MOSCOW, September 24 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's restrictions on food imports from the European Union can potentially hurt some 9.5 million European farmers, according to the estimates voiced Wednesday by the European Parliament.
"The overall restrictions currently applied by Russia could jeopardize 5 billion euro worth of trade and affect the incomes of 9.5 million EU farmers. The value of banned fisheries products amounts to almost 144 million euro," the European Parliament said in a press release.
The total population of the 28-state bloc is estimated at approximately 500 million.
The economic repercussions of Russia's import restrictions targeting EU farm produce, raw materials and food from the EU will be debated by the International Trade Committee with the trade specialists from the EU Commission on Wednesday after 16.00.
Following the reunification of Crimea with Russia, the West introduced several rounds of economic sanctions against Russia, notably targeting its oil, banking and defense sectors. Moscow responded with the adoption of a one-year ban on the import of certain food products made in the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia and Norway.