“Since 2019, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and Croatian Agency for Agriculture and Food (HAPIH) have been jointly organizing the Autumn School in Osijek. This is an initiative for bringing together food safety experts, beneficiaries of the IPA program, to improve their knowledge and experience, expand their professional network and increase readiness for common challenges. The focus of this year’s Autumn School’s edition is on plant health and chemical risk assessment, with two parallel sessions consisting of a combination of theoretical and practical elements including real case studies and simulation exercises,” said EFSA’s Senior Officer Barbara Gallani, Head of Communication and Partnerships, while opening the 5th Autumn School, which took place from November 5th to November 7th in Osijek.
The acting director of HAPIH, Krunoslav Karalić, Ph.D., expressed particular satisfaction regarding EFSA’s recognition of HAPIH as a reliable partner for the fifth year in a row.
“Croatia, as the youngest European Union’s member state, is also the most competent to share its experiences with countries in the pre-accession stage on the way to EU integration. We believe that the Autumn school’s participants will return to their institutions with new knowledge and that another significant step has been taken in bringing the pre-accession countries closer to the European system,” Karalić pointed out.
Interactive workshops were held for about 30 participants from the pre-accession countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo*, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey.
Guest lecturers from EFSA, the Dutch Food Safety Agency and University of Padova have shared their knowledge and experience together with experts from HAPIH, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of the Republic of Croatia, as well as experts from the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Croatia.
This year’s Autumn School is organized within the framework of the IPA III Pre-Accession Program 2023-2026, which is financed by the European Commission, and which aims to promote understanding of EFSA’s work, the exchange of professional knowledge and experience, as well as the creation of mechanisms for the exchange of information between pre-accession countries, EU member states and EFSA.(*) This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence
