Align the agri-food and primary production sector with the EU standards on food safety, plant and animal health and welfare and environment, and address effluent, manure and waste management

ROADMAP PROGRESS

The 2025 GARI reports continued but uneven progress. Albania adopted implementing legislation on the classification of grape varieties for wine production in November 2024 and legislation on organic production, labelling and control in October 2024, and adopted the Animal Health Law and the Plant Health Law in June 2025, both applicable two years after adoption. The general food safety framework remains only partially aligned with the EU General Food Law Regulation, and legislation on official controls is not yet aligned with the Official Controls Regulation. Montenegro recorded good progress, adopting legislation in the wine, olive growing and olive oil sectors and the Law on Organic Production in 2024, absorbing around 90% of IPARD II funds and receiving entrustment of four measures under IPARD III. North Macedonia continued IPARD III implementation with insufficient progress on the entrustment of new measures, while the law on official controls and a new law on animal health remain to be adopted. Serbia adopted the Law on Official Controls and the Law on Organic Production in December 2025, together with legislation on seeds and planting material, but absorption under IPARD II remained low at 56.6%, and only two of sixteen foreseen framework laws in the food safety area were adopted. Kosovo* made limited progress, with implementing legislation for the Law on Market Organisation for Agricultural Products and a law on animal health still to be adopted. Financial resources for rabies vaccination in 2025 and 2026 are secured. Bosnia and Herzegovina made no significant progress, with implementing legislation on the wine market, a domestic law on organic farming and laws on official controls, animal health and animal welfare all outstanding.

Additional reforms are also needed to address environmental aspects of agricultural production, including the management of manure, effluents, and agricultural waste, as well as broader integration of environmental requirements into agri-food sector policies and regulatory frameworks.

Note: Action 44 of the original Green Agenda Action Plan (2021–2030) is retained in the Revised Action Plan (2025–2030) as Action 29 with a continued focus on harmonising the agri-food and primary production sector with EU standards on food safety, plant and animal health and welfare, and environmental management, including manure, effluent, and waste management practices.

Source: Based on IPARD Annual Implementation Reports of WB6 IPARD Managing Authorities. Data compiled in RCC (2025) GARI, Appendix 1: Indicators.

Note: Data refer to the IPARD II programming period (2014–2020). Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo* are not shown, as they are not implementing IPARD.