EU Twinning Projects
Twinning projects bring together public sector expertise from EU Member States and beneficiary countries with the aim of achieving concrete mandatory operational results through peer to peer activities.
DENMARK CONTINUES TO SUPPORT SERBIA IN IP RIGHTS AREA
Under the leadership of the Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO), the EU twinning project “Protection and Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in Serbia” was launched in February 2019 and will run for a total of 24 months, with a budget of EUR 1.5 million.
The project partner in Serbia is the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications.
The overriding objective of the project is to support the Republic of Serbia in aligning its standards for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights with established EU practices, in order to conduct effective accession negotiations and successfully manage all the integration and pre-accession assistance from the EU. In addition, a functioning system for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights will be set up and adapted to suit EU standards and procedures. These project guidelines are being implemented thanks to regular seminars, workshops and study visits, in close cooperation with the relevant Serbian project partners.
The expert team behind the project consortium is made up of by the Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO), as well as experts from the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV) and the German Federal Patent Court.
DANISH EXPERTISE IN EU TWINNING PROJECT ON FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS AND ANIMAL BY-PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
In line with its commitment to support Serbia on the path to the EU, Denmark has provided experts for the 30-months EU Twinning project on Capacity building for Upgrading Food Establishment and Animal By-product Management.
The Serbian beneficiary institutions are Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection with the Veterinary Directorate (VD). The project was completed in January 2017.
The agriculture sector has a potential to become one of the main pillars of the Serbian economy. To be able to smoothly trade internationally in products of animal origin, adequate measures have to be taken to prevent outbreaks of animal diseases and food borne diseases.
The key factors are safe handling and processing of animal by-products (products not eaten by humans, such as e.g. fallen stock, inedible offal) and upgrading of establishments dealing with food of animal origin.
The project consists of four components:
1. Strategy development on upgrading of milk and meat establishments and animal by-product management
2. The upgrading of meat and milk production establishments
3. Improvement of the handling of animal by-products
4. Awareness building
The project will result in a drafted and adopted strategic and legal framework as well as an enhanced capacity among veterinary inspectors to fulfil a wide range of duties.
It will also create a body of knowledge regarding food safety standards within the Veterinary Directorate which will be invaluable as the Serbia seeks to improve food safety in other sectors (i.e. beyond meat and dairy) and increase its competitiveness in the global market.
The successful completion of the project is also key to the access to IPARD funding of the upgrading of the food establishments.
THROUGH EU TWINNING PROJECT, DENMARK HELPS SERBIA WITH ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
For two years, Danish experts supported Serbian administration in the area of enforcement of intellectual property rights through the project “Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in Serbia”.
The project was funded by the EU with EUR 1.3 million, enabling capacity enhancement of relevant Serbian institutions dealing with the protection of rights and anti-piracy.
The Project has been implemented by the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunication, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Finance, Intellectual Property Office, Republic Public Prosecutor’s Office and the EU Delegation to Serbia.
Within the Project, a software has been designed for Customs Administration and market inspection and 800 people have been trained to use it.
In January 2016, at the conference marking the completion of the Project, Advisor at the EU Delegation to Serbia Steffen Hudolin said that the goal of the Project was the protection of consumer rights.
“Consumers are easily tricked into low prices and not aware of the dangers posed by fake products”, said Hudolin and added that intellectual property rights remained an international challenge, requiring international cooperation.
State Secretary at the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunication Vesna Kovač said the goal was to protect consumers more efficiently from fake products on the market and raise awareness about piracy.
“Thanks to the Project, capacity of relevant institutions has been improved”, she said and added that intellectual property rights protection also is important in trying to attract foreign investors, increasing budget revenue and decreasing grey economy.