23–24 June 2026 | Online (Zoom)

About the Event

The PROGRESS Regional Training Webinar titled "Strengthening the Capacity of Fruit and Berry Producers in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) to Access the EU Market" was held on 23–24 June 2026. It aimed to explain mandatory EU import requirements for fresh fruits and berries and explore how compliance can support climate change adaptation in agriculture. The event gathered nearly 200 participants from 13 countries, including farmers, agribusinesses, business associations, national authorities, civil society, academic institutions and international organisations.

Across three sessions, EU experts covered sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements and maximum residue levels (MRLs); food hygiene, including microbiological and chemical hazards; and traceability, labelling, and marketing requirements, together with how these are checked at EU border control posts (BCPs). They presented the EU regulations and requirements, common challenges in meeting them, including those faced by smallholder producers and resulting from climate change impacts, and strategies and tools to overcome them. Case studies from the Eastern Partnership region reflected the experiences and perspectives of producers, producer and business associations, food safety authorities and certification specialists. Open discussions provided opportunities for dialogue. 

Key priorities for meeting EU import requirements identified by the participants included expanding extension and advisory services for producers, strengthening laboratory and testing capacity, enhancing traceability and record-keeping, improving access to quality inputs and water, ensuring effective monitoring and control, and supporting smallholders through producer cooperatives and other collective solutions. The discussions also noted the impact of climate change on the discussed risks and highlighted strong synergies between compliance and climate change adaptation, as measures needed to meet EU requirements can also strengthen farmers’ resilience to climate-related risks. 

Attachments:

Final Agenda,

Event Summary

Presentations:

Session 1: EU sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements and maximum residue level (MRL) controls

• EU SPS requirements: Vincent Andre, Consultant on Learning and Documentation, Cronos Europa, Belgium    Presentation
• EU MRL requirements: Dionyssis Vlachos, Agronomist, Green Fund, Ministry of Environment and Energy, Greece     Presentation
• Practical challenges of meeting MRL requirements: a farmer's perspective: Viacheslav Chobotar, Head of Farming Enterprise (Vinnytsia Region), Ukraine     Presentation

Session 2: EU food hygiene requirements for fresh fruit and berry imports

• Managing microbiological hazards: Ana Allende, Research Professor, Centre for Soil Science and Applied Biology of the Segura River (CEBAS), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Spain     Presentation
• Managing chemical hazards: Francesco Sbrana, Environmental Chemist, Regional Agency for Environmental Protection of Tuscany (ARPAT), Italy   Presentation

Session 3: EU traceability, labelling and marketing requirements, and EU border control posts (BCPs)

• EU traceability, labelling and marketing requirements: Kristina Mattsson, Agricultural Analyst, Swedish Board of Agriculture, Ministry of Rural Affairs and Infrastructure, Sweden     Presentation
• EU BCPs: Lucía Pitarch Mampel, Counsellor for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Permanent Delegation of Spain to the OECD     Presentation