Furthering cooperation on the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans

A follow-up virtual meeting was held between the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development and the FAO teams, including the Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia and the FAO Liaison Office in Brussels, on how to further strengthen EU-FAO collaboration in Western Balkan countries. Participants explored cooperation on issues related to biodiversity, including EU forestry and agro-environment submeasures under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance III programme. In addition, both the EU and FAO were keen to explore synergies in the region to promote knowledge-building, information exchange and tool/practice uptake for enhanced support to Western Balkan countries in tackling issues of land management, afforestation, support for local breeds and genetic resources, organic farming and pesticide management, smallholder support and extension services.