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The Situation and Prospects of Hungarian Rural Development Preceding EU Accession
224-231Views:83Today’s Hungarian rural development is defined by the fact, that Hungary will be a member state of the European Union from May 1, 2003. Our accession means the end of a long period, and new rural development programs that are going to build on the basic of previously accepted EU standards and experience will highlight the immediate future.
From the Hungarian rural development programs I especially dealt with the SAPARD, AVOP and NVT, which in my opinion had and will have the greatest influence on the improvement of the Hungarian county. The AVOP and NVT are still under development (or just submitted to the EU), but their role in the future will be particularly essential, because these programs are going the act as the first programs in Hungary as a member state and a lot will depend on them in the improvement of the rural development. -
Labour productivity in the Hungarian agriculture
119-128Views:154This paper presents the situation of the agricultural labour employment and evaluates the agricultural labour productivity in Hungary. Since Hungary’s EU accession, the share of agricultural employment in the total employed population has been stabilized at around 5% in the country. Due to low wages, low profit and low prestige, agricultural jobs are not attractive. The gross and net labour productivity gap between Hungary and the EU have been significant since the EU accession. The agricultural labour productivity of the Hungarian regions also shows a different picture. The labour productivity influences the cost, profitability and competitiveness of products. The advantage of the cheap labour force in Hungary’s agriculture significantly decreased due to low labour productivity. There are several opportunities to increase the agricultural labour productivity such as the increase of labour force qualification, moving toward producing higher value added agri-food products, rejuvenation of population in agriculture and the improvement of the conditions of financing agriculture.
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European Funds and the Evaluation of Their Application in the Northern Great Plain Region
191-198Views:77Presently, the process of regionalization is slowly progressing in Hungary. The regional institutional system is young and the institutional experiences are limited. The Hungarian regional development agencies are operated with a limited number of personnel and their budget is only a fraction of EU regional agencies of similar size. There is no unequivocal cooperation between regional development agencies and county development agencies. In the absence of these, the strategical objectives of the region cannot be aligned and the application of consistent development policies cannot be achieved. In the past five-six years the supports from EU Pre-Accession Funds, along with the new tools of regional development policies, have all contributed to the development of the North Great Plain Region. Phare projects – beside supporting development – have played a significant role in forming the approach of individuals who are actively involved in regional development, in promoting cooperation among cross-border and other regions, as well as in preparing the regions to accept EU structural funds. Prior to the May 1st, 2004 EU accession of Hungary, the North Great Plain Region received 24-25% in direct regional development funds in the Nineties. The support per capita in the case of TFC, TEKI and CÉDE has exceeded the national average. The North Great Plain Region has received support from investment type agricultural supports, the Employment Fund and the Touristical Directives that well exceeded the national average, from the sectoral resource funds. However, the applicants of the North Great Plain Region have received little support in the case of environmental, water management and especially road development supports. About 200 applications have been submitted for the SAPARD calls nationally, 32 of these were from the North Great Plain Region. The significance of cooperation among sub-regions is demonstrated by the fact that, except for 15 settlements in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, all have submitted an application. The efforts of inhabitants is highlighted by the high number of submitted applications, as well as by the significant degree of own contribution. Still, the GDP of the North Great Plain Region has not increased, the rate and tendency of unemployment does not sufficiently reflect the positive effect of supports. The Regional Development Directive has provided support for the development of many small- and medium size enterprises, but their effect did not ensure a sustained economic growth.
The greatest difficulty is that the number of dedicated professionals who are skilled in regional politics and regional development is few. However, advantages of our EU accession can only be exploited if a group of highly skilled professionals is provided on local, county, regional and national level as well. Thus, we need a group of professionals who are informed about the European Union, the EU support forms and most of all about the operation of Structural Funds and Cohesion Funds to establish the suitable institutional background for professionally handling the funds obtained from the EU, to prepare the professional documents to access the funds and to generate development projects to efficiently use the funds as well as establishing connections with the institutions of the EU. Appropriate share from funds coming from the EU is only possible if the country, certain regions, counties and sub-regions can achieve rapid results in the areas listed above. -
Strategic Steps in the Sheep and Goat Branches
61-68Views:130The balance of the sheep and goat branches can be summarised as follows:
If the increase in stock size, specific yields, genetic improvement and modernisation are not realised, several thousand shepherds will lose their jobs and possibilities to work, and their families will lose their only source of livelihood.
