Progress in Food Safety, Wastewater Management Remain a Problem

The improvement of national water legislation and implementation of European food labeling rules were the topics of the briefing “What European standards bring to Serbia – towards Food and Water Safety” which was held in the EU Info Centre in Belgrade on Wednesday, 4 March 2020.

The briefing was opened by the Policy and Legal Advice Center (PLAC III) team leader Mr. Andrej Engelman who said that as of autumn 2019 the project was organising a series of events entitled “What European Standards Bring to Serbia” in order to explain to media and Serbian public the European integration process and its benefits.

In his opening address, Head of Operations III at the Delegation of the EU to Serbia, Mr. Sakellaris Hurdas said that Serbia has made a good progress in the negotiation chapter 12 (Food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy), “especially given the fact that it is one of the most complicated chapters “. He noted as very important the fact that the National Food Safety Laboratory was opened and functional. “The food must be safe; it goes to the EU internal market,” Mr. Hurdas said.

In the negotiation chapter 27 (Environment Protection and Climate Change), Serbia submitted the negotiating position and the European Commission is now considering it, recalled Hurdas and congratulated Serbia on the document being “as much as 1,600 pages”. He said that special attention and more investments are necessary in wastewater management.

“The progress made in the EU in the field of water is visible – 95 percent of EU citizens drink clean water,” he said. Mr. Hurdas also said that the Green Deal is an absolute priority of the European Commission, and that the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans , under preparation at the moment, should be presented in the spring.

Advisor at the Serbian Ministry of Health, Mrs. Mirjana Veljković thanked the European Union for its continued support and the PLAC III project for its expertise.

Project expert Mr. Raymond O’Rourke presented the EU legislation on food labelling and contents of health and nutrition statements. According to him, companies now use the EU register of health claims, while for nutrition declarations rules are set to define what must be stated on them. Serbia has a Rulebook on Health and Nutrition Statements, and within the PLAC III project drafting a Rulebook on Implementation is currently under way.

Improvement of water legislation was discussed by project expert Mr. Robert Silig. He introduced the Water Framework Directive as well as the Drinking Water and Bathing Water Directives and presented experiences of EU Member States in legislation implementation. Through the PLAC III project, expert support was provided to the Serbian Ministry of Health  in drafting the Law on Water intended for human consumption, which has transposed relevant directives.

Along with project experts, advisers at the Ministry of Health, Mrs. Mirjana Veljković and Mr. Zvonko Platiša, answered journalists’ questions. The briefing was also attended by stakeholders – representatives of Coalition 27, European Policy Center, European Movement in Serbia, Environment Improvement Center, Ambassadors for Sustainable Development, Consumer Association “Efektiva” and the Consumer Protection Movement of Serbia.