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REPORT ON THE 12TH UEAA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

20 12 2024

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA, OCTOBER 10-11, 2024

During October 10-11, 2024, the “Gheorghe Ionescu-Şişeşti” Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences in Romania (AAFS) was the host of the 12th General Assembly of the Union of European Academies for Science Applied to Agriculture, Food and Nature (UEAA), of the Steering Committee and the associated Symposium with the theme “New research techniques and the agricultural progress“, an event of major importance in the life of UEAA member academies organized in a hybrid format. The program also included a visit to one of the representative research units in the AAFS network.

It is the second time that AAFS organized this event. Thus, in 2006, the 4th UEAA General Assembly took place, when acad. Cristian HERA (former president and current honorary president of AAFS) took over the presidency, and acad. Baiba RIVZA, from Latvia, ensured the vice-presidency. The works of great scientific value presented at the Symposium associated to the General Assembly were published in the volume “Soil fertility and the future of agriculture in Europe – Proceeding of the International Workshop associated to the 4th UEAA General Assembly“, Bucharest, 25-27 June 2006, The Publishing House of the Romanian Academy.

At the events of October 10-11, 2024, in Bucharest, prominent personalities of the European agricultural academic environment, and also of some European Academies of science with concerns in the field of agriculture, were physically present, mentioning: Kerstin NIBLAEUS and Per ERIKSSON from Sweden; Michel DUCLOS, France; Acad. Zenonas DABKEVICIUS, Lithuania; Nazim GRUDA, Albania, Vasile BOTNARI, Mihail RAPCEA and Constantin DADU, Republic of Moldova; Evi ARACHOVITI from UK; Violeta BOZHANOVA, Vyara STEFANOVA, Bulgaria; Valeriu TABĂRĂ, Ioan JELEV, Aurel BADIU, Dumitru MILITARU, Marian BOGOESCU, Mihail COMAN, Nicole PETCULESCU, and Matilda CIUCĂ, Romania. Among the online participants, we mention: Elena HORSKA, Slovakia; Acad. Baiba RIVZA, Latvia; Michel THIBIER, France, Acad. Cristian HERA, Romania, Simone ORLANDINI, Italy; Vilem PODRAZSKY, Czech Republic, Anuch BALIAN and Shamil IBATULLIN, Ukraine, Hojka KRAIGHER, Slovenia, Erik Willén, Sweden, Alexandru STRATAN, Eugenia COTENCO, Nicolae EREMIA, Eugen ALEXANDROV, Mihail MIHAILOV, Valerian BĂLAN, Republic of MOLDOVA.

 

The UEAA meeting started at 9:30 with an Opening ceremony and welcome address. They gave welcome speeches:

 

  • Elena HORSKA, UEAA President;
  • Valeriu TABĂRĂ, President of the “Gheorghe Ionescu-Şişeşti” Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences;
  • Elena TATOMIR, general director in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, on behalf of Florin Ionuț BARBU, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development;
  • Cristian HERA, Honorary President of AAFS and UEAA past-President

 

At 10:15 the UEAA Steering Committee meeting (only for Steering Committee members) began. The agenda included:

  1. Approval of the agenda.
  2. Approval of the minutes of the 7 June 2024 SC meeting.
  3. Approval of the changing of the Art. III.1 from the Current charter – Prof. Michel THIBIER, Prof. Nazim GRUDA.
  4. Consultations concerning confirmations and/or proposals for new observer and full UEAA SC members.
  5. Brief information about GA and Symposium meetings in Romania – Prof. Ioan JELEV.
  6. Information about activities in the period June – September 2024 (Gene editing, other topics).
  7. Organizational questions.
  8. Next SC meeting (immediately after the UEAA GA).
  9. Close of the meeting.

The works were moderated by Prof. Elena HORSKA, with the assistance of Prof. university Ioan JELEV, UEAA Vice-president.


President Elena Horská welcomed the participants of the SC meeting and asked for approval of the SC Agenda (see above), which was approved. Also, the UEAA SC Members approved the Minutes from SC meeting June 7, 2024.

Prof. Michel THIBIER and Prof. Nazim GRUDA introduced the proposed changing of the Art. III.1 from the Current UEAA charter. There was recommended to include “explanatory text” to the minutes from the meeting. Proposed changes have been approved by voting of all SC members. The new content of the UEAA Charter – CHANGING OF ART. III.1 IN UEAA CHARTER are available on UEAA website:
https://ueaa.info/2024/10/16/changing-of-art-iii-1-in-ueaa-charter/

A brief information about GA and Symposium meetings in Romania was made by Prof. Ioan JELEV.

Prof. Michel THIBIER provided information on latest development in gene editing. His contribution and consequently paper presented during symposium have been of great importance for future of agriculture in Europe and SC UEAA has decided to publish it in the form of UEAA Motion About Gene Editing. UEAA motion is available here: https://ueaa.info/2024/10/16/ueaa-motion-about-gene-editing/

Kerstin NIBLAEUS informed on latest motion in topic of forestry.

