- Lithuania announces that it will submit a proposal to the EU to ban the transit of Russian food grain through the territory of the Community, citing the use of European infrastructure.
- Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkeviczius also wants the EU to sanction selected Russian oligarchs in the agricultural sector who are said to support the war against Ukraine.
- In 2024, the EU imposed tariffs on Russian and Belarusian grain products, but transit to third countries is still possible.
Lithuania will propose a European Union ban on the transit of Russian food grain through the territory of the Community and the imposition of sanctions on selected Russian oligarchs in the agricultural sector, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkeviczius said on Thursday.
Why does Lithuania want to ban the transit of Russian grain through the EU?
"Russia is using European ports and infrastructure, including those in the Baltic states, to export its grain. This is unacceptable," the prime minister wrote on Facebook.
He added that Russia is using EU infrastructure while attacking Ukraine, its ports and ships carrying grain.Mindaugas Sinkeviczius stressed that Lithuania also wants selected Russian oligarchs in the agricultural sector who support the war to be added to the EU sanctions list.
Controls and restrictions in the Baltic states: Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia
The agency BNS reports that since the beginning of September, Lithuania has been checking the origin of food grain transiting from Russia and Belarus.
Estonia banned the transit of Russian and Belarusian grain from 1 October. Lithuania and Latvia support a common approach among the Baltic states to controlling and restricting such transit.
In 2024, the EU imposed tariffs on Russian and Belarusian grain products, restricting their import into the Community; however, this did not eliminate the possibility of grain transiting through the EU to third countries.
From Vilnius, Aleksandra Akińczo (PAP)
