The BSE outbreak forced the European Union to formulate a new food safety policy with an integrated approach for the safety of products of animal origin, the so called “from stable to table” concept. This policy requires a significant strengthening of the public veterinary services and is aiming to maintain consumer confidence and to ensure an effective functioning of the internal market of the EU. However, while applying these systems throughout the EU it became obvious that the implementation of this concept is more or less an obligatory need for any country which maintains trade relations in livestock and animal products with the EU.
Technical assistance (TA) programmes and projects of the EU and of other donors have followed this policy and became very active in the field of the legal and institutional adaptation of the livestock and animal food sector. Relevant projects or project components cover the following areas: