Belgrade, 23 January 2023 - The first workshop for development of the Environmental Protection Strategy - Green Agenda for Serbia was organized today by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the project "EU for Green Agenda in Serbia". More than 120 members of the Working Group – representatives of public institutions, science community and civil society organizations, attended the workshop.

"This Strategy will define the directions for development of environmental protection, and they align with the goals of the Sofia Declaration and five pillars of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans: decarbonization, circular economy, depollution of the environment, protection and investing in biodiversity, as well as the sustainable food systems for sustainable rural livelihood," said Sandra Dokić, State Secretary of the Ministry for Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia.

Žarko Petrović, Team Leader for Resilient Development in United Nations Development Program (UNDP) pointed out that the Environmental Protection Strategy is one of the key strategic documents for the country. He added that the "greening" of economy and society happening in Europe and worldwide is also undoubtedly the right development path for Serbia, bearing in mind that funding sources increasingly support initiatives that have a positive impact on environment.

The first workshop for the development of the Environmental Protection Strategy was dedicated to reviewing the state of the environment in Serbia and the key challenges that the Strategy will address in five areas: decarbonization, energy efficiency and reduction of industrial emissions, circular economy for efficient resource use and industrial symbiosis, reducing environmental pollution with a focus on air quality, protecting and investing in biodiversity and ecosystems, sustainable food systems and rural development.

Following several preparatory workshops, it is expected that the draft Strategy will be ready in May, while the public consultation process according to the Law on the Planning System should be held in September this year.

The process of strategy development is coordinated by the Ministry of Environmental Protection with the support of the project "EU for Green Agenda in Serbia". One of the courses of action of this project is the harmonization of the national legal framework with the acquis communitaire of the European Union and aligning the strategic goals of Serbia with the European Green Deal. The project foresees support in drafting numerous laws, by-laws and planning documents that will regulate the area of environmental protection.

The project "EU for Green Agenda in Serbia", with the financial support of the European Union and in partnership with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, is implemented by UNDP, in cooperation with the Embassy of Sweden, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Government of Switzerland.