Several hundred hectares of grassland will become weedy and the costs of crop protection will increase in these regions. Pollen pollution, the number of allergic ailments and medical costs will increase, mentioning only the main disadvantages. Its financial requirement is nearly equal to the one required for development without any essential compensation or production.
In order to develop a competitive branch, a subsidisation of 10-20 billion HUF is needed until the accession of Hungary to the EU, depending on the scale and progressivity of development. The subsidisation and realisation of the strategic steps would result in:
– the establishment of a registered livestock with 1.5 million ewes, which would ensure better market position for the branch in the EU (5%),
– the establishment of a competitive and marketable branch with a production value of 15-25 billion HUF, calculated using the present price level (after accession, the branch would be self-operating and profitable, with the 6-8 billion HUF/year normative subsidisation by the EU),
– the establishment of a genetic potential which would ensure our participation in profitable international breeding animal market, which provides extra profit,
– the establishment of a sheep husbandry with better genetic potential and phenotypic performance, producing a quality of international level,
– the maintenance of the workplace of more than 10.000 people (saving 3-5 billion HUF/year of the budget),
– the maintenance of the condition of growing areas of grasslands with their advantages (crop protection and public health) whose financial effect is considerable. -
Challenges in the mangalitsa sector – present and future
147-153Views:125The Hungarian mangalitza pig sector has experienced numerous structural changes in the past few decades. The increased demand in the foreign markets for the mangalitza pork, changes in the domestic consumer perceptions have increase the number of sows and breeders. After the European Union’s accession started a significant growth in the sector, which was due to the target programme from the year of 2005 for the keeping of animals representing high genetic value, as the breed is indigenous. From 2008 continuous decline can be observed. The main reason for the decrease was the drastic growth of feed costs because of the drought damage in 2007, and the global economic crisis. Since 2010, a further period of supports has been in place, it extands the willingness to keep mangalitza pigs and the number of sows continuously increasing. On the basis of the average farm size (58 sows/farm) in 2011 it can be stated, that after our EU’s accession the medium-sized farms became stronger. To evaluate the geographic concentration of the mangalitza livestock it was analysed the data of sow number among the years of 2000 and 2011. The geographic concentration of mangalitza stock has a medium value over each year under the survey period, except the years of 2004–2007, when the values of Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI) have low degrees. Due to the subvention period of indigenous breeds it was established more mangalitza farms in different parts of Hungary. Despite of the growth since 2000, numerous problems are in the segment. The aim of the study is to find out the sectoral problems, which are completed with the objectives tree and draw up the main activities to solve the problems. After estimating the SWOT-matrix according to the methodology of the strategic analysis and the discussions with the secretary of National Association of Mangalitza Breeders is prepared the sectoral problem- and objectives tree. The core problem of the mangalitza sector is that the origin of mangalitza products are not certified in the domestic markets. The reason of it is that the breeders don’t request the certificates of fattening pigs, so it can appear not real mangalitza product on the markets as mangalitza. To solve the problems it is drawn up different suggestions in the objectives tree. This analysis is an useful tool for the decision makers in the mangalitza sector to evolve strategic plans on behalf of the efficient cooperations among chain actors.
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Connections between land usage, property structure and agricultural enterprises in Hungary
31-34Views:86The last decade of Hungarian agriculture was marked and changes which affected all parts of agricultural production. This process resulted in a new ownership and organisation structure. The paper presents the effects of the changes in ownership on land use and the various enterprise forms and intends to outline the main tendencies. In general, it can be stated that the role of agriculture in GDP production and employment is decreasing in Hungary, but according to concurrent opinions of experts, agriculture still has and will have a major role in income production and the ease of social tensions in rural areas in the future as well. Hungary’s accession to the European Union provides new chances and new prospects for Hungarian agriculture and rural areas. Hungarian agriculture became a part of the internal market which includes about 450 million people. The safety of marketing became stronger, the rate of financial support is increasing and the income of growers will increase in the future. This process implies more obligations and the keeping of strict regulations. Competition inside the internal market is intensifying, competitiveness will be more important while the chances of development and investment of the growers and the feasibility of more effective land use are increasing. After the accession, integration into the directives formulated in the CAP and the packages of measures accepted in it is framework have growing importance.
