Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 September 2004
94 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if she has taken steps to ensure that Irish milk products will retain access to the Russian market; if so, if she will report on the efforts she has made to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23025/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraIrish dairy products are currently exported to Russia on the basis of a veterinary-public health certificate which was agreed bilaterally between Ireland and the Russian Federation in 1997. This certificate will continue to be valid until 1 January 2005, at which point it will be replaced by a newly agreed EU certificate covering the export of dairy products from all EU member states to Russia.
The new EU dairy certificate is one of 14 certificates for trade in live animals and animal products which, following intensive negotiations, were agreed between the EU Commission and the Russian Federation on 2 September 2004. The Russian Federation initially imposed a deadline of 1 June 2004 for acceptance of their proposed import veterinary certification, however, following negotiations, this deadline was subsequently extended to 30 September 2004. Agreement was also reached on the acceptance of the existing bilaterally agreed certificates until the end of this year, thus averting the cessation of trade from 1 October 2004.
The new certificate for milk product exports to Russia gives rise to certain practical difficulties for Ireland, in so far as it contains a requirement that milk does not come from herds in which there was TB and brucellosis in the previous 12 months. The EU Commission was made aware of the difficulties for Ireland in regard to the dairy certificate during the negotiations and sought unsuccessfully to have the finally agreed certificate amended to alleviate our concerns. Given the importance of overall trade between the EU and the Russian Federation across a wide range of animal products, including beef, the EU Commission was anxious to conclude an agreement within the timeframe imposed by the Russian Federation. Furthermore, it could not countenance any further disruption to trade involving over €1 billion in animal product exports from the EU to Russia.
The EU Commission has stated that the possibility exists to have an ongoing debate with Russia regarding the certificates and it is my intention to continue to seek the best possible outcome for our export trade.
