On the 7th Project Steering Committee (PSC) Meeting held in Belgrade on 4 November 2022, both Project Leaders, Mr Peter Mayer and Mr Saša Stamatović highlighted an important agenda item referring to the proposed Addendum for the no-additional cost project extension by three months. In the previous PSC meeting in September 2022, it was assessed that good overall progress had been made and that all mandatory project results were being achieved timely. The discussion at the 6th PSC meeting touched upon a possible project extension based on the needs and priorities expressed by the BC Administration and considering the capacities available in the Member States beyond 10 January 2023. Soon after the meeting, a draft Addendum for a 3-month project extension was developed and circulated to the PSC members. After reviewing the Addendum, the IPA unit of the Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management issued a No-objection Statement to the Request for Addendum to the Twinning contract „Improvement of Forest Management in Serbia as a Contribution to Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation“, and the Department for Contracting and Financing of EU Funded Programmes within the Ministry of Finance approved the extension of the project on a no-additional cost basis.
Regarding activities within Component 1 (Assessment and improvement of the current sector policy and administrative capacities), two missions are proposed through Addendum under Activity 1.6 “Roadmap for national forest (development) programme operationalised and evaluated through a public consultation with stakeholders”, which will assist the Directorate for Forests with preparing an operationalised policy document and support the Beneficiary Country Administration in conducting its impact assessment through a public consultation. Since the National Forest Programme (NFP) is an evolving policy document requiring regular evaluation and updating, this Activity will help set up a policy cycle. The National Forest Programme is a suitable, internationally recognised policy tool to combine the long-term vision with ongoing developments and requirements in the forest sector. The road map for the revised, updated and operationalised NFP in Serbia was developed jointly by Member States (MS) and Beneficiary Country (BC) experts. Based on the experience with the development of national forest programmes in Austria and Slovakia, practical advice and insights from both MS were shared and adapted to the Serbian conditions. The expert missions also provided a comprehensive overview of relevant EU legislation and policy processes, particularly concerning the EU Forestry Strategy. The road map includes an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and is divided into seven thematic areas. Developments and challenges, including at the European policy level, state of play in Serbia and fields of action in each of the seven areas, are described in the road map. Whereas priorities and courses of action were identified and agreed upon, the road map did not have the ambition to address operationalisation. In order to take the road map further and assist the Directorate for Forests with preparing an operationalised policy document, the draft national forest programme and an expert mission will be organised. It is understood that NFP is an evolving policy document that requires regular evaluation and updating, and this Activity would help set up a proper policy cycle.
Furthermore, Serbian legislation requires that all public policy documents shall be developed in accordance with the results of ex-ante impact assessment and ex-post impact assessment of current public policy documents and regulations in the relevant field. During an ex-ante impact assessment, public policy proposers shall conduct consultations with stakeholders and target groups and collect and process data to propose an optimal option or combination of the considered options. An authorised proposer shall conduct a public debate on that document and prepare a report on the conducted public debate. The report shall specify in particular what stakeholders and target groups participated in the public debate, what suggestions were made, and whether and in what way those suggestions were integrated into the policy document. Special attention will be paid to ensuring the participation of representatives of private forest owners from across Serbia.
An additional mission within Activity 3.5 of Component 3 (Assessment and alignment of the current timber trade system legislation with EU requirements) is proposed through Addendum. Mission 3.5.6 “Ex-ante impact assessment of the draft Law” will support the BC Administration in conducting its ex-ante impact assessment through public consultation with stakeholders. As an outcome of the missions undertaken in Activity 3.5, recommendations for aligning Serbian legislation in the forestry and timber trade sector were made, including monitoring and enforcement. A training workshop was also held to this end. A draft law was drafted together with Serbian experts ensuring, among others, practical identification of operators, implementation of checks on the due diligence of operators and checks on traceability of traders and adequate penalties and measures. Recommendations developed jointly by BC, and MS experts addressed the necessary changes proposed in the study on system/structure (in terms of the number of people and budget) for monitoring the implementation of timber trade system legislation, covering both domestic and imported timber for future EUTR and FLEGT implementation.
As mentioned in the text above, Serbian legislation requires all public policy documents to be developed according to the results of ex-ante impact assessment and ex-post impact assessment of current public policy documents and regulations in the relevant field. In order to support the BC Administration in conducting the ex-ante impact assessment, one mission will be organised (Mission 3.5.6). The mission will coincide with a one-day public consultation held by the BC Administration as authorised proposer and lead to a joint evaluation by BC and MS experts.