The Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) parliamentary group in the German Bundestag wants a complete ban on agricultural and food imports from Russia and Belarus in order to “weaken Russia’s fighting power”.
Albert Stegemann, the CDU’s agriculture expert, told dpa that Russia was financing its war against Ukraine with exports from the agricultural and food sector.
“This must be prevented. Higher tariffs on Russian grain are not enough,” Stegemann said.
The CDU/CSU argues that the SPD has been too close to Putin in the past and has not done enough to support Ukraine.
In addition, the CDU, like the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) in the European Parliament (EP), is focusing its message on supporting the agricultural sector, which is also on the agenda in Germany, especially after the recent EU-wide farmer protests.
However, the European Commission is considering imposing tariffs to reduce Russia’s income from agricultural imports, arguing that these are outside the scope of sanctions. Food and fertilisers have so far been exempted from EU trade restrictions so as not to ‘undermine global food security’.
Meanwhile, on 12 March, a majority of MEPs in the European Parliament called for a total ban on agricultural and food imports from Russia to the EU.
While Stegemann argued that Germany and Europe are not dependent on Russian grain, the CDU motion, which is expected to be debated in the Bundestag on Thursday, calls on the government to prepare the option of an import ban if an agreement cannot be reached at EU level.