At 1:30 p.m., the works of the UEAA General Assembly began, moderated by Elena Horska and with the support of Prof. Ioan JELEV. The agenda included:

  1. Registration and introduction of the current members present.
  2. Approval of the agenda.
  3. Approval of the minutes of the previous UEAA General Assembly – Prof. Elena HORSKA, president of UEAA.
  4. Short information about UEAA activities from the period 2022-2024-Professor Elena HORSKA.
  5. Approval of the changing of the Art. III.1 from the Current Charter – Prof. Michel THIBIER, Prof. Nazim GRUDA.
  6. UEAA Motion about Gene Editing – Michel THIBIER, France.
  7. Election of the new UEAA President, Prof. Ioan JELEV, Romania.
  8. Election of the new UEAA Vice-President – Prof. Nazim GRUDA, Albania.
  9. Election of the Steering committee members.
  10. Establishing the place of the future UEAA General Assembly.
  11. Suggested plan of actions of UEAA for 2024 – 2026
  12. Conclusions.

The President of the UEAA, prof. Elena HORSKA, opened the meeting and welcomed those present. After the official opening and greetings part, the working program started according to the Agenda, which has been pre-approved.

Michel THIBIER proposed to add on the Agenda the presentation of the UEAA Motion about Gene Editing and everybody agreed.

The Minutes of the 2022 UEAA General Assembly, in Bratislava, Slovakia, from 7 June 2024, was approved.

Prof. Elena HORSKA, the UEAA President, gave an overview of the activities carried out between 2022-2024 where the most important aspects were emphasized.  The full report as presented at the 2024 GA is published on the UEAA website at the: https://ueaa.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GA-Raport-2022-2024-Bucharest-Elena-Horska-10.10.2024.pdf. The Report was adopted by applause.

Concerning the approval of the changing of the Art. III.1 from the Current Charter, the point has been discussed at the SC meeting that took place in the morning, prior to the GA. The change was adopted as it was discussed in the SC meeting, with the improvement proposed by prof. Zenonas DABKEVICIUS that: “The Steering Committee is composed of representatives of “up to” 12 Member Academies…”.

According to the Charter, the current UEAA vice-president was nominated as the person who can be elected in this position. Prof. Elena HORSKA made a short introduction of his professional activity, mentioning that he is a very active and strategic thinking person. Prof. Ioan JELEV was unanimously elected President of the UEAA.

Prof. HORSKA together with Prof. Vladimir GOZORA, president of the Slovak Academy of Agricultural Sciences, congratulated Prof. Ioan JELEV and wished him all the best in his future tasks and, symbolically, handed over the office of Presidency of the UEAA to Ioan JELEV, transferring the presidency of the Union to Romania and to the Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, for the following two years, 2024 – 2026.

Prof. JELEV thanked to prof. Elena HORSKA for the good work they did together and to all members of the General Assembly, and he expressed the hope to do such a difficult task till the end in good condition.

After his election, prof. Ioan JELEV took over the moderation of the GA meeting and asked prof. Michel THIBIER to read the Motion, proposed by himself, based on the article submitted for presentation at the Scientific Symposium associated with the UEAA General Assembly, entitled: “Does genome editing have a future in EU agriculture?” – authors: Catherine Regnault-Roger, Alain Toppan and Michel Thibier – AAF).

The Motion was also debated in the morning in SC meeting, and it is going to be carried out to Brussels by the new President. After the Motion was read by prof. Michel Thibier, prof. Ioan Jelev put it to the vote. The 12th General Assembly unanimously adopted the Motion about Gene Editing.

At the Agenda item 8 – The election of the new UEAA vice-president. Prof. JELEV proposed for this position, Prof. Nazim GRUDA, member of Albanian Academy of Science, as a result of his active participation and involvement in the UEAA activities. This proposal was also being discussed and analysed in the SC in June. Further, Prof. JELEV made a presentation of the prestigious professional activity of Prof. GRUDA, scientist in horticulture, distinguished representant of the Academy of Sciences of Albania. In support of his election, Prof. ZENONAS, from Lithuania, added that he knows Nazim GRUDA very well thanks to the bilateral collaboration developed between their Academies which he initiated, and he is very active, has a good experience, he worked in Germany, Spain, Albania and other countries and he is prepared for international communication with researchers. Prof. Nazim GRUDA was elected vice-president by applause.

At the Agenda item 9 – Election of the Steering Committee members for the period 2024-2026, the proposals submitted to the vote were:

  1. New President – Ioan JELEV (Romanian Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences)
  2. Former President – Elena HORSKÁ (Slovak Academy of Agricultural Science)
  3. Vice-president – Nazim GRUDA (Academy of Science of Albania)
  4. Kerstin NIBLAEUS (Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry)
  5. Michel DUCLOS (French Academy of Agriculture)
  6. Evi ARACHOVITI (Great Britain, Royal Agricultural Society of England/ Innovation for Agriculture)
  7. Vasile BOTNARI (Academy of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences of Moldova)
  8. Violeta BOZHANOVA (Agricultural Academy of Bulgaria)
  9. Baiba RIVŽA (Latvia Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences)
  10. Simone ORLANDINI (Accademia dei Georgofili, Italy)
  11. Vilém PODRÁZSKÝ (Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences)
  12. Hojka KRAIGHER (Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts)

The new SC members were adopted by applause. Also, were elected:

  • Michel THIBIER (French Academy of Agriculture) – as UEAA President’ Counsellor.
  • Zenonas DABKEVIČIUS – as Alumni member.
  • Confirmed as Observer: Shamil IBATULLIN (National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine).

