The Information on activities performed on accreditation for the use of IPA funds in September 2013 was presented by Milanka Davidovic and Bojan Zivadinovic of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management. Speaking of the accreditation process for IPA Component 1 – Transition Assistance and Institution Building, Milanka Davidovic said that a Directive was recently passed on European Union pre-accession assistance programme management within the IPA Component which specifies how these programmes are to be managed in the Republic of Serbia. She stressed that the IPA 2013 programme cycle would be implemented according to the decentralised management system at the level of the Republic of Serbia, after it has been sanctioned by the European Commission and after the signing of the financial agreement at the end of the current year.
Bojan Zivadinovic stressed that all the activities relating to the finalisation of the 2014-2024 Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy Proposal have been completed and the Ministry is currently working on developing the measures and goals planned by the strategy which have to be adjusted to the agrarian budget potentials and the EU funds planned to be used in the sphere. Zivadinovic added that the adoption of the strategy is a prerequisite for the realisation of pre-accession assistance, adding that the completion of EU projects is one of the activities planned for the upcoming period.
Dragan Mirkovic of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management presented the Information on activities performed to establish a reference laboratory for food, cattle feed and milk safety control in September 2013, accompanied by an activity plan for the next month. He stressed that the Directorate for national reference laboratories is preparing a milk testing laboratory at the Novi Sad Faculty of Agriculture.
In the course of the discussion the Committee members asked about the testing and sending for testing of samples of goods imported into Serbia and well whether having two laboratories was justified.
Dragan Pusara, Director of the National Wholesale Market, presented the national wholesale market system to the Committee members. He stressed that the overall goal of the project is to realise sale-storage logistics throughout the territory of the Republic of Serbia.
The discussion also touched on the role of Belgrade green markets in the wholesale market, the significance of the wholesale market as regards competitiveness, as well as the capital local self-governments should invest into setting up wholesale markets.

The sitting was chaired by the Committee Chairman, Aleksandar Senic.