Quality standards for fruits and vegetables, as well as eggs, poultry meat, and milk, the draft Law on Wine, strategies for promoting healthier dietary habits, and numerous regulations on market standards are among the most important outcomes of the project “Strengthening and Adaptation of Administrative Capacities for the Introduction of the Organization of Agricultural Markets”. This project marks a significant step toward aligning Serbia’s agricultural sector with European Union standards, and its successful completion was marked yesterday in Belgrade. The next step, following the end of the project, is the prompt adoption of the draft legislation, which will be the best mark for sustainability of the results achived.
During the project, experts from Lithuania, France, Germany, Italy, and Poland trained their Serbian colleagues to strengthen the administrative and technical capacities of Serbian institutions in implementing the mechanisms of the Common Market Organization (CMO) in line with EU regulations.
At the ceremony, Elgars Ozolins, Head of Operations III at the EU Delegation to Serbia, addressed the attendees. He reminded them that the EU supports Serbia’s efforts to align with EU policies, noting that more than 150 million euros have been invested in Serbia’s agricultural sector to date, in addition to the opportunities the Serbian farmers and agroprocessors have to get access to 463 million EUR in IPARD funds for the period 2014-2027 .
“Serious legislative work took place within this project, resulting in draft legal acts for harmonising rules and regulations with the Common Agricultural Policy. I would encourage that all these drafts soon are adopted, turning into documents with legislative power and implementation starting in a reasonable time,” Ozolins said.
In the context of the agricultural market, it is important to note that the value of Serbia’s agricultural exports to the EU doubled from 1.1 billion euros in 2013 to 2.2 billion euros in 2023, and the EU expects these numbers to continue growing.
“A significant number of expert missions have been conducted, along with study visits to relevant institutions in the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Lithuania, and the Republic of France. I sincerely believe that the experiences gained during this project will be of great importance on our path to EU membership in this field,” said Katanić.
The “Strengthening and Adaptation of Administrative Capacities for the Introduction of the Organization of Agricultural Markets” project provided training, expertise, and support to Serbian experts and relevant authorities and was financed by the EU with 1.8 grant funds.
