Skopje, 24 September 2024 (MIA) - Skopje hosted Tuesday the 18th Annual Working meeting of Agriculture Ministers from Southeastern Europe which focused on the Berlin Process, the upcoming reform of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, food security, IPARD and regional cooperation.

At the meeting, the ministers are expected to sign a joint declaration aimed at overcoming all bilateral and multilateral conflicts related to the free movement of goods, services, people and capital, as well as related to food and agriculture. 

“We will continue with the regional cooperation, the mutual exchange of information and assistance in the region. With the declaration we will express our strong determination to create policies and national action plans to achieve national and regional food security, as well as strategic autonomy in the open economy to secure sustainable and competitive production for the population of the entire region,” Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy Cvetan Tripunovski said.

European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Janusz Wojciechowski, stressed the importance of cooperation between the countries of the region who are candidates for EU membership.

“We are very interested to have North Macedonia and the other countries of the region in the EU... The Union isn’t complete without your countries. Agriculture is a very important, but also a difficult part of the accession process. I am from Poland and I remember our experience 20 years ago. I want to highlight three key moments related to the declaration: security in the food supply – a process in which the farmers (producers) are key, agroecology and organic agriculture, as well as the potential of small and medium-sized family businesses in agriculture,” Wojciechowski said.

The Montenegrin Minister of Agriculture, Vladimir Joković, noted that the working meeting represents an excellent opportunity to discuss regional cooperation.

“We spoke about the challenges faced by agriculture, such as climate change and infectious diseases, not only in plants but also animals. I believe that we will achieve progress in our cooperation, which is on an exceptionally high level,” Joković said.

According to Kosovo’s Minister of Agriculture, Faton Peci, the goal of the meeting is exchanging experiences and practices, especially in relation to the legislation.

“We are here to exchange information, to see what the best practices are and to improve cooperation. As small countries, we need to work towards organic agriculture, agricultural policies and legislation, food supply... There are many challenges ahead of us, such as the Russian aggression in Ukraine,” Peci said. 

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Albania, Frida Krifca, noted the need for greater communication between the countries of the region. 

Photo/Video: MIA