EC to ask France for explanation on the dumping of Spanish produce

The European Commission (EC) will ask the Government of France to give an explanation after Spanish…

The European Commission (EC) will ask the Government of France to give an explanation after Spanish trucks loaded with agricultural products were attacked on French roads, as confirmed today by the EU executive in response to a complaint from the Valencian political party Compromís.

The party's MEP, Jordi Sebastià, made this complaint following the attack on a truck carrying vegetables and citrus last February in Arles, France.

In this incident, a group of French producers "stopped the truck, dumped their content (about 18 tonnes) on the road and violently threatened the driver," explained Compromís in a note. This is not an isolated case, as five Spanish trucks were approached in April by a hundred French winegrowers near the town of Le Boulou, close to the border with Spain.

The European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Elzbieta Bienkowska, said that the Commission was not aware of the above facts and asked the French authorities "to give the corresponding explanations."

Bienkowska reminded national authorities that they have "the obligation to ensure the free movement of goods." Otherwise, the EC "may take legal action against Member States," said the Commissioner.

The EU executive will follow the development of such situations when they occur and, in the worst case scenario, "will enforce the necessary measures," assured the Commissioner.