Hungarian support for Serbia’s European integration efforts was the main topic of discussion during bilateral talks held on Wednesday between Hungarian Minister of Agriculture Sándor Fazekas and Serbian Minister of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Snežana Bogosavljević Bošković.

Hungary’s Ministry of Agriculture is supporting Serbia’s preparations for accession to the European Union with the Twinning and TAEIX programmes, and within the framework of joint working groups.

Download

The main topics of expert cooperation include funding for small scale producers, fisheries policy, the national beekeeping programme, food trademarks and EU integration processes.

The Ministry of Agriculture would also like to continue the successful cooperation between Hungarian and Serbian universities with the designation of new research and development themes.

During the talks, Mr. Fazekas also highlighted the successful operation of the Ministry’s FAO scholarship programme, within the framework of which 4 Serbian students will begin studying for their master’s degrees at Hungarian universities during the 2015/2016 academic year.

The Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture would also like to reinforce its cooperation with Serbia on GMO-free food production within the framework of the Danube Soya Declaration. Within the field of animal husbandry, new propagation material export opportunities have become available to Hungary on the Serbian market. On the topic of environmental protection, the expansion of the Mura-Drava-Danube Transboundary Biosphere Reserve, in which Serbia also plans to participate as a partner country, was also a priority topic of discussion during the meeting. Minister Fazekas stressed that Hungary is providing all possible support to Serbia to ensure that its EU accession application is accepted.

(Ministry of Agriculture)