BRUSSELS, August 12 (RIA Novosti) — European Union experts on Thursday do not plan on discussing the union's applications to the World Trade Organization regarding Russia's food ban, but will instead discuss the economic repercussions of them, an EU source told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
“On Thursday, there will be no discussion among EU experts on the possibility to start dispute settlement procedures in the WTO against the Russian agri-food ban. There will be just a discussion on the implication of this restriction measure on the EU economy," the source said.
European Commission spokesman Roger White said Monday that the European Union was hoping to evaluate the impact of Russia’s ban of food imports from the 28-member bloc by Thursday’s experts' meeting, but would not be ready to decide on how to replace the Russian market.
A panel of experts has already started looking at what is encompasses Russia's restrictions and their potential impact on other world markets, he said.
On Thursday, Russia introduced a one-year ban on agricultural and food product imports from the countries that have imposed sanctions on Moscow over the Ukrainian crisis, namely the European Union, the United States, Australia, Canada and Norway.
Banned products include meat, poultry, fish, seafood, milk, dairy products, fruits and vegetables. The embargo may cost the European Union a whopping $16 billion in export losses.