These directives encourage farm-reallocation, namely the rational estate concentration. In general, it can be stated that rational estate concentration, and more effective land use as a consequence, will increase the efficiency of agricultural production. -
The Effect of EU Accession on the Hungarian Tobacco Sector. The Evaluation of the Regulations
368-377Views:77Tobacco growing can be regarded as a special small sector of Hungarian agriculture. However, studying it from a different point of view, we can see that it is an outstanding sector among others in agriculture. Not only is its budget importance that makes it significant (its total budgetary income is more than 200 billion HUF), and on the other hand it also plays an important role in employment and income output.
Nevertheless questions of regulation arise, and especially those of its justification, methods and scope. Moreover, EU accession forces Hungary to redraw its regulatory statutes for legal harmonization. Below is a discussion of the impacts of this process, as well as of the domestic tobacco market itself. -
Hungarian total foreign trade after the change of regime
145-154Views:76Hungary’s total foreign trade has changed a lot since the change of regime. Several factors played a role in this process. The collapse of COMECOM, set of the world economy, WTOagreement, Agreement of Accession and CEFTA-agreement and accession to the EU affected this situation. After the change of regime Hungary had to react rapidly to these new events: one of the most goals was to find new markets. Hungary’s total foreign trade balance is negative but this deficit has declined after EUaccession. The foreign trade in agriculture has realised positive balance for a long time. This balance is declining after 2004, in spite of that the agricultural export grows, but the import grows more dynamically.
Share of the Visegrad countries – join at the same time to the European Union as Hungary – from Hungarian agriculture exports gets higher, especially in the case of Poland.
Hungary’s trading partners of exports and imports are stabile and they come from old Member States. One hand is positive, but the other hand is not acceptable. It is important to get markets, because we strongly depend on Europe.
The situation of Hungary’s external trade is determined by the future of CAP and WTO Doha Round (reducing of agricultural customs, ceasing of export subvention system and etc.).
Hungary can keep in competition, if it extends its competitiveness, diminishes of costs, and improves of quality, logistic and marketing. -
Complex problem analysis of the Hungarian milk product chain
43-47Views:95Hungarian dairy sector went through significant changes in past two decades. The most significant changes were caused by our accession to the European Union. In Hungary milk production remarkably declined after EU accession. The size of our dairy herd has been practically reducing since the political transformation, but increasing yields per cow could compensate it in some way and for some time. However, in recent years, increasing yield per cow came to a stop and in parallel, the number of cows declined further and faster. Low prices, high production costs and tightening quality requirements ousted several producers from the market in past years. Feeding cost represents the highest rate in cost structure of production, but animal health expenditures and various losses are also significant. There are undeniably competitive disadvantages in the level of organisation and labour productivity; however competitiveness already depends on cost effectiveness in the medium run. In Hungary concentration of the dairies is relatively strong in spite of the relative high number of corporations. The dairies compete with each other and with the export market for the raw material and the better exploitation of their capacities. Applied technology of the Hungarian dairies lags behind the Western-European competitors’; in addition they have handicaps in efficiency and product innovation. Presence of chain of stores being dominant in sale of milk products does also not favour in all respects to the position of the dairies. The aforementioned retail chains are namely consumer-centric, engage in price follower conduct and weaken the position of the dairies with their private label products. As a result of increasing import of milk and milk products Hungary became a net importer in recent years. Today, disposable income still essentially determines the consumption habits of price-sensitive consumers. Loyalty for Hungarian products is not typical, consumers are open for import products being preferred by retail chains. In addition Hungarian milk and milk product consumption is about half of the Union average and it is far behind the level being necessary for healthy eating. In Hungary lack of competitiveness and vertical integration relationships and backwardness are revealing among the dairy farmers and the dairies, while chain of stores are in unprecedented “monopolistic situation”; the whole sector can be characterised by defencelessness.
