Food safety standards are an integral part of the agricultural success of a nation and a requirement for membership in the European Union. Recently, Eurasia Foundation’s South Caucasus Cooperation Program (SCCP) gathered government representatives and civil society members from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia to share experiences in their development of food standards and safety policies.
The discussion is a component of SCCP’s program entitled Promoting Civil Sector Participation in the Dialogue on European Integration, and is designed to encourage regional cooperation. As a result of the discussion, participants agreed on the research agenda for a tri-lateral policy paper that will be developed by a partnership of public policy organizations from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. This research partnership will serve as a catalyst for dialogue, strengthening the working relationships between regional NGOs and government agencies through the free exchange of ideas. In its final form, the policy paper will target the ministries of agriculture and economic development of each of the region’s countries in order to promote informed decision making.
In addition to food standards and safety, EF’s European Integration program focuses on EU-membership-dependent areas such as vocational education, waste management and land degradation, which have been identified as the areas most likely to yield the greatest benefits through regional cooperation. For more information, visit the South Caucasus web site or view the press release.
