Finland and Austria have asked the EU to use agricultural emergency funds to help them recoup losses incurred from the sanctions levied by Russia against EU imports in response to EU sanctions against Russia on the heels of the Ukraine crisis.
At the National Coalition Party meeting in Seinäjoki, it was announced that Agriculture and Forestry Minister Petteri Orpo has discussed the matter with his Austrian colleagues. Finland is among the six EU countries that are expected to suffer the most because of the agricultural imports sanctions levied against EU countries by Russia.
The opposition Centre Party is demanding that the government move forward in diplomatic negotiations regarding the Ukraine crisis and the subsequent sanctions battle it has brought on.
Chair Juha Sipilä said he also wants to know what the government will do so that businesses who suffer losses owing to the Russian sanctions are compensated. The Centre Party says that Finnish dairies will bear the brunt of the sanctions if milk prices fall. Meanwhile, the Social Democratic Party has urged other parties to cool down.
Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sebastian Kurz also said that the EU has begun preparing defence sector sanction plans, including injunctions on arms exports.