Sanctions should work in all policy areas! For the ban of EU food exports from Russia.

Agri-food products and mineral fertilizers were exempted from EU sanctions on Russia. This resulted in Russia exporting 4.2 million tonnes of cereals, oilseeds, and derived products to the EU in 2023, worth €1.3 billion. This money directly funds the russian state and its war machine. Only in March 2024, the European Commission proposed increased tariffs on russian food and agricultural products, but they were still not adopted by the Council of the European Union. The proposed tariffs do not apply to some food products, such as vegetables and fish products.

Agriculture accounts for about 10% of Russia's whole exports. Much of this is stolen food and agricultural products coming from the occupied territories of Ukraine. Moreover, price dumping of grain from Russia has contributed to ongoing farmers' protests across Europe. Imported food represents a small fraction of EU production, so there is no moral or economical reason not to introduce a full embargo.

Meanwhile, tariffs were introduced on Ukrainian food and agricultural products and are estimated to cost Ukraine €330 million until June 2025. 🇺🇦 This occurred after many months of blockades at the EU-Ukraine border (while there were no blockades on the EU-Russia and EU-Belarus border), especially in Poland, largely organized and supported by groups not related to agriculture (such as hunters or truck carriers) and pro-russian politicians (such as Polish Konfederacja). Pro-russian propagandists and Kremlin agents used the tension of the farmers' protests that were happening across Europe to fuel anti-Ukrainian and pro-Russian sentiments, while EU politicians did not succeed in tackling russian dumping as one of the most important causes of tensions.

CDN believes that the EU should show strength and determination in every policy area and not in any way support the terrorist state of the Russian Federation, as well as take care of its own food security. We believe that especially during the European campaign, in which the common agricultural policy plays an important role, this issue should be important in the advocacy of green and progressive groups. Therefore, we advocate for the full embargo of food exports from Russia, as well as from Belarus, which is used as a transit country where "made in Russia" labels are removed.