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Labour Efficiency of Dairy Farms with Different Types and Sizes in Hajdú-Bihar County
62-67Views:79Questions and uncertainties characterised the accession period of Hungary to the European Union. It is evident that only those producers can compete on the market who produce good quality products. Therefore, only dairy farms with extra high quality raw milk production will be successful. Furthermore, on this basis, rural areas will be able to keep their inhabitants one of the most important problems presently. The author examined the process of milk production and the labour efficiency of 18 dairy farms in Hajdú-Bihar County. Mechanization, the quality of the work force and the system of incentives were assessed. Data of produced milk quality were collected too. Because of farms with different types and sizes the circumstances of milk production differ greatly. As a result of data analysis it was found that the working schedule of small and large farms often differed. The most important working processes (milking, feeding, harvesting) are done by family members. In order to increase the efficiency and improve working atmosphere the improvement of wage and incentive systems would be desirable. Labour efficiency indexes show that the efficiency of tie-stall systems is lower than the efficiency of similar size loose-housing systems. It can also be stated; that labour efficiency of similar size loose housing dairies differs greatly so the importance of work-studies should be increased.
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Reflections on the use of subsidies received from the Agriculture and Rural Development Operational Programme and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development in the micro-region Ibrány-Nagyhalász
211-216Views:76Hungary’s accession to the European Union caused major changes in the country’s life. Rural development subsidies can be received through extensive application mechanisms. This is particularly challenging for lagging micro-regions. My study presents the lagging microregion of Ibrány-Nagyhalász, focusing on what types of organizations and upon what grounds received subsidies in the framework of the Agriculture and Rural Development Operational Programme 2004–2006 (AVOP). I focus on the same parameters when examining the measures in the third axis of the New Hungary Rural Development Programme 2007–2013 (ÚMVP), followed by a comparison between the two programmes’ effectiveness. I conclude that due to the experience collected throughout the period of AVOP, both the number and the quality of applications have risen from the year 2007. Still, due to the lack of competence, cooperation and motivation, the region's planned improvements are not yet fully met and the capabilities of the region are not yet fully exploited. For the future, even more complex and more feasible projects are needed.
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Agri-Environmental Issues in the National Sustainable Development Strategy of the Member States of the Enlarged EU
346-353Views:79In preparation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg), almost all EU member-states and some accession countries presented their national strategies for sustainable development (NSSD) during the summer of 2002. Along with other countries, Hungary is only now setting up this important document. Everywhere during the last decade, as in the EU countries, the intention was to involve the environmental problems into other political questions (agricultural, energy and transport policy, etc.). Today the strategy-builders have given up the sectoral view because of difficulties and setbacks, and use a view aiming the problem.
Agri-environmental issues appear as the elements of sustainability in the national strategies. For example, in accordance with the danger of global warming, the emission of green-house gasses of agriculture; in line with eco-efficiency, the production of renewable raw materials and energy sources originating from agriculture, and, in relation to changing lifestyle, food-safety and the future of biological agriculture will be disputed. With this study, I investigate the main characteristics of sustainable development strategies at both the EU level and at the level of the different member states from an agri-environmental point of view. -
Post-control of agricultural subsidies provided by EU
31-35Views:86The greatest part of the incomes (nearly fifty percent) of the European Union is spend on the agriculture and the agricultural policy is the most complex field among the common policies. In Hungary the payments from Guarantee Section of EAGGF are carried out by one Paying Agency (Agricultural and Rural Development Agency), the post audit of payments are carried out by Investigation Network of Hungarian Customs and Finance Guard on the base of Council Regulation No. 4045/89. A full co-operation of the business operators is expected during the audit, which means the presentation of the complete accounting file related to subsidies. To avoid declarations on irregularities during the audit and the following order on repayment of the subsidy, all requirements of gaining subsidies have to be kept. The state authorities, in present case the customs authority should pay special attention to the risk analysis activity, and its harmonising with the proposals and guidelines of the Commission. Getting acquainted and using in practice the actual requirements and proposals of the Commission’s guidelines is expected at all levels of the control service of the HCFG, but primarily the Special Service has to continue its present practice in this field. The measures mentioned above, respectively the effective period taken under analysis teens from the date of accession until June 2005.
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The Role and Significance of Soil Analyses in Plant Nutrition and Environmental Protection
3-8Views:84Hungary has a rich history of soil analyses and soil mapping. Our main tasks today are the preservation of soil fertility as well as balancing the goals of production and environmental protection. The main requirement of agricultural production is to adapt to ecological and economic conditions.
