterpart Marek Sawicki last week drew mixed reactions, but brought to an end a two-year dispute that drew in also the European Union.

“During these two years, two major changes have affected the impact of the ban,” senior policy researcher at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels, Sandra Fernandes, told IPS. “Poland managed to take this bilateral issue to the EU level and transformed it into an EU problem, and this evolution has enabled the Polish to highlight the need for EU internal solidarity towards Russia.”

Secondly, she said, “the consequence of this evolution has been the emergence of a sine qua non to launch negotiations with Russia for a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA).”

The Polish dispute has highlighted differences between EU countries and Russia on several fronts. The recent Kremlin order to close down British Council offices outside of Moscow by January is a recent instance of deterioration of the relations.

“We cannot forget the other bilateral tensions, and the lack of common views inside the EU and between Brussels and Russia on major issues such as energy,” Fernandes said. But diplomatically, she said, “the impact of the lift is valuable; it proves that a constructive dialogue is possible with Russia, which is an EU strategic partner.”

Russia banned meat imports from Poland in November 2005 after Poland was accused of violating veterinary and other provisions, including re-export of meat from countries banned by Russia. Poland reacted by blocking Russian-EU talks on a new partnership and cooperation agreement in late 2006.

The situation began to change after Donald Tusk, who advocates constructive dialogue with Russia, was elected Polish prime minister in October this year.

Agreement on lifting restrictions on import of Polish meat products to Russia should be “a good piece of news” for the European Commission (the executive wing of the European Union) a Kremlin official told local media.

“This is a good piece of news primarily for the European Commission, which has been waiting for Poland’s position to change on a new Russian-EU partnership agreement for a long time,” the official said.

The Association of European Businesses, which represents companies doing business with Russia, welcomed the announcement.

“With this obstacle now removed, the AEB calls on the Russian and EU sides to begin negotiations on a new strategic partnership agreement. In our view, this is an urgent priority for both sides given that the agreement that is currently in place is outdated and does not reflect the realities of contemporary economic ties between Russia and the EU,” AEB president Dr Frank Schauff told IPS.

Russia’s ban on Polish meat had both economic and political consequences, says Dr. Mahmut Tekce, research fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies. “Economically, it was not a disaster for Polish economy, not even for Polish meat exporters,” he said, because in 2005 only 3 percent of Polish meat exports were to Russia. In 2006 they were worth five million dollars in a meat export market of 1.6 billion dollars.

The less talked about export is the bigger problem. “We should keep in mind that Russia’s ban on Polish fruits and vegetables still continues, and the loss in this sector is more significant between 2005 and 2006 when Poland’s exports of fruits and vegetables to Russia fell by 127 million dollars.”

But the dispute meant much more politically, he said. Poland showed it could stand up to Russia, and Russia was trying to show its influence over ex-Soviet states of Central and Eastern Europe even if they had joined the EU, Tekce said.

The renewed assertiveness of Russia under President Vladimir Putin makes the Kremlin less interested in a new PCA, Fernandes says. But the Russians have signalled their willingness for talks.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a news conference here after a meeting of the Russia-EU Permanent Partnership Council that “we are ready to begin working on a new agreement on strategic partnership and cooperation with the EU as soon as our partners in the EU confirm they are ready.”