EU project “Strengthening of the Serbian system of market surveillance for non-food and food products” proved to be “vital for Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications’ capacities aimed at enabling better consumer protection and ensuring fair competition free of unnecessary trade restrictions,” said Assistant Minister and National Project Director Lidija Stojanovic at the project’s closing conference held in Belgrade.
According to Head of Operations II of the EU Delegation to Serbia José Antonio Gomez Gomez, the task of harmonising domestic legislation and practice with new EU legal framework in the area of market surveillance is “Sisyphus’ job”.
It includes overview, checking and approving thousands of pages of law. But “the reward is significant, because Serbian businessmen will be given access to EU market with more than 500 million consumers,” Gomez Gomez said.
Over the course of two and a half years, servants were trained to the requirements of new accreditation and market surveillance approach in line with new legal framework 2008/765 EU, as well as with standards and legislation.
Almost 900 servants took part in various lectures and study visits to EU Member States where they learned about the functioning of the system.
As Goran Aksentijevic Safety Coordinator of the Department for technical supervision of market inspection explains, the approach will reflect on economy as well, because “now everyone, from producers to retailers, will be obliged to meet the essential, harmonised safety and other requirements, if they plan to continue their operation. Those not harmonised, may be held accountable and sanctioned. It is pretty clear that now there will be no transfer of responsibility,” Aksentijevic said.
This is good news for consumers. New EU system of market surveillance calls for an efficient information exchange and communication across Europe, so that unsafe and not harmonised products could receive thorough and coordinated treatment.
Through this project, Serbia and EU jointly finance the development and application of new, sophisticated, two-part information management system. The first part is database that will offer detailed information about inspections and economic entities. Second part of the system is in charge with dissemination of information regarding the not harmonised and/or dangerous products that should be prevented from entering the Serbian market, and/or withdrawn from it.
It serves public interests and supports Serbian authorities dealing with product safety. System is now in its final phase and soon it will be ready. In the years to come, the more data it receives, the more support it will provide to inspectors.
“The progress made thanks to this EU project will equally benefit consumers and businessmen,” National Project Director Lidija Stojanovic said.
