The European Union and Russia agreed on Tuesday to avoid a blanket Russian ban on EU plant and vegetable exports from April 1 that would have affected some €800 million in annual trade, the food safety authorities at the EU have said.
A transitional period of three months will apply, during which the EU will finalise a single safety certificate for exports to replace the different national versions each of the 25 member states have been using.
Russia had threatened a blanket ban on all EU imports of plant and plant products from April 1 if it did not get its way. The row over Europe's plant and plant products, covering everything from cut flowers to apples and potato starch, had soured its trade relations with Russia for months.
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