FINANCING THE AGRICULTURAL POLICY IN SERBIA AND HARMONIZATION WITH THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Abstract

Agriculture is one of the most important economic branches. Previously, the aim of the agricultural policy was to provide sufficient food for all inhabitants. However, today, thanks to the application of innovations in agriculture, there is enough food for everyone, but it is not properly distributed in all parts of the world. Many people still do not have the basic conditions for a healthy life. The goal of modern agricultural policy is to provide high-quality, health-safe food to everyone in the world, and to reduce food waste while preserving biodiversity and protecting the environment. The importance of agriculture as an economic branch in Serbia is extremely large, considering the geopolitical position of Serbia, favorable climatic conditions, and quality arable land. Serbia is still not a member of the European Union, and to become one, it is necessary to harmonize all laws and regulations. The largest part of the work is precisely around agricultural policy, given that more than a third of all laws and regulations are related to the Common Agricultural Policy [CAP]. Serbian agriculture, as well as other economic branches, have not yet reached the standards defined by the European Union. Therefore, it is very important that the Serbian regulations are harmonized with the European Union regulations, because only in this way there can be faster development of agriculture and other economic branches. The topic of this paper will be the financing of the agricultural policy in Serbia in relation to the financing of the agricultural policy of the countries of the European Union. There will be more talk about how and from which sources Serbian agriculture is financed, but also about the help that the European Union provides to Serbia and other countries that are candidates for membership in the European Union. Given that the financing of the European Union's agricultural policy is based on two pillars - direct payments and market interventions and financing of rural development, this paper will show to what extent the financing of Serbian agriculture is in line with the financing of agriculture in the European Union. It will be pointed out how funds in the agricultural budget are allocated to measures related to market interventions, but also to rural development measures. As the imperatives of modern agricultural policy are the preservation of biodiversity, environmental protection, better living standards of the agricultural population, development of infrastructure in rural areas, the conclusion is that more attention is paid to the second pillar of the agricultural policy of the European Union, which is the financing of rural development. However, even in the European Union, more than 50% of the agricultural budget is directed to the financing of the first pillar, market interventions. In Serbia, this trend is even more pronounced, so more attention should be paid to the financing of rural development.