State Secretary of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Mirjana Milosevic stated today that as part of the EU accession process, Serbia is under obligation to harmonise domestic legislature with that of the EU.

Speaking at a presentation of a “Harmonisation of national regulations of registration and control of plant protection products with EU regulations and the application of new legislation” twinning project, Milosevic said that there are as many as 8,600 directives in the agriculture sector.

She noted that proper application of pesticides is crucial to food safety, adding that if Serbia wants to turn to organic production, it has to increase the use of biopesticides, which has so far been quite low.

Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Adriano Martins stressed that the EU is financing the twining project aimed at health and environmental improvement with €1.3 million, which should be achieved through efficient control of plant protection products.

Martins explained that the project envisages cooperation between experts from Serbia and Great Britain, Slovenia and the Czech Republic, with the aim of combining the expertise, knowledge and experiences in this remit.

The project will primarily enable the implementation of European regulations on plant protection in Serbia, provide assistance with reforming the existing and adopting new legislation and its implementation.

He recalled that in the period 2001–2010 the EU extended €72 million for boosting Serbia’s agriculture and food safety.

British Ambassador to Serbia Michael Davenport voiced his pleasure at the fact that institutions and experts from his country are participating in this project, stressing that since 1998 over 1,300 twining projects have been implemented and financed, with Great Britain taking part in around 350 of them.

Slovene Ambassador to Serbia Franc But also attended the presentation of the project, which is being implemented from 1 October 2010 until 31 March 2013.