Brussels – The EU takes a further step towards trade independence from Russia. With 411 votes in favour, 100 against and 78 abstentions, the European Parliament this morning (22 May) voted in first reading a restriction on agricultural goods and fertilisers imported from Russia and Belarus, aiming to reduce the Union’s dependence on supplies considered critical, and at the same time to take resources away from the Kremlin’s war budget.
The new legislation provides for a 50 per cent increase in tariffs on products that are still exempt, including sugar, vinegar, flour, and animal feed. On the fertilisers front, on the other hand, the EU Parliament gave the go-ahead for a progressive tax: 6.5 per cent from 2025, followed by a fixed tax of between €40 and 45 per tonne until 2026, rising to €430 by 2028. These measures hit an industry that, according to Brussels, continues to directly finance the Russian war in Ukraine. The measure binds the Commission to constantly monitor price trends and the effects on European agricultural sectors, reserving the right to intervene to avoid imbalances or negative impacts on the internal market.
In the vote, Italy was split. Within the government majority, there were three different positions: the Lega voted against, Fratelli d’Italia chose to abstain, while Forza Italia supported the text along with PD and Greens. The Five Star Movement, although in opposition, abstained. The delegation leader of Fratelli d’Italia, Carlo Fidanza, justified his group’s abstention by citing the absence of a safeguard clause against price increases, calling for ‘protection for European farmers’. The leader of the PD Nicola Zingaretti delegation, on the other hand, underlined the internal division within the government coalition: “On foreign policy, the majority does not exist.”
The divergence reflects different approaches not only on agricultural policy, but also on sanctions towards Moscow. The permanent rapporteur for Russia, MEP Inese Vaidere (EPP), defended the measure: “It is not acceptable that three years after the large-scale invasion, the EU continues to purchase critical products from Russia in large volumes”. Indeed, Moscow is still the main supplier of fertilisers to the Union, accounting for 26 per cent of total European fertiliser imports. According to Vaidere, the plan will also contribute to relaunch European fertiliser production, damaged by low Russian import prices, while giving farmers time to adjust.
The Kremlin was not long in coming, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissing the decision as “yet another self-defeating act by Europe”, claiming that Moscow will find alternative outlets and that “European fertilisers will be more expensive and of lower quality, because ours remain the best”.
The regulation, which will enter into force four weeks after publication in the Official Journal of the EU, must now receive final approval from the Council. The background is the growing awareness among member states of the risks of trade dependency on hostile countries. The EU Parliament’s passage represents not only an act of sanctioning but also an attempt to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy in the agri-food sector.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
