BILATERAL RELATIONS BETWEEN GREECE AND OTHER COUNTRIES
IN AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL SECTOR
 
BALKANS
1. ALBANIA
In the framework of the Agreement for Economic, Technical and Scientific Co-operation between Greece and Albania, the 1st Session of the Greek-Albanian Committee took place in Athens (12.1.1996).
In June 1998, when the Albanian Ministry of Agriculture visited Greece, an agricultural Memorandum was signed, focusing mainly on the vine cultivations, fruits & vegetables, tobacco, maize and on the instalment of greenhouses.

In implementing this Memorandum, the Greek Ministry has:

·        Organised a training seminar for 15 Albanian experts on cultivations under shelter (1999);

·        Set up and donate a green house of 1000 sq. meter area to the suburb of Ag. Saranta, the cost amounting to 25 million GDR (2000);

·        Granted food aid of 2 tonnes of frozen poultry, 9 tonnes of peaches and  12 million eggs (1999);

·        Organised a training programme for 20 experts of the Albanian Ministry of Agriculture on issues of horticulture, tobacco, and products of animal origin (2000);

·        Provided to Albanian agriculturists post-graduate scholarships in the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania;

·        Organised a training seminar for 10 Albanian experts on exchanging know-how on the Aquis Communautaire (sanitary/phytosanitary measures and agricultural development).

In November 2002, the Greek Deputy Minister of Agriculture met with his Albanian counterpart and consented on signing a Co-operation Agreement in the sector of Agriculture.
2. BOSNIA - HERZEGOVINA

The bilateral co-operation has mainly the form of food aid shipment. In particular, during 1998-1999 the Greek side has granted:

-             500 tones of rice indica

-             500 tones of pasta

-          1.000 tones of sugar

-             300 tones of nitrate ammonia.

3. CROATIA

During the 2nd Joint Greek-Croatian Ministerial Committee for Economic Co-operation (Zagreb, 18.05.2001), the two sides expressed their interest in:

- developing their scientific and technical co-operation in the sector of Mediterranean agriculture,

- constructing furnaces for drying fruits and vegetable and installations for freezing fresh fruits and vegetable.
Up to date, no action has been taken place.
4. FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA (FYROM)
The co-operation between the two countries mainly concerns, up to now, about policies on fishing in bordering internal waters and ad hoc meetings of fishery experts for defining a common annual quota, aiming at the protection of fish reproduction. Meetings of this kind take place in Doirani Lake, since 1996.
FYROM has submitted a draft Protocol of Co-operation between the two countries on fishery issues, which has not yet been signed.
The Greek side initiated the 1st ad hoc meeting of fishery experts from Greece-FYROM-Albania in the close-to-borders Municipality of Prespes. One more ad hoc meeting between experts of the two countries has taken place in the Greek Ministry of Development (July of 2002) and dealt with issues on transboundary waters.
5. SERBIA - MONTENEGRO
The last years, food aid grants were directed to Serbia-Montenegro.

A. In the framework of the EU free distribution, the Greek side sent over:

1.   During 1999-2000       9.209 tones of oranges

2.   During 2000-2001       4.066 tones of oranges

                                            570 tones of apples

                                            2.422 tones of peaches

B. In the framework of the food aid, the Greek side sent over:

1.   In 2000                       2.900 tones of peaches and nectarines

                                        3.100 tones of frozen chickens

                                        9.250 million eggs.

2.  In 2001                       apples (value of 85.000.000 GDR).

Furthermore, during 1999 Greece provided two (2) scholarships in the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, for "Horticultural Quality Management" and "Natural Products", respectively.
6. TURKEY

During the last three years, the bilateral relations between Greece and Turkey, in the agricultural sector, have been formulated and developed on the basis of an institutional framework which consists of:

§         A Protocol for Technical, Scientific and Economic Co-operation;

§         An Agreement on phytosanitary policy and measures;

§         An Agreement in the veterinary sector.

In implementing the above Protocol, the 1st Steering Committee was convened in Athens (18.07.2000) and dealt with issues on:

-          The harmonization of the Turkish agricultural policy to the CAP;

-          Animal husbandry, breeding and veterinary;

-          Plant production and phytosanitary measures;

-          Aquaculture;

-          Agricultural research;

-          Agricultural engineering and irrigation.
In February 2002, the 1st Joint Ministerial Committee took place in Athens and resulted to the Greek side organizing a training seminar in Ankara (June 2002) on "the Common Agricultural Policy with a view to the enlargement". This seminar was attended by senior experts of the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture.
The 2nd Steering Committee took place in Ankara (09.07.2004) and the primary areas of common interest were the strengthening of mutual visits of experts on fields of common interest and the exchange of information on olive cultivation, water and soil conservation, organic farming, animal health, EU agricultural legislation and promotion of private Joint Venture Investments.
 
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