Russian ultimatum shock

NORWAY - Norway's fishery industry and officials fear an economic catastrophe if Russia follows through on a threat to stop all import of Norwegian seafood.

Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Helga Pedersen expressed surprise and concern over the latest twist in long-running complications with Russian complaints over Norwegian fish. Russia is one of Norway's most important seafood export markets and has recently been the country's single best customer.

On Thursday Norwegian authorities received a letter from Russian veterinary authorities making demands on seafood export in the wake of their recently claimed discovery of 75 forged veterinary certificates on Norwegian fish products. Pedersen told NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting) that the forgeries had not even been traced enough to determine whether they originated in Norway or Russia.

Pedersen said in a press release that Norway was in close contact with the European Union on the matter, and pointed out that this was important due since the European Economic Area agreement meant that Norway and the EU had common veterinary and sanitary regulations.

Source: Aftenposten