Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Mission Held - TAIEX

In October, a TAIEX mission (the European Commission’s Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument) was held to provide expert support in drafting secondary legislation and further harmonizing national legislation on organic production with the European Union acquis, specifically Regulation (EU) 2018/848. The mission was opened by Ministry officials, and Miroslav Cimbaljević, Director General of the Directorate for Agriculture, addressed the participants, expressing great satisfaction with the progress achieved in Montenegro’s organic production sector. He emphasized the key importance of continuously aligning regulations with EU standards, both for Montenegro’s EU accession process and for the sustainable development of the agricultural sector and support for local producers. During three days of intensive work, international experts Giuseppe Paesano (Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry of Italy) and Luigi Guarrera (CIHEAM Bari – International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies, Italy) worked together with Ministry representatives from the organic production sector, Milica Bućković and Anastasija Đurković. This year’s mission focused on drafting and refining secondary regulations concerning the rules for aquaculture in organic production, including the farming of algae and aquaculture animals. Through direct cooperation with the Italian experts, best practices and guidelines for implementing the new EU standards were considered, marking an important step toward fully aligning domestic legislation with European Union requirements. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management continues to work actively on strengthening the legislative framework and supporting the development of organic production in Montenegro, while expressing gratitude to the European Commission and the TAIEX instrument for their continued expert support.