03/11/2022
The EU-funded twinning project, co-led by FIIAPP, kicks off at an opening ceremony on 20 October at the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade
The project for the support the establishment of a carcass classification system in Serbia in line with the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy will carry out different missions of Spanish and Latvian experts for a year and a half, who will visit different meat establishments and train the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management (MAFWM), the control body and slaughterhouse staff. The Serbian team will also travel to Spain and Latvia to see how the system works in those countries.
The general objective of the project is to direct meat producers towards to market and consumer demands, and to improvement of the quality of meat production and the transparency of the meat market in the Republic of Serbia. It should result in the establishment of a mandatory classification system for beef and pork carcasses on the slaughter line and the reporting of their prices in accordance with European Union regulations, as well as the establishment of the application of definitions, labels and sales labels.
In his welcome address, Mr. Nenad Katanic, Assistant Minister of sector for Agricultural Policy of MAFWM, explained that the project officially began on June 6 2022, and during this four months several activities have been held. Some of them are the development of a training programme, the preparation of equipment calibration and a study visit to Spain, where five Serbian experts were introduced to the system of beef carcass classification.
By her side, Ms. Vedrana Ilic, Assistant Minister of sector for International Cooperation of MAFWM, remarked that this project continues to support the process of harmonizing legislation with EU law in the area of carcass classification and thus continues to follow the path of fulfilling the obligations undertaken by the Republic of Serbia towards the European Union.
The Ambassador of Spain in Serbia, Raúl Bartolomé Molina, has expressed that through the cooperation projects between the Administration of Spain and the Administration of Serbia, both countries are working together also with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of life of every citizen. And not forgetting that this project is possible thanks to a consortium with Latvia, which is an example of the close cooperation that exists between EU Member States in all areas of everyday life.
Furthermore, the Spanish Director General of Agricultural Production, Esperanza Orellana, highlighted the good collaboration between the countries and thanked all the experts from the Spanish institutions who will be sharing their knowledge over the coming months.
This meeting was attended as well by the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia, Sakellaris Hourdas, who mentioned the importance of the commerce of agricultural products, where Serbia traditionally exports more than it imports, and reflected about the importance of this project for aligning with quality standards and to fulfil with consumers demands.
Finally, the director of the Economic Development and Environment area of the FIIAPP, Sonsoles Mories, pointed out that this is an excellent example of Spain’s commitment to support pre-accession countries in the process of harmonising their legislation with EU standards.
