Agriculture and East-West European integration

Book abstract:

This volume results from a research project financed by the Phare-ACE Programme of the EU Commission. Individual findings and conclusions were reviewed and discussed at two workshops, held in Slovenia in 1997 and in the Czech Republic in 1998. The principal objective of the research project was to assess some of the key uncertainties surrounding agricultural integration of Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) with the EU, thus providing a basis for sound policy recommendations and strategies that would minimise adjustment costs and maximise the benefits of integration.

Key issues of the process of integration of CEECs with the EU related to agriculture are analysed and detailed country-specific and region-wide empirical and theoretical analyses of important issues are made. The research papers included look at four major areas. First, they analyse the comparative advantage of CEEC agriculture and its potential for growth under various accession policy scenarios. Second, the impact of current CEEC agricultural policies are compared with EU policies. Likely policy developments in both groups are identified, based on economic, social and political economy considerations. Third, the essays provide an indication of expected economic effects and adjustment costs of CEEC-EU integration for the agro-food sector with emphasis on both efficiency and distribution impacts under these policy scenarios. Fourth, the book seeks to identify the most important constraints for CEEC-EU integration including policy convergence issues, the impact of various external commitments, and internal constraints such as budget implications and political opposition.

Given the economic, social and political importance of agriculture in both Eastern and Western Europe, this is a timely work on one of the central issues relating to negotiations on enlargement.