Abstract
Governing the process of economic transformation is one of the most prominent issues arising since the fall of the Iron Curtain. After the successful transition model of the Central and Eastern European countries and their EU accession, the main anchors of the EU enlargement are directed into the South Eastern part of the continent. Most obviously, the EU enlargement is entering into the new phase of its expansion. In this paper we evaluate the state of transformation in the agricultural sector of the potential EU members comprising countries constituting the South Eastern Europe (the Western Balkans), and Turkey. We analyze whether the significant transitional changes occurred in the agricultural sector in observed countries. The main areas of our interest involve the comparative analysis of the state of economic transformation and the income convergence, the economic importance of agriculture in the potential EU Members, impact of economic transformation on the agricultural assets, agricultural policy implications, investigation of consumption patterns and poverty prevalence.
Highlights
The European Union has become a continental exercise in economic integration
There is a set of pre- and post-accession conditions that potential European Union (EU) members must fulfil before the formal EU accession
Despite the fact that level of income is not a criterion for the EU accession, in this paper we were arguing that higher degree of economic transformation may contribute into improvement of income and welfare
Summary
The European Union has become a continental exercise in economic integration. This is the direct result of no less than six enlargements over a period of 35 years. Behind this quite stunning development, there are profound changes in the political and security landscape in Europe and the demise of communism (Pelkmans 2006). Membership in the European Union (EU) places several challenges before the potential EU Members. These countries will have to adopt the EU’s acquis communautaire. According to Stubbs and Venancio (2009) EU accession of the Western Balkans forms both a core exit strategy for the massive international political and military presence in the region and the key principle for consolidation of stable multiethnic democratic politics and regional cooperation
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