The vegetables RBAG group has held its first meeting in 2019 in May in Brussels, during a study visit to the most prominent business associations in the vegetables industry in the EU, as well as the European institutions. The main goal of the study visit was to share experiences and gain insight of the work and best practice of the European vegetables associations in presenting their positions to the decision makers in the EU member countries, as well as at the level of the European institutions and decision makers. The vege group has also met with the representatives of EU institutions, namely the European Commission and the European Parliament in order to inquire and be informed about the newest policies in the vegetables trade within the EU and with the third parties, including the Western Balkans. It was also interesting to hear the general EU position towards the region and to see the functioning of the EU institutions on a daily basis in communication with the business sector and partners outside the EU. Finally, the RBAG held a meeting in order to discuss the following steps of the group and the sustainability of the group after the completion of the current project. The group also discussed the position paper stipulating all the most burning issues for the vegetables sector in the region and discussed the presentation of the paper to the national decision makers and the official bodies of CEFTA.
May 17, 2019