Boštjan Noč, the long-serving head of the Slovenian Beekeeping Association, has been elected the first president of the European Beekeeping Association (EBA), two months after the founding members decided that their association will have its seat in Slovenia.

One of two candidates, Noč was elected in a unanimous vote on 22 April, defeating Plamen Ivanov from Bulgaria.

The European Beekeeping Association was founded in Belgrade in February. It has so far been joined by 18 beekeeping organizations from 15 European countries, representing nearly 235,000 beekeepers.

Noč called for Europe-wide cooperation as the only way to make a step forward for the bees, beekeepers and consumers.

He believes the most important task at hand is to establish a commission comprised of a variety of experts from all over Europe to oversee the quality and safety of bee products.

Under his guide the EBA will work toward developing effective procedures to exclude from the EU market any adulterated honey, introduce a quota for honey imports, and put in place a legal basis for beekeepers to receive compensation for pollinating services.

Boštjan Noč, the president of Slovenia's and European Beekeeping Association. Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA

Noč is also planning to push for an EU-wide promotion campaign and stricter oversight over bee-damaging phytopharmaceuticals, among other things.

The EBA's aim is to preserve endangered beekeeping, actively cooperate with all beekeeping organisations in Europe, support the activities of the international beekeeping organisation Apimondia and bring attention to local European problems.

The EBA head office is located in Brdo pri Lukovici, northeast of Ljubljana, where the Slovenian Beekeeping Association is based.

At Slovenia's initiative, the UN General Assembly designated 20 May as World Bee Day in December 2017. It coincides with the birthday of Anton Janša (1734-1773), a pioneer of modern beekeeping and one of the biggest experts on bees.

Slovenia has more than 11,000 beekeepers, which keep around 215,000 bee colonies. This makes the country the EU leader with almost five beekeepers per 1,000 inhabitants, according to Eurostat.