Representatives from the European Commission (Commission) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) institutions met in Banja Luka on 25-26 June 2015 to discuss the level of approximation of the country in the field of agriculture and fisheries, food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary issues.
During the meeting, developments in the area of agriculture were discussed. The Commission emphasized that BiH needs to strengthen efforts to further enhance its institutional capacities, coordination and legal framework in these areas of the acquis. Further efforts are also needed to establish the relevant national structures for provision of pre-accession assistance to the agricultural sector through EU pre-accession aid (IPARD). State level legislation on wine and organic production has to be harmonised with the acquis and a countrywide rural development strategic plan also needs to be adopted. The Commission reiterated the need to find a solution regarding the legal framework for an agricultural census.
In the area of food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary matters the parties took note of the fact that a Commission Decision will be adopted very shortly which will allow BiH to export potatoes to the EU quite soon. This will contribute to an increase in the export potential of BiH and to the competitiveness and growth of the country’s agricultural sector.
The Commission also commended the BiH authorities on the establishment and approval of its Action Plan to control the production and processing of dairy products intended for export to the EU which is important for BiH to be allowed to export milk and dairy products to the EU. The Commission now expects all aspects of the Action Plan to be fully implemented in a coordinated manner without delay across the country by state level and entities’ administrations. Further efforts are generally needed in BiH to improve the chain of command and the official food and feed control system which is not yet fully aligned with European standards, which is why BiH is still not allowed to export most goods of animal origin to the EU market.
Regarding the food processing sector in BiH, the Commission encouraged the BiH authorities to put an emphasis on further developing a strategy for a viable food supply chain, in order to exploit the county’s potential and allow for a better utilization of existing processing capacities.
(Source: europe)