In a series of consultative meetings in the past seven years, representatives from Central and Eastern Europe have analyzed nutrient management practices in their respective countries. According to a joint memorandum agreed upon in 2000, in the countries awaiting accession, the quantity of nutrients used per hectare is considerably smaller than the Western-European usage targeted through special subsidies. The current low nutrient usage contradicts the principles of sustainability and that of the efficient use of resources, jeopardizing soil fertility.
In Hungary, the use of inorganic fertilizers underwent a dynamic development, which manifested itself in an almost tenfold usage growth between 1960 and 1985. This growth slowed down somewhat between 1985 and 1990 and then reduced dramatically after 1990, reaching record lows at the usage levels of the 60s. The nutrient supply has had a negative balance for the last 15 years.
The increasing and then decreasing usage trends can equally be detected in the domestic yield averages of wheat and corn as well as in the nutrient supply of soils. Yields were the largest when usage levels were the highest, and decreased thereafter. Draughts have also contributed to smaller yields. The dramatic decrease in the use of inorganic fertilizers when adequate organic fertilizers are lacking endangers our soils’ fertility.
About 50% of soils in Hungary are acidic. Acidity is mostly determined by soil formation, but especially on soils with a low buffering capacity, this acidity may intensify due to inorganic fertilizers. Sustainable agriculture requires the chemical improvement of acidic soils. According to their y1 values, the majority of our acidic soils need to be improved. This chemical soil remediation is required in 15% of the acidic soils, while it’s recommended for another 20% of these soils.
Results of the analyses conducted in the framework of the soil-monitoring system set up in Hungary in 1992 show that in 95% of the analyzed samples, the toxic element content is below the allowable limit. Cultivated areas are not contaminated; toxicity above the legal level was found only in specific high-risk sampling areas: in the vicinity of industry, due to local overload. The basic principle of sustainable agriculture is to preserve soil fertility without undue strain on the environment. The intensity of the production needs to be considered according to the conditions of the site; i.e.; nutrient management needs to be site-specific. It is recommended to differentiate three types of cultivated land in terms of environmental sensitivity: areas with favorable conditions, endangered areas, and protected areas, and then to adopt nutrient management practices accordingly. To meet all the above-mentioned goals is impossible without systematic soil analysis. Tests conducted by the national monitoring system cannot replace regular field measurements. -
Effects of a traditional agricultural sector’s decline in less favoured areas
109-114Views:98Due to the effects of economic and political transformations, privatization and accession to the EU, Hungarian agriculture has gone through significant changes in the last two decades. As a result of continuous changes in the economic and regulatory environment, producers have to plan and maintain cultivation and adapt to the changing market needs within continuously changing circumstances. These effects have resulted in a significant decline or in some cases, certain sectors have disappeared. These exercise a negative social and economic effect on all over the country, causing irreversible damages on those regions where agriculture is the only source of living. This paper discusses the effects of breakdown or disappearance of a traditional agricultural sector, namely the tobacco sector.
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Risk and Risk Management in the Hungarian Sheep Sector
25-29Views:69The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the risk attitudes of Hungarian sheep producers regarding the changes they have had to go through since the political changes of 1989-1990. Moreover, the objective of this study is to strengthen the empirical basis for risk analysis by identifying the importance of farmers’ risk attitudes. The results of a nationwide survey of over 500 sheep farmers presented a framework of risk attitudes, risk sources and applied risk management techniques of livestock producers.
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The Target Areas of Regional Development, Tool and Institutional Background, its Present and Future Prospects
138-142Views:72Regional politics determines the aims of regional structures, and the tools with the institutional background on the whole necessary achieve these. Realizing the aims of regional politics is a precondition of executing the basic principles of regional development and politics. The regional institutional system for handling the decentralized financial resources has not evolved in Hungary yet. The professional institutes for preparing the programs have not been set up, and the management of execution is slowly taking shape. There are still deficiencies in the domestic application of concentration and addition principles. A number of funds are provided on a national level, that are directly or indirectly aimed at regional development. The obvious coordination among the funds is not carried out neither on a national, nor on a regional level, partly to avoid parallel consumption aims. The future of Hungarian spatial structure depends on the type of decentralization strategy the country will follow for the new resources after the accession. Total decentralization offers the most efficient solution for Hungary.
