EU Training Programme on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) issues for Asian countries
Project Overview
Location:
Brussels, Belgium
Dates:
June 2008 – November 2009
Funding Body:
European Commission
Project Status:
Completed
The European Union (EU) as the leading actor in international food trade and the largest importer of food products in the world recognises the importance of providing trainings to third countries to provide an understanding of the EU’s Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) import requirements. It is, therefore, the EU’s aim to reduce difficulties being experienced by third countries and raise awareness of the benefits of food safety and control through SPS standards harmonization.
This project aimed to deliver seminars for Asian countries, namely South Korea, India and ASEAN member countries, in the context of the Free Trade Agreements (FTA) which, at the time, were under negotiation with the EU. The goal was enhancing mutual understanding in the SPS field and contributing to its effective implementation.
The seminars benefited food safety administrators in the beneficiary countries in providing technical assistance understanding and complying with European SPS regulatory requirements. This support extended to both the technical and administrative food safety infrastructure. Furthermore, it was held in the context of optimising the outputs and synergies with existing SPS and food safety programmes.
As a result, three 3-day seminars for the SPS administrators were designed and held in Brussels, Belgium. One seminar was held per respective country/region and all seminars were especially tailored to discuss subjects related to country-specific compliance with EU SPS requirements and according to each country’s/region’s particular needs.
DEVELOPMENT Solutions Europe Ltd (DS) in consortium with Emerging Markets Group (EMG) and the Central Science Laboratory (CSL) were responsible for the implementation of this project. EMG, DS and CSL all have extensive experience in working together to design and deliver capacity building workshops and training seminars for government and industry of third countries, leading to a highly successful execution of the project.
