1st Meeting of the EU Mentoring Group for the Moldovan Agricultural Administration
The APD Moldova Project functions as the Secretariat for the EU Mentoring Group with the objective to foster the transfer of knowledge and experience from EU Member States to the staff of the Moldovan Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (MAFI), the paying agency AIPA, and the National Food Safety Agency (ANSA).
Following the Joint Declaration on supporting the efforts in the development of the agri-food sector of the Republic of Moldova on its path to join the European Union, which was signed on October 6, 2023 and based on the Agri-food Partnership Platform that was formed by 11 EU Member States, the 1st EU Mentoring Group convened virtually on March 14, 2024. The APD Moldova Project functions as the Secretariat for the EU Mentoring Group, which follows the objective to foster the transfer of knowledge and experience from EU Member States to the staff of the Moldovan Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (MAFI), the paying agency AIPA, and the National Food Safety Agency (ANSA).
The 1st EU Mentoring Group covered the topic of “Transposing EU into national legislation”, which is on top of MAFI’s agenda. The Mentoring Group provided presentations from 5 distinguished speakers from 5 EU Member States of Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovenia. The participants from MAFI, AIPA, and ANSA benefitted from (i) an introduction to the different types of EU legislation, (ii) experiences on transposing EU into national legislation, (iii) how to establish a legislative consultation process, and (iv) an overview of the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA).
Mr. Primoz Vehar, currently serving as the Team Leader for the EU-funded project on “Support for structured policy dialogue, coordination of the implementation of the Association Agreement and enhancement of the legal approximation process” in the Republic of Moldova, provided an excellent introduction and overview of the different types of EU legislation, while emphasizing which pieces of legislation are required to be transposed.
Mr. Dominik Ganser, expert on the National Strategic Plan and subsidies of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) from the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Mr. Audrius Skaistys, Head of the Legal Department from the Lithuanian Paying Agency, shared their experience on transposing EU into national legislation, especially on what types of authorities were included during the process of transposition.
Ms. Aneta Herod, the Vice-Director for the Animal Identification Registration System Department in the Polish Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture, shared her experience on conducting an inclusive consultation process. Her presentation focused on explaining the objectives of public consultations, highlighting clear guidelines for participation and established standards for effective engagement.
Concluding the Mentoring Group’s agenda, Dr. Aare Kasemets, Advisor in the Estonian Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, shared insights on the critical role of Regulatory Impact Assessments, outlining Estonia’s transition from the Soviet Union to the European Union as a case study to highlight their importance and efficacy.
The EU Mentoring Group is scheduled to take place 4 times per year. The 2nd EU Mentoring Group is planned in June 2024.