The European Commission has proposed further tariffs on a range of agricultural products and fertiliser from Russia and Belarus to reduce imports further and ultimately impact Moscow’s ability to wage its war against Ukraine.

“The agricultural products affected by the new tariffs constitute 15 per cent of agricultural imports from Russia in 2023 that had not yet been subject to increased tariffs,” the commission said in a Tuesday statement.

It added, “Once adopted by the council, all agricultural imports from Russia would be the subject of EU tariffs.”

The commission said the new tariffs aimed to reduce dependence on imports from Russia and Belarus, which make the European Union vulnerable to “potential coercive actions by Russia and thus present a risk to EU food security.”

The EU’s executive arm went on to say that the measures will also support the growth of the fertiliser industry within the bloc and allow for the diversification of supply from third countries.

It stressed that the proposal includes mitigating measures in case prices increase too much for EU farmers.

“These tariffs are carefully calibrated to serve multiple goals. We aim to weaken further Russia’s war economy while reducing EU dependencies, supporting our industry, and preserving global food security,” said EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič. “We will take every step necessary to protect our fertilisers industry and farmers.”

The measures have to be officially approved by the European Parliament and the EU member states to come into force.

In order to pass, 15 out of 27 member countries accounting for at least 65 per cent of the total EU population have to approve the proposal.

(dpa/NAN)