According to the Charter, the country which ensures the activity of vice-presidency will be the host of the following UEAA General Assembly.  As a consequence, the next UEAA General Assembly – 2026 will be held in Albania, Tirana.

As the new President, Prof. Ioan JELEV presented at the Agenda item 11, the proposed priorities and activities for the next period (2024-2026), mentioning that the plan was elaborated together with Nazim GRUDA, as a team. He stated that in their opinion the future activities of the UEAA will continue to harmonize with the objectives of the EU Programmatic Documents and the provisions of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the UN. Also, of great importance is: to ensure and harmonize the continuation of 2022-2024 UEAA program; increase membership; updating of the UEAA Charter; strengthening the Dialogue with the European Commission; support the activities of European academies; promotion and popularization of UEAA; revitalizing the existing electronic working groups and creating new groups for climate change.

The full presentation was published on the UEAA website and can be consulted here: https: //ueaa.info/2024/09/26/xii-general-assembly-of-the-ueaa-of-the-steering-committee-and-of-the-related-scientific-symposium/.

The plan of actions was approved.

After the conclusions, the traditional Scientific Symposium associated with the UEAA General Assembly represented an expected event. Among the scientific works that have already been announced, we mention: “Does genome editing have a future in EU agriculture?” – authors: Catherine REGNAULT-ROGER, Alain TOPPAN et Michel THIBIER – French Academy of Agricultural Sciences; “The role of synthetic hexaploid wheat in winter wheat resistance to leaf rust at NARDI Fundulea” – authors: Matilda CIUCA, Alexandru DUMITRU, Alina TURCU, Laura CONTESCU, Daniel CRISTINA – National Agricultural Research-Development Institute – NARDI Fundulea; “Learning from hen’s physiology to improve the sustainability of egg production” – author: Michel DUCLOS – INRAE ​​France; “Morphological variability and mineral composition of three garlic genotypes cultivated in Korça region, Albania” – authors: Pirro ICKA, Robert DAMO – University “Fan S. Noli” Korça, Albania, Nazim GRUDA – Academy of Science Albania; “Modern techniques for research and control of Orobanche cumana Wallr. in sunflowers” – author: Acad. Maria DUCA – Academy of Science Moldova; ”Genetically diverse landscapes require an integrated concept for conservation of genetic resources among domains” – authors: Hojka KRAIGHER, Danijela BOJKOVSKI, Gregor BOŽIČ, Andreja FERREIRA,  Jelka Šuštar VOZLIČ, Marjana WESTERGREN – Slovenian Forestry Institute & Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts; ”Digitalization of Latvian Agriculture as tool for agricultural progress, sustainability and competitiveness” – authors: Baiba RIVZA, professor, Aleksandrs JAROSLAVCEVS doctoral student, Latvian Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences; ”Improving environmental and agronomic outcomes through targeted slurry/manure management: an English policy perspective” – authors: Angela BYWATER – University of Southampton, Richard GUETERBOCK – Foodchains, Trevena, Stockbridge, Evi ARACHOVITI, Martha HAYES – Innovation for Agriculture, RASE Centre; ”Sustainable forestry in Sweden supported by digitalization – operational experiences” – author: Erik WILLEN – StoraEnso AB. Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry; ”Better capitalization of the white sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) and blueberry fruits (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) as functional foods” – authors: Nicole PETCULESCU – Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences “Gheorghe Ionescu-Şişeşti”, Gabriela VLĂSCEANU – Bioterra University of Bucharest.

The President, Professor Ioan JELEV, concluded the scientific session and handed all physically present participants the certificates of SC membership and participation.

Immediately after the completion of the Scientific Symposium, around 18:00, the first UEAA SC was held, in its new composition, with Ioan JELEV, Romania, elected president and Nazim GRUDA, Albania, vice president. The agenda included:

  1. The need to ensure the continuity of the UEAA WEB page.
  2. The request to send the photos of the newly elected UEAA SC members, to be posted on the UEAA WEB page.
  3. Debates about the priorities for 2024-2026.
  4. Analysis of the possibility of stimulating participation in the “UEAA Abstracts” Competition and appointing Michel DUCLOS coordinator of the action.
  5. Planning of UEAA next Newsletters by Nazim GRUDA.
  6. Establishing the next UEAA SC meeting in 17 December 2024.
  7. Miscellaneous.

 

As we mentioned, the event also included an interesting site visit to one of the more than 60 representative research and development units in the agricultural research network of AAFS, namely the Research and Development Institute for Fruit Growing Pitești – Mărăcineni, on 11 October 2024.


The assembly was a vital platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration, reinforcing the UEAA’s commitment to advancing agricultural, food, and nature science across Europe. For those unable to attend in person, the event was also accessible online, expanding participation from the global agricultural research community.