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Theoretical Basics of Internal Auditing at Public Administration Institutions
154-159Views:69In the past months, in the time of the reforms of the new millennium, the modernisation and transformation of the public sphere have been a constant issue in Hungary due to globalisation and the country’s accession to the European Union. The provision of transparency and comparability is required from each member state by the challenges of globalisation, legal harmonisation and the unification process. That is why it is essential to harmonise and adjust to one another the internal and external auditing systems of public institutions on the levels of both the institutions and sectors. The study reviews the theoretical foundations and basic principles of the public institutions’ internal auditing system, as well as it aims to provide an overall picture of the legal background of the auditing system and its changes. By including the main principles, standards and the most important regulations, the study’s informative approach aims to assist anyone interested in the further and deeper research into the subject.
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The production and financial achievement of the agricultural co-operatives in 2002-2007
21-28Views:103The aim of the study was the examination of the achievement of the Hungarian agricultural enterprises – special regard to the agricultural co-operatives – based on the aggregated database of Hungarian Tax and Financial Control Administration (APEH), from the database of the Research Institute of Agricultural Economics. From the methodological aspect plain statistical devices were used, indicators for corporate analyses were
calculated and analyzed for the time series. One important conclusion is that the socio-economic weight of the agricultural co-operatives was strongly decreased in the period after the EU accession. The other important statement is that over the general examination of economic actors on an aggregated level the comparative analysis of the single enterprises forms would be needed. In the case of the co-operatives the separated examination of the former type producer co-operatives and the new type co-operatives would be necessary -
Relationships of Fruit Production and Regional Development in the Northern Great Plain Region
181-187Views:102The role of retaining population in agriculture is stronger and more significant in the long run in the North Great Plain Region compared to other regions. The region has a significant processing industry along with a good basis for producing raw materials, developed food processing capicity and high quality agricultural products typical of the region. The GDP in agriculture, forestry and game management is somewhat higher than the national average.
Variety is of cardinal importance when establishing the quality of horticultural products and determining the product value. The Hungarian breeding results of apple, quince, apricot, cherry, raspberry, red and black currant are promising.
The regulation system of EU the vegetable and fruit market is based on Retail Cooperatives Producers. With the establishment of national vegetable- and fruit production and retail organizations, the market regulation, production and quality development issues of the sector can be handled and solved. Reaching EU standards in fruit production can only be achieved with up-to-date plantation systems and breed selection. A key issue in development is establishing the required financial resources for investments and updating production. In order to reach these standards, significant state subsidies and good credit conditions are needed. By solving these tasks, the sector is expected to become self-financed without government help.
The pursuit of safer production, improving quality and increasing yields require the establishment of up-to-date irrigation systems. The improvement of family farms, motivating land concentration is necessary for increasing average size of plants. Establishing the above mentioned conditions is important since the vegetable-fruit sector is of great significance in the employment of rurally based population, improving their living conditions and executing rural development programs. -
Hungary’s employment policy from the point of view joining the European Union
189-197Views:66What is a place of work? Is it a commitment to work, or continuous pressure under work, or hunting for income? This article is a brief review about the main milestones of the employment history of the European Union and Hungary. In 1989, the Social Charta about the social principles of employee was issued. In 1997 the employment policy became the part of the acquis communautaire. Finally, in 1998, the European
Employment Strategy was developed, which contains the community employment guidelines. In the year of millennium, the new long term concept of the EU, the Lisbon Strategy was approved. In this document the EU was targeted as the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the World till 2010. The Tens joint to the EU in 2004, and a bit later it became clear, that the EU is light-armed against some of the world economy challenges. As a consequence, many objectives of the Strategy could not be reached. Recently member states of the EU have to develop the national action plan for employment year by year. The hungarian plans were developed as well, but the wrong labour market’s parameters haven’t been changed since 2004. -
Development of and Lessons from the Institution System of the Common Agricultural Policy in Slovenia
43-53Views:65The comprehensive agricultural policy of Slovenia during the setting-up of its agricultural institutional system for implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy has enabled the setting-up and design of the Paying Agency system to handle national and EU subsidies according to schedule. The country has acted on the advice of the European Union to use the introduction of SAPARD measures as a preparatory and experimental field for utilising subsidies after EU accession. Moreover, in addition to the importance of gaining practical experience in the field of implementation of rural development measures, Slovenia has recognised the necessity to become familiar with the application procedures for obtaining direct payments relevant for the largest group of beneficiaries, farmers. Accordingly, farmers have been practicing for 3 years how to fill in application forms, and have gained important experience before opening the most relevant resources. Also, the advisers supporting farmers to obtain subsidies have been trained during the last 3 years, in order to provide real assistance. EU agricultural subsidies are not divided among the Member States; there will be a strong competition not only with the new Member States, but also with the farmers of the more developed EU-15.
