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Parliamentary question - E-006444/2014Parliamentary question
E-006444/2014

Crisis in the agri-foodstuffs industry in Italy and the Veneto as a result of Russia's embargo: request for extra funding and a European support plan

Question for written answer E-006444-14
to the Commission
Rule 130
Mara Bizzotto (NI)

The Russian embargo on European agricultural and food products in response to the sanctions imposed by the EU in the wake of the Ukraine crisis will leave the Veneto facing losses of at least EUR 100 million. The loss for Italy as a whole is put at EUR 1 billion.

Exports of ‘made in Italy’ products to Russia are worth over EUR 10 billion, but now Italian investments in and exports to Russia are being jeopardised by the EU's futile and costly decision to impose sanctions on the Kremlin in an effort to resolve the Ukraine issue. Russia is one of the biggest markets for the Veneto's high-quality produce. The fruit and vegetable industry in Padua and Verona, including producers, wholesalers and hauliers, will be left with at least EUR 80 million worth of unsold produce. Producers of San Daniele prosciutto and the Grana Padano consortium are set to suffer losses of EUR 7 million and EUR 16 million respectively, and lost sales in other PDO cheeses such as Asiago are likely to amount to EUR 2 million. The EU's actions and the resulting embargo are an unmitigated disaster for the Italian economy, and a boon to its competitors in Turkey and Egypt.

Given the financial losses outlined above, the EUR 125 million which the EU has set aside to support the Member States is simply not enough.

1. Does the Commission intend to lift the sanctions imposed on Russia?

2. Will it review the current compensation arrangements and allocate additional funds for the agricultural sector in Italy and the Veneto?

3. How does it plan to deal with the consequences of its own actions and safeguard the livelihoods of all those who have been hit by the Russian embargo?