On 9th of Јune 2015, in the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, high officials marked the launch of the Twinning Project “Establishment of a mechanism for implementation of Monitoring Mechanism Regulation (MMR)”.

Monitoring Mechanism Regulation (MMR) is a legal instrument establishing a framework for effective monitoring and reporting of all anthropogenic (man-made) GHG emissions and preparation of climate-change related policies and measures. The main purpose of the Regulation is to ensure the fulfillment of Member States’ reporting obligations required under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). As a Party to UNFCCC, Serbia has to align its reporting obligations under the UNFCCC with requirements applicable to the EU countries. On the other hand, the implementation of Monitoring Mechanism Regulation is a part of the process of harmonization of national legislation with EU climate and environmental Aquis.

In that context, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment Protection has initiated the Twinning Project “Establishment of a mechanism for implementation of Monitoring Mechanism Regulation” based on the transfer of EU best practices in that field. The overall objective of the project is to assist the R. of Serbia to meet environmental and climate Acquis through institutional building and improvement of environmental reporting infrastructure. The main purpose of the project is то ensureе the alignment with EU climate Aquis and fulfillment of the UNFCCC requirements.

In general, the project aims to establish necessary legal and procedural framework enabling to define roles and responsibilities of Governmental Institutions involved in the process of monitoring and reporting on GHG emission and for reporting other information relevant to climate change. The legal framework will create a binding obligation for data collection and their reporting to responsible institutions. Beside making available climate change related information and data, the establishment of the MMR will facilitate the monitoring of climate change relied laws, strategies and relevant sector policies. Also, it will ensure the improvement of policy documents and better adaptation to the climate change by introducing the climate change related issues in national policy-making process.
The project, which officially started on 18th May 2015, is implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia, French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy and the Interprofessional Technical Centre for Studies on Air Pollution (CITEPA). The two year-long Twinning project is funded by the European Union and Republic of Serbia (1,2 million EUR).
The project includes over 500 expert mission-days, involving representatives of French national administration and other specialties institutions of the Republic of France. More than 30 French will work with Serbian colleagues in order to transfer the know-how and EU best practice in the field of EU climate acquis. The project will also include representatives of Serbian line ministries, Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, universities and institutes, civil society and NGOs.

Opening speeches were given by Mr. Ješa Erčić, Head of the Department of agriculture and industry, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, Mrs. Stana Božović, State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia, Mr. Rainer FREUND, Program Manager, EU Delegation to Serbia, H.E. Christine Moro, French Ambassador to Serbia and Mrs. Kalina Marković Ilić, Head of Division in the Department for Contracting and Financing of EU Funded Programmes (CFCU), Ministry of Finance.