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Thursday, 09.06.2011
Putins “Killer Cucumbers” put a strain on EU-Russia summit
Moscow. Putin spoke of “Killer Cucumbers” even as it was known that they were most likely not the cause of the Ehec outbreak. The Russian ban on imports of EU vegetables strained relations with Brussels - and today's summit.
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EU vegetables are not being served at the EU-Russia summit in the Volga city of Nizhny Novgorod. As the origin of the Ecoli triggers further questions in Russia, the government in Moscow remains adamant.
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There is no end in sight for the blockade to be lifted before the evenings and Friday morning meeting between the Kremlin chief Dmitri Medvedev and the EU Commissions President Jose Manuel Barroso. The EU is outraged, the ban on import of vegetables from all 27 states is 'exaggerated'.
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A medical officer decides on foreign politics, seconded by Putin
Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin shouted that he would not allow his people to be poisoned by “stinking Killer Cucumbers” from the EU. This is how Putin backed his chief medical officer Gennadi Onishchenko, who suddenly ordered the import ban.
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He exclaimed in an unusually tough tone that the puzzle over Ehec was proof of the bad practices in hygiene within the EU. And it is the EU who wants Russia to adopt their standards.
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According to the Kremlin critical medial, Putin himself allowed Onishchenko, who sometimes is referred to 'the secret Foreign Minister' of the giant empire, to take this far reaching decision. The rank of a doctor does not usually enable you to take such anti European actions, according to the newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
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Food imports, permanent political discussions
In the past, for example with the ban of Polish meat, Russia had tried to gain political dividends. In this occasion, the elimination of the barriers in a new partnership agreement between the EU and Russia were under negotiation. This had been cleared for years, but the negotiations are not moving forward.
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The 27th EU-Russia summit was close to become a boring action planning event. Even as the ministers in Moscow and Brussels thought that there are other interesting topics that need to be discussed on the 9th and 10th of June, none could be as exciting as the “Cucumber War”. The otherwise quiet EU ambassador in Moscow, Fernando M. Valenzuela, exclaimed that such an embargo is not acceptable for a country who wants to join the World Trade Organization.
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Cucumbers ruin the political fair weather
Not so long ago, the EU and Russia had celebrated that they had removed all obstacles between themselves. German politicians and top managers who recently spoke with high officials in Moscow, also dampened the expectations. They were hoping for more investment security with Russia's WTO membership.
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The country is still not ready for such a move, says Mikhail Delyagin, a political scientist in Moscow. The raw material empire is not able to protect the market by civil means. The risk for those in power in Moscow is currently too high as it could be devalued by drastic political decisions on the value of the ruble, stated Delyagin. The economist sees a danger of failure in Kremlin chief Medvedev's planned modernising policies.
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There won't be a surprise on Friday
Medvedev will be holding first talks with the EU top officials during today's dinner in Nizhny Novgorod. Nobody expects any groundbreaking results, when he and Barroso appear in front of the press after the negotiations on Friday.
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Medvedev will most likely return empty handed with regards to Russia's very important issue on removal of visa requirement.
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