THE LEGAL STATUS OF AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY SERVICES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Nina Maksimovic Sekulic; Boriša  Lečić; Ljubomir  Madunić

doi:10.59267/ekoPolj2602649M

Authors

Nina Maksimovic Sekulic Associate professor, Modern business school Belgrade, st. Terazije num. 27, 11 000 Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4330-0666
Boriša Lečić “Union” University - Belgrade, Faculty of Law and Business Studies, Dr. Lazar Vrkatić, Novi Sad, Bulevar oslobođenja no. 76, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6565-6399
Ljubomir Madunić ACHT d.o.o., Domovinskog rata 15, 21256 Čista Provo, Croatia https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5279-4682

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59267/ekoPolj2602649M

Keywords:

Farm Advisory System (FAS), Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS), Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

Abstract

Farm Advisory System (FAS) in the European Union areundergoing significant legal and institutional transformationin response to climate change, digitalization, and theevolving objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy(CAP). This paper analyses the changing legal positionof advisory services within the Agricultural Knowledgeand Innovation System (AKIS), with particular emphasison Regulation (EU) 2021/2115. The study appliesa comparative and qualitative approach to examinedifferences between advanced European Union models andthe current regulatory framework of the Republic of Serbia.The findings indicate that Serbian legislation remainspredominantly based on a traditional model of knowledgetransfer and lacks sufficient digital and institutionalintegration. The paper argues that harmonization withEuropean Union standards must extend beyond formallegal alignment and include the strengthening of advisorycapacities, digital governance, and innovation-orientedsupport mechanisms. Such reforms are essential for theeffective implementation of IPARD III and the sustainabledevelopment of rural communities.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Borrás, S., & Edquist, C. (2019). Holistic innovation policy: Theoretical foundations, policy problems, and instrument choices. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198809807.001.0001

Consolidated versions of the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union Protocols Annexes to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union Declarations annexed to the Final Act of the Intergovernmental Conference which adopted the Treaty of Lisbon, signed on 13 December 2007 Tables of equivalences https://eur-lex.europa.eu/

Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 of 29 September 2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers and amending Regulations (EEC) No 2019/93, (EC) No 1452/2001, (EC) No 1453/2001, (EC) No 1454/2001, (EC) 1868/94, (EC) No 1251/1999, (EC) No 1254/1999, (EC) No 1673/2000, (EEC) No 2358/71 and (EC) No 2529/200 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/

Dimitrijević, M., & Stojić, V. (2019). Impact of agricultural advisory service on development of agricultural production. Economic of Agriculture, 66(2), 617–634. https://doi.org/10.5937/ekoPolj1902617D

Djurić, K., Janković, D., Milić, D., Tomaš Simin, M., & Glavaš-Trbić, D. (2019). Regulations in the agriculture of the European Union. Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad.

Directive (EU) 2019/1152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union https://eur-lex.europa.eu/

Dwyer, J., Berriet-Solliec, M., Lataste, F.G., Short, C., Maréchal, A. and Hart, K. (2018), A Social-Ecological Systems Approach to Enhance Sustainable Farming and Forestry in the EU. EuroChoices, 17: 4-10. https://doi.org/10.1111/1746-692X.12188

European Commission. (2023). CAP overview. https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/common-agricultural-policy/cap-overview_hr

European Commission. (2023). Common Agricultural Policy 2023–2027. https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/common-agricultural-policy/cap-overview/capglance_hr

European Commission. (2023). Farm advisory services. https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/farming/fas_en

European Commission. (2025). Commission staff working document: Serbia 2025 report accompanying the document communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: 2025 communication on EU enlargement policy. European Commission.

Jovanić, T., & Tanja Đelić, A. (2013). The European regulatory framework for farm advisory services. Economic of Agriculture, 60(4), 801–816. Retrieved from https://www.ea.bg.ac.rs/index.php/EA/article/view/420

Kountios, G., Kanakaris, S., Moulogianni, C., & Bournaris, T. (2024). Strengthening AKIS for Sustainable Agricultural Features: Insights and Innovations from the European Union: A Literature Review. Sustainability, 16(16), 7068. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16167068

Law on the Provision of Advisory and Professional Activities in the Field of Agriculture (Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 30/10.)

OECD (2024), Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation 2024: Innovation for Sustainable Productivity Growth, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/74da57ed-en.

Papić, R., & Bogdanov, N. (2015). Rural development policy – a perspective of local actors in Serbia. Economic of Agriculture, 62(4), 1079–1093. https://doi.org/10.5937/ekoPolj1504079P

Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 December 2021 establishing rules on support for strategic plans to be drawn up by Member States under the common agricultural policy (CAP Strategic Plans) and financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013 and (EU) No 1307/2013 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/

Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 352/78, (EC) No 165/94, (EC) No 2799/98, (EC) No 814/2000, (EC) No 1290/2005 and (EC) No 485/2008 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/

Regulation on the Establishment of the Medium-Term Programme for the Development of Agricultural Advisory Services for the Period 2026–2030,”Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 119 of 29 December 2025

The Agriculture and Rural Development Act (Official Gazette of RS”, No. 41/2009, 10/2013 - other law, 101/2016, 67/2021 - other law, 114/2021 and 19/2025).