The seventh session of the “Parliament for Europe” will focus the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) with a particular emphasis on the current state of affairs in this important sector, as well as considering agriculture policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The session will be hosted on 5 June, by the National Assembly of the Hungarian Republic and will be held in the National Assembly of the Hungarian Republic in Budapest.

Thirty parliamentarians from the state, entity and Brcko District assembly, who participate in EUSR led Parliament for Europe project in BiH, will have the opportunity to expand their knowledge on the CAP and will hear presentations from Dr Ferenc Nyujtó and Mr. László Vajda from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Government of the Republic of Hungary, Mr. István Jakab, Vice Chairman of the Committee of Agriculture and Member of the National Assembly of the Hungarian Republic and Mr. Valér Palkovits, EU Coordinator from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of the Republic of Hungary.

This visit to Hungary will also give parliamentarians from BiH the opportunity to exchange views with their Hungarian counterparts and to learn from their experiences and best practice in the accession process, as well as to examine the scope for BiH to adopt and apply EU best practices in the agriculture sector. This is of utmost importance and relevance for BiH, and is recognised as such by the European Partnership document which requires BiH to, inter alia, in the short term: adopt the Law on Agriculture, Food and Rural Development and to ensure an adequate legal framework for harmonized implementation of agricultural, food and rural development policies, work towards the establishment of a State level Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development and ensure adoption of legislation compliant with the European standards in the food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary sectors.
 
It is important for a country in the accession process to grasp — as soon as possible — the major features of this policy sector, considering the importance of agriculture for development of BiH as well as the fact that the European Union today has a modern, competitive farming sector that occupies a leading position in world markets, both as a major exporter and the world’s largest importer of food, mainly from developing countries. It has a sustainable, efficient farming sector, which uses safe, clean, environmentally friendly production methods providing quality products to meet consumers’ demands.