Chapter 13: final workshop on capacity needs assessment held

The final workshop of the PLAC III project in the area of ​​the Negotiation Chapter 13 (Fisheries), which referred to the assessment of administrative and institutional capacities necessary in that area, was held on Thursday, 31 March 2022.

The workshop was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management (Veterinary and Agrarian Payments Directorates), the Ministry of Finance and the Republic Statistical Office. As guests, two representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture of Northern Macedonia attended the workshop.

Addressing the workshop, Assistant Minister of Agriculture Nenad Katanić thanked the PLAC III project for the support provided in the preparation of the first capacity needs assessment necessary for the implementation of fisheries policy. Project leader Andrej Engelman said that the expert support was related to the implementation, i.e. how the competent institutions should be formed. The candidate country needs to show the European Union that it has the capacity to fulfil its obligations and implement the legislation, Engelman said.

Project expert Mirta Novak presented the analysis of the questionnaire on administrative capacities conducted in the Ministries of Agriculture, Finance and Environmental Protection, as well as in other relevant institutions of Serbia – the Republic Statistical Office, and the scientific community. One of the main conclusions of the analysis is that administrative and institutional capacities devoted specifically to the fisheries policy are necessary. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management should be in charge of fishery policy-making, within which a special group or sector for fisheries and aquaculture should be established. Representatives of the Ministries of Agriculture of Serbia and Northern Macedonia exchanged experiences in the work so far, especially when it comes to aquaculture and data collection in that area.

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