OREANDA-NEWS The leading EU countries — among them Germany, France and the Netherlands — are calling on Brussels to change the sanctions regime imposed on Russia in order to more clearly identify exceptions for the supply of Russian grain and fertilizers, the Financial Times writes. According to the newspaper, these countries insist that the current order complicates supplies to the poorest countries of the world.

FT writes that although the EU has sent instructions to member countries on the passage of grain and fertilizers, individual governments and transport operators note that they are not clear enough to be reliable legal protection. Deliveries are sometimes delayed in European ports longer than they should be, because companies are afraid of participating in transactions with Russian organizations or people under sanctions. "The current legal situation contributes to criticism that sanctions hinder trade in food and fertilizers," the newspaper quotes a document prepared by European countries.

In this document, the current situation is assessed as undesirable: the EU's approach turned out to be stricter than that of the United States and Great Britain.