The purpose of the energy labeling project and eco-product design is to enable citizens to choose the most efficient products through a system that is safe and standardized, the participants of the debate organized in the EU Info Center agreed.
The project will contribute to the building of legislative and institutional capacities in line with EU regulations, in order to carry out accession negotiations more efficiently and fulfill the requirements for EU membership.
Project activities will help the Ministry of Mines and Energy improve the implementation of technical regulations related to the energy efficiency of products that affect energy consumption.
“In the field of energy efficiency, Serbia is making progress in aligning national legislation with EU regulations and is currently the leader among the Western Balkan countries in aligning with legislation in the field of energy labeling of products,” said Sakelaris Hourdas, Head of Operations in charge of energy, environment, transport, and agriculture in the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia. “This initiative will help Serbian citizens to choose energy-efficient home appliances in a reliable way, but will also help raise awareness about the role of each of us in reducing energy consumption, reducing carbon dioxide emissions and keeping the planet as green as possible,” concludes Sakelaris Hurdas from the EU Delegation to Serbia.
“The implementation of the EU Energy Labeling and Eco-Design Project is timely and has multiple roles for us. The aim of the project is to strengthen domestic capacities for the implementation of energy labeling and eco-design regulations, which are primarily the capacities of the Ministry of Mining and Energy and the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and telecommunications, especially their market inspection sector, as well as strengthening the domestic economy, especially the manufacturing sector, to produce products that are in line with domestic and European regulations and expanding the available markets, ”said Prof. Milos Banjac, Assistant to the Minister at of Mining and Energy.
“In this way, the domestic conformity assessment bodies are expanding the scope of their work in the interests of the economy and citizens, improving the awareness of customers/consumers and improving the quality of products that affect the energy consumption of the market, which are covered by the above technical regulations. Replacing inefficient appliances and products with more efficient ones leads to energy savings that can both be quantified and qualified as a legitimate measure in current and future energy efficiency plans, ”Banjac concludes.
For this project, the European Union has committed close to € 1.5 million to technical assistance to the Ministry of Mines and Energy in order to further advance the implementation of the adopted legislation for energy labeling of products and to further promote eco-design.
