The workshop was attended by 28 participants from 18 countries – Central and Eastern Europe, Western Europe and the Balkans. Among WTO member countries were Armenia, Albania, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Spain, Turkey and Ukraine. Acceding countries included Azerbaijan, Belarus, Montenegro and Serbia. Most countries’ representatives were from government administrations with some from the industry.
The 3-day programme was prepared in close consultation with the FAO and it covered the main topics such as the WTO – Doha round overview, fisheries disputes in the WTO, SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary) and TBT (Technical Barriers to Trade) agreements, Codex and risk assessment, traceability requirements, aquaculture certification guidelines and inland ecolabelling guidelines.
