Ireland and Britain have appealed to the European Commission to back their proposal to raise barriers to salmon imports from non-EU states, including Norway.
However, any decision could take months, EU diplomats said today.
EU states have until Friday to react formally to Irish and British requests on salmon imports and to their demand for import restrictions, which are worrying Norwegian producers.
The Commission is set to decide on Friday or Monday to start an investigation which could take from three to nine months, the diplomats said.
The Irish and British governments are afraid their salmon farmers are being overwhelmed by supplies of farmed Atlantic salmon, from Norway in particular. But their demand for import restrictions also covers shipments from Chile and the Faroe Islands.