development of the balkan countries: where does the european responsibility lie?
TRANSCRIPT
© The Agricultural Ecomomics Society and the European Association of Agricultural Economists 2006
point de vuebyDanilo Tomić and Biljana Umićević
Development of the Balkan Countries: Where Does the European Responsibility Lie?
Le développement des pays balkaniques : où se situent les responsabilités européennes ?
Entwicklung der Balkanländer: Worin liegt die europäische Verantwortung?
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© The Agricultural Ecomomics Society and the European Association of Agricultural Economists 2006
At this stage in its development,
Europe faces special challenges.
Europe has a long and rich historical,
political, cultural, social, and
economic tradition. Its distinguishing
feature is its mixture of peoples,
cultures and religions. A united
Europe, of the form that we might
describe as an ‘open workshop’,
is a challenge for 21st century
management. By setting aside near-
sighted and untamed capitalism, and
by introducing the principles of an
integrated economy, we can all step
into a peace-oriented and prosperous
Europe of the future. By acting
constructively, Europe can make
considerable contributions to the
development of future global models.
Principles of solidarity, sustainability
and support applied within Europe
are precious contributions to global
strategies. The language of Europe
in global decision-making is clear
and true and this can contribute to
the formation of new unions and
peaceful development in the future.
What can the Balkan experience
offer? This region is rich in natural
resources and labour potential for
accelerated economic and agricultural
development. It is in this area that
continental and Mediterranean
climates meet. Followers of different
religions — Orthodox, Catholic, Islam
— live here. The European and Asian
civilizations meet in this region, and
the infl uences and consequences of
the Byzantine, Roman, Ottoman and
Austro-Hungarian Empires can be
felt, as well as the strong infl uence of
the communist ideology of the past
60 years. This region offers not only
labour and production potential, but
also 60 million food consumers. Some
of these countries, moreover, are
important tourist destinations.
The Balkan countries have been
challenged. Our task is to take up the
challenges and utilize the European
model of development. If the Balkan
countries wish to integrate into the
EU there are certain things we must
do, especially in the fi elds of rural and
agricultural development: (a) take
advantage of free trade zones amongst
South East European countries
and at the same time increase the
rate of foreign direct investment
and joint ventures; (b) encourage
team work amongst domestic
and foreign experts on crucial
agricultural and rural development
problems — including investments
in production, improvements in
processing and marketing, education
of farmers, cooperative farms
unions, environmental issues, and
the phytosanitary and zootechnic
protection of plants and animals; (c)
we need education reforms as soon
as possible at all levels, following the
principles of the Bologna declaration,
and leaders in the various agri-food
and rural agencies should have
access to the results of the latest
scientifi c research to enable them to
lead the way in agricultural and rural
development; (d) intensify efforts
to launch Long-term Programmes of
Agricultural and Rural Development
for each country in the Balkan
region, with clearly defi ned aims,
directions, measures and dynamism
of implementation, in line with the
Der entschei-
dende Faktor zur Beschränkung der allgemeinen Auswirkungen auf die Produktion ist der Umfang, im welchem die Industrie ihre Kostenbasis restruktu-rieren und verringern kann.
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© The Agricultural Ecomomics Society and the European Association of Agricultural Economists 2006
CAP programme of the EU — but
we must keep in mind the dangers
arising from social tensions which
can occur between urban and rural
areas; (e) complete the process of
transition and of general privatization
(ongoing now for 15 years), and of
fi nancial consolidation of agricultural
enterprises and companies — we
must overcome prejudices favouring
large state farms which have been
present here for decades and
encourage the development and
effective management of family
farms; (f) opportunities should be
taken for the creation of domestic
brands and trade marks, starting with
labels offering geographical origin
that consumers will be interested
in — provision of key market
information and intelligence will be
a vital element; (g) direct payments
to farmers and measures of structural
policy should comply with the rules
set up by the EU, and the EU funds
for structural adjustment should
be used mainly for environmental
protection schemes, regional and
rural development; and (h) generally,
we should ensure that changes in
agricultural policy are consistent
with the direction of the EU’s CAP,
especially in the areas of price, export
subventions, import protection,
internal incentives, etc.
The Balkan countries are in ‘the
second and third circle’ for access to
the EU. The forthcoming period must
be used to prepare for membership
of the EU. International and domestic
institutions have important roles to
play in this process.
Editor’s note: I would welcome
comments on the issues raised in this
article or indeed any other policy
issues of relevance to EuroChoices.
Le défi qui se pose
aux Balkans est la mise en œuvre du modèle européen de dévelop-pement. Les prochaines années devront être mises à profit pour préparer l’adhésion à l’Union européenne.
The Balkan
challenge is to utilize the European model of development and the forthcoming period must be used to prepare for membership of the EU.
Further Reading ■ Tomic, D.,Vlahovic, B. and Radojevic, V., (2004). Thesis on Possible Ways
the Balkan Countries Should Follow to Integrate into the EU, International Conference on Sustainable Agriculture and European Integration Processes, Anniversary of 50 years, Faculty of Agriculture, Novi Sad, 61.
