On 26 October 2015 consultations between representatives of the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor), the Russian Federal Customs Service and experts of the European Commission DG SANTE, DG TAXUD and DG TRADE took place in Brussels at the Russian initiative. OLAF and EEAS officials also participated in the meeting.
The consultations focused on ways to improve cooperation in combating illegal supplies of certain plant and animal products from the EU to the customs territories of Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union.
The Russian side cited specific cases when agricultural products had been smuggled to Russia and facts of violation of Russian legislation regulating the issuance of veterinary and phytosanitary certificates, as well as customs documents, including falsification of shipment documents.
The parties discussed topical aspects of cooperation in this field. The Russian side proposed a number of measures aimed at qualitative improvement of information exchange between competent Russian and EU authorities, both using existing channels for operational information exchange, and through development of additional technical tools relevant to the issuance of sanitary, veterinary and phytosanitary certificates.
These proposals will be considered by competent services of the European Commission. The parties agreed to continue the dialogue.
