By Pete Harrison
BRUSSELS, April 24 (Reuters) – European ambassadors approved a European Union plan to ban imports of furs and other products from culled seals on Friday, moving the 27-nation bloc one step closer to a trade clash with Norway and Canada.
Both seal-hunting nations have warned the EU in recent weeks that they could challenge the EU ban at the World Trade Organisation, the global trade watchdog, if it takes shape as currently foreseen.
“Nothing should now stand in the way of this ban being adopted,” said an official from the EU’s Czech presidency, which brokered a deal this week that will exclude hunts by Inuits. “It needs to go before the European Parliament in May, but that should be a formality because parliament negotiators have already agreed to it informally,” the official added.
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