The All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers

EU Legislative Interests

Specific activities: 1. The organization works to engage beekeeping associations from European countries in the creation and implementation of national Beekeeping Knowledge and Innovation Systems (B-KIS) in these countries and uniting them into a single network to promote the rapid and effective dissemination of knowledge and innovations in European beekeeping. 2.The organization ensures that Ukrainian beekeepers fully comply with Good Beekeeping Practices (GBP), including the principles of Good Hygienic Practices (GHP), to protect bees. These practices establish a list of production, veterinary, sanitary, and hygienic requirements that must be followed throughout the entire beekeeping product production chain. 3. The organization is involved in efforts to conserve and restore bees as pollinators of agricultural crops and as bioindicators of environmental health. 4. The organization is prepared to participate in European Union thematic programs in the beekeeping sector on issues such as sustainable development, phytosanitary management, and customs research in beekeeping. 5. The organization is ready to collaborate with the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, and the European Commission to create comprehensive legislation on pesticide circulation, bee conservation, beekeeper support, and market protection against counterfeit products. This will strengthen Ukraine's ability to ensure the stable and efficient functioning of the beekeeping sector within the EU's single market. 6. The organization is active in organizing and conducting international events to highlight issues of food and environmental security in the context of: a. The impact of chemical plant protection products (pesticides, insecticides, neonicotinoids) on the beekeeping sector, and consequently on the food and environmental safety of European countries; b. Honey fraud as a means of undermining the economic stability of the beekeeping sector in European countries, which inevitably leads to the collapse of national markets and environmental destruction; c. The protection of the beekeeper's work as a specialist in bee maintenance, essential for pollinating agricultural crops. Key legislative proposals or EU policies aimed at: 1. Amending Council Directive 2001/110/EC of 20 December 2001 relating to honey, specifically removing the terms "filtered honey" and "baker’s honey" to combat fraud in the European honey market; 2. Developing effective methods for detecting the presence of sugar syrups and inverted syrups from sugar, sugar beets, sugarcane, corn, chicory, rice, and wheat in honey, which will be incorporated into national regulations for the control of imported food products; 3. Creating a unique agroecological agenda for the European territory to encourage beekeepers in their work, focusing on the pollination function of bees in maintaining the ecological balance, biodiversity, and the production of high-quality and safe food products in Europe; 4. Developing and implementing a strategy for the protection and care of bee health and the reproduction of bee colonies in Europe, including the prevention and control of bee diseases, considering the use of agrochemicals and the challenges posed by climate change; 5. Developing an ecological beekeeping system by identifying changes in the genetic structure of bees' ecological needs, their overall resistance, and adaptability under the influence of negative environmental factors (such as the impact of feed additives (carbohydrates, proteins, and others), genetically modified plants, pesticides, and agrochemicals on the immunology and genetic structure of bees), among other factors.

Communication Activities

1. 2009-2013: The organization prepared and hosted the 43rd International Apimondia Congress in Kyiv in September-October 2013, attended by 9,000 delegates from 115 countries across all continents. The organization dedicated the Congress’s Scientific Program to the theme "Beyond the Hive: Beekeeping and Global Challenges." 2. May 2017, Belgium, Brussels: The organization participated and gave a presentation at the Civil Society Forum as the Coordinator of the Ukrainian Sustainable Development Advisory Group. The presentation addressed issues related to the regulation of pesticide use in Ukraine and the exchange of experience on this issue with experts from EU countries. The organization is a member of the Ukrainian side of the Ukraine-EU Civil Society Platform (CSP), a civil society body established in accordance with Articles 469-470 of the Association Agreement between the European Union, the European Atomic Energy Community, and their member states, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part. 3. September 2018, XXVIII Economic Forum (Krynica Zdrój, Poland): The organization created a dedicated discussion panel on the following topics: a) The negative impact of chemical plant protection products (pesticides) on the beekeeping sector, and thus on the food and environmental security of the state. b) Honey fraud as a means of destroying the economic aspect of the beekeeping sector, which inevitably leads to the collapse of national markets and environmental destruction. 4. In April 2019, the organization participated in the 7th Bilateral Meeting of the Ukraine-EU Civil Society Platform with the participation of representatives from Ukraine and the EU (European Economic and Social Committee) in Lviv. 5. From 2015 to the present, the organization has been a member of the Beekeeping Development Working Group under the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine and has been working to improve Ukrainian legislation: - 2015-2019, The organization studied and worked on the implementation of Council Directive 2001/110/EC of 20 December 2001 relating to honey into Ukrainian legislation; - 2019, The organization initiated and contributed to the development of two draft laws on beekeeping that include EU legal norms. The draft laws are registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine; - The organization collaborates with members of parliament on legislation in the areas of beekeeping, veterinary practices, food safety, the use of plant protection products, and the conservation of the environment and biodiversity. Areas of scientific activity: - Research on effective methods for detecting the presence of sugar syrups and inverted syrups made from sugar, sugar beets, sugarcane, corn, chicory, rice, and wheat in honey; - Monitoring anthropogenic pollution using bee colonies and analyzing its effects; - Research on biological and non-medication methods for controlling bee diseases; - Studying factors influencing the presence and spread of neonicotinoid insecticides in beekeeping products; - Investigating factors for effective cooperation between farmers and beekeepers to ensure the improve the pollination of agricultural crops; - Studying the impact of digital technologies on various segments of the beekeeping value chains; - Exploring the use of smart systems in beekeeping for managing pollination and applied research; Some recent publications: Informative STR markers for identifying genetic characteristics of Ukrainian steppe bees / O. Metlytska, S. Korinnyi, T. Vasylkivska, A. Kharkovenko, 2023 Precise beekeeping development in Ukraine / T. Vasylkivska, A. Kharkovenko, B. Shynkaretskyi, 2023 Features of Development of Urban Beekeeping in Ukraine in Present-Day Realities / T. Vasylkivska, A. Kharkovenko, B. Shynkaretskyi, O. Stoliarov, 2022 Synergy of farmer and beekeeper in organization of sustainable crops pollination in order to maintain health of bees and increase crop yields / T. Vasylkivska, A. Kharkovenko, K. Shytiuk, 2022

Interests Represented

Does not represent commercial interests

Member Of

The organization is a member of the Working Group on Beekeeping Development of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine; The organization is a member of the Professional Association of Environmentalists of the World; The organization is a member of the Ukraine-EU Civil Society Platform;

Organisation Members

All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers has 20 territorial subdivisions – sixteen Branches in 15 regions of Ukraine and in Kyiv and 4 Representative Offices in 4 district centers: - Branch of the All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers in Chernihiv region; - Branch of the All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers in Kyiv region; - Branch of the All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers in Volyn region; - Branch of the All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers in Cherkasy region; - Branch of the All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers in Khmelnytskyi region; - Branch of the All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers in Ivano-Frankivsk region; - Branch of the All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers in Kyiv city; - Branch of the All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers in Lviv region; - Branch of the All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers in Mykolaiv region; - Branch of the All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers in Odesa region; - Branch of the All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers in Sumy region; - Branch of the All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers in Vinnytsia region; - Branch of the All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers in Zaporizhzhia region; - Branch of the All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers in Kirovohrad region; - Branch of the All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers in Ternopil region; - Branch of the All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers in Dnipropetrovsk region; - Representation of the All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers in Drabiv district, Cherkasy region; - Representation of the All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers in Sofiivka district, Dnipropetrovsk Region; - Representation of the All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers in Brody district, Lviv region; - Representation of the All-Ukrainian Nongovernmental Organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers in Buchach district, Ternopil region.

Additional Information

N/A