On Thursday, August 8, 2024, the eighth Steering Committee meeting for the Twinning Project “Approximation of national legislation of Ukraine in the fields of state supervision (control) of GMOs in open systems, protection of plant variety rights, and seed and seedling production in line with EU norms and standards” (hereinafter – Project), the beneficiary of which is State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection (hereinafter – State Service) was held online.
The aim of the Project is to contribute to addressing shortcomings in the area of state supervision (control) of compliance with safety measures and spread of GMOs in open systems, protection of plant variety rights, and seed and seedling production.
The Head of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection Serhii Tkachuk took the floor and thanked the partners and outlined the key results achieved during the reporting period, emphasizing that the last three months have been very successful, but the team is not going stop there and the time left until the end of the Project will be used to good effect.
The EU Member State Project Leader, Kristine Lomakina, also addressed the meeting, emphasizing the effective cooperation of the partners, and stressed that the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection is now entering the final stretch and must make a lot of efforts to further adopt the experience of the EU countries and, most importantly, to use the knowledge and skills after the completion of the Project.
In the report, Modris Frikmanis, Resident Twinning Advisor, gave a brief overview of the work that had been done and noted that this period had been productive for the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection, as Ukrainian legislation was now almost fully compliant with EU legislation. He also mentioned new instructions and plans for the implementation of the instrument, as the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection was provided with a complete systematic description of the model of an EU Member State (namely Poland) and a risk-based control methodology.
In turn, Lea Greisler, Finance Manager, presented a quarterly financial report and information on communication activities within the Project.
The meeting was attended by Project experts from European Union Member States, representatives of the European Union Delegation to Ukraine, and State Service.
Marta Mohilevska, Chief Consultant of Twinning Coordination Division of the Unit of Twinning Programme Administration Office, also took part in the event on behalf of the Center for Adaptation of the Civil Service to the EU Standards.
For reference: according to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ukraine “On Approval of the Procedure for Initiation, Preparation and Implementation of the Twinning Projects” as of 11 October 2016 No 700 the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service coordinates the implementation of the institution building instrument of the European Union Twinning in Ukraine. Furthermore, in accordance with relevant legal acts the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service is the coordinator of institution building instrument TAIEX implementation in Ukraine. In order to provide effective coordination of Twinning and TAIEX the Twinning Program Administration Office in Ukraine was established, its functions are performed by the Center for Adaptation of the Civil Service to the Standards of the European Union.