■ Riegler, J. (2002). Ecosocial Market Economy as a European Innovation, Proceedings of International Seminar, Pre-accession Strategy of Czech Agriculture toward EU, Research Institute of Agricultural Economics, Praha, Pruhonice, 27–28. September, 37–45.
■ Tomic, D., Vlahovic, B., Umicevic, B., Radojevic, V., (2002). Agroindustrijska razmena SRJ i balkanskih zemalja – neiskorišcena šansa, Zbornik: Proizvodnja hrane – cinilac regionalne integracije na Balkanu, IEP, Beograd, 231–241.
Dr Danilo Tomic and Mr Biljana Umicevic, Regional Chamber of Economy
Novi Sad, Serbia.
Email: [email protected]
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summary
point de vue
point de vue
★© The Agricultural Ecomomics Society and the European Association of Agricultural Economists 2006
At this stage in its development, Europe faces special challenges.
A united Europe, of the form that we might describe as an ‘open workshop’, is a challenge for 21st century management, to create a peace-oriented and prosperous Europe. The principles of solidarity, sustainability and support applied within Europe are precious contributions to global strategies. What can the Balkan experience offer? The region is rich in natural resources and labour potential for accelerated economic and agricultural development. The European and Asian civilizations meet in this region. It offers labour and production potential as well as 60 million food consumers and important tourist destinations. The Balkan challenge is to utilize the European model of development and the forthcoming period must be used to prepare for membership of the EU. In the meantime the region must take advantage of local free trade zones, encourage team work amongst domestic and foreign experts on agricultural and rural development, reform education at all levels, launch well focused programmes of agricultural and rural development, complete the process of transition and of general privatization, create domestic brands with labels offering geographical origin and ensure that changes in agricultural policy are consistent with the direction of the EU’s CAP.
Entwicklung der Balkanländer: Worin liegt die europäische Verantwortung?
Development of the Balkan Countries: Where Does the European Responsibility Lie?
L’Europe, au stade actuel de son développement, doit faire face à des
défi s particuliers. Une Europe unie, orientée vers la paix et la prospérité, comme celle que l’on pourrait décrire comme un chantier ouvert, est un défi pour le 21ème siècle. Les principes de solidarité, de durabilité, et de soutien mutuel tels qu’ils sont appliqués en Europe sont de précieuses contributions pour une stratégie globale. Que peut apporter de ce point de vue l’expérience balkanique ? La région est potentiellement riche en ressources naturelles et en main d’œuvre pour accélérer le développement économique et agricole. Les traditions européennes et asiatiques se mêlent dans cette région, qui offre du travail, un important potentiel de production, ainsi que 60 millions de consommateurs, et de nombreuses destinations touristiques. Pour les Balkans, le problème est d’utiliser le modèle européen de développement. Les prochaines années devront être mises à profi t pour préparer l’adhésion à l’union européenne. Il faudra prendre avantage des zones de libre-échange local, encourager le travail en équipe des experts locaux et étrangers sur les questions de développement rural, réformer le système d’éducation à tous les niveaux, lancer des programmes ciblés sur le développement agricole et rural, compléter le programme de transition et de privatisation générale, créer des marques locales avec indication d’origine, tout en s’assurant que tous ces changements se font en conformité avec la direction générale de la PAC.
Europa muss sich in dieser Phase seiner Entwicklung besonderen
Herausforderungen stellen. Ein vereintes Europa, das wir in dieser Form als „offenen Workshop“ beschreiben könnten, stellt für das Management des 21. Jahrhunderts die Herausforderung dar, ein auf den Frieden ausgerichtetes und fl orierendes Europa zu schaffen. Die in Europa angewandten Prinzipien von Solidarität, Nachhaltigkeit und Unterstützung leisten einen wertvollen Beitrag zu globalen Strategien. Was können die Erfahrungen vom Balkan beisteuern? Die Region verfügt über zahlreiche natürliche Ressourcen und ein hohes Potenzial an Arbeitskräften für eine beschleunigte wirtschaftliche und landwirtschaftliche Entwicklung. Der europäische und der asiatische Kulturkreis begegnen sich in dieser Region. Sie bietet Arbeits- und Produktionspotenzial, 60 Millionen Verbraucher von Lebensmitteln sowie attraktive Touristenziele. Die Herausforderung auf dem Balkan muss das europäische Entwicklungsmodell nutzen, und die nächsten Jahre müssen zur Vorbereitung auf die Mitgliedschaft in der EU genutzt werden. In der Zwischenzeit muss die Region von den lokalen Freihandelszonen profi tieren; die Zusammenarbeit zwischen einheimischen und ausländischen Experten für die Entwicklung der Landwirtschaft und des ländlichen Raums fördern; eine Bildungsreform auf allen Ebenen einleiten; gut ausgerichtete Programme zur Entwicklung der Landwirtschaft und des ländlichen Raums einführen; den Prozess der Transformation und allgemeiner Privatisierung abschließen; einheimische Marken einführen, die eine Kennzeichnung der geografi schen Herkunft aufweisen; sowie sicherstellen, dass die Veränderungen in der Agrarpolitik mit der Ausrichtung der GAP der EU vereinbar sind.
Le développement des pays balkaniques : où se situent les responsabilités européennes ?
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