Transcript
Page 1: Development of the Balkan Countries: Where Does the European Responsibility Lie?

© 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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Page 2: Development of the Balkan Countries: Where Does the European Responsibility Lie?

© 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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Page 4: Development of the Balkan Countries: Where Does the European Responsibility Lie?

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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