Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia

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Otar Shamugia meets Sandra Gallina, Director General of Health and Food Safety of the European Commission.

The Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Mr. Otar Shamugia, met with Mrs. Sandra Gallina, Director General of Health and Food Safety of the European Commission, as part of his working visit to Brussels. 

During the meeting, the parties focused on the progress achieved by Georgia on the path to European integration.

According to Mr. Shamugia, the Ministry is actively preparing to take steps towards European integration. The working group has already been established to coordinate the implementation of the recommendations and develop an action plan as outlined in the European Commission's communication document on enlargement policy issues dated November 11, 2023.  The mentioned group will identify all the measures and needs required for the effective and timely completion of the relevant activities for fulfilling indicated recommendations.

" Our primary focus is on the EU market and maximizing its potential. It is essential to improve the competitiveness of locally produced agro-food products to take full advantage of the EU market. We should emphasize the important progress in the food safety, veterinary medicine, and plant protection areas, which is essentially due to the European Neighborhood Program. Moreover, Georgia continues implementing the EU-Georgia Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Agreement (DCFTA). We have already taken crucial steps to fulfill our commitments.  Under the Association Agreement, since 2015, Georgia has been successfully approximating its national legislation with the EU legal acts in the veterinary, phytosanitary, and food safety fields, and this process will continue until 2028’’, Mr. Otar Shamugia said.

The General Director of Health and Food Safety of the European Commission thanked Mr. Shamugia for providing detailed information, positively assessed the steps taken in the food safety field, and expressed readiness for active cooperation.

The First Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Mrs. Nino Tandilashvili, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Georgia to the Kingdom of Belgium, Mr. Bidzina Javakhishvili, and Deputy Head of the National Food Agency, Mr. Vasil Basiladze attended the meeting.