Slovenia has done its best in order to launch its farmers – due to the different development levels of the EU-25 Member States – into this very strong competition not like pupils, but at least like mature secondary school students. -
Fishes protected of Natura 2000 system in Slovakia
9-12Views:70The timely and effective establishment of Natura 2000 network is one of the greatest environmental challenges for the new Member States of the European Union. Slovak Republic is facing this challenge now. By the June 2005, the Government in our country must prepare a list of sites to be included in the Natura network, according to the criteria set up in the Habitat Directive. Natura 2000 sites, according to the specificEUDirectivesconsistofSpecialAreasofConservation(SACs),andSpecialProtectionAreas(SPAs).TheSPAsandtheSACs, the latter selected as Sites of Community Importance (SCIs), will be incorporated into the Natura 2000 network. The problems of proclaiming the system of protected areas of European importance for the Natura 2000 have been one of the major topics of the ichthyological activities in our country in recent years.
For 3 lampreys and 20 fishspeciestheterritoryofpotentialsiteofcommunityinterest(pSCI)hasbeenlimitedandproposed.Theselection of localities and examinations of population state in individual species of fishespresentedintheAnnex(II.,IVandV.)totheCouncilDirective No. 92/43/EEC were carried out in 2003/2004. In total 179 pSCI localities for fishandlampreysinthealpinebiogeographicregion (83) and in the pannonian biogeographic region (96) pSCI in the Slovak republic were selected and limited. The number of pSCI localities selected for individual species is different regards to their distribution within the river net of Slovakia. For example, for species of general distribution, 30 localities pSCI (Misgurnus fossilis, Rhodeus sericeus, Gobio albipinnatus, Barbus barbus) or 35 localities pSCI (Cobitis elongatoides, Barbus peloponnesius), have been proposed, on the contrary, in several species of exclusive distribution as Lampetra planeri - 8, Gobio uranoscopus - 9 and Zingel zingel -12 localities.
The pSCI territory for individual species of the ichthyofauna presented here represents the firststageintheprocessofcreatingtheprotected territory system of European interest Natura 2000 in the territory of the Slovakia for this group of aquatic vertebrates. The list of proposal sites will have to be submitted to the European Commission by the date of Accession. -
Regional Development Differences in Hungary and the Northern-Great Plain Region
62-71Views:132The most important endeavour of European Union’s regional policy is to moderate disparities. An emphasised strategic objective of member states, based on the principle of solidarity, fairness and justice, is to develop regions and almost forty percent of the common budget is devoted to achieving this objective.
Hungary, as a full EU member state, will get a new chance for underdeveloped regions, especially for the Eastern-Hungarian as well as the North Hungarian and North Plain Region.
The differences in development among the regions are significantly influenced by the economic characteristics of the specific region, quality and quantity of human resources, accessability of the region and other factors influencing local quality of life beside natural conditions.
The new spatial structure was formed by change of regime, processes of the nineties, primarily the economic renewal based on foreign capital investments and the crisis phenomena in parallel with these. The economic, political and social consequences of the transformation significantly changed spatial structure and increased disparities. New disparities formed which were further aggravated as a consequence due to the formation of the eastern-western slope and local crisis zones. As a result of the outstanding development of the capital, the long term differentiation of regional development differences can also be detected when examining the regional distribution of Hungarian gross domestic product. The collapse of heavy industry and agricultural mass production based on the eastern markets primarily affected the north-east counties in the eastern part of the country.
Strengthening regional competitiveness is of key importance for the region, which requires the application of consistent development policy. The most important is economic development which, if it operates well, also infers the possibility of establishing welfare infrastructures. Drawing in external sources to ease the significant lack of capital is important for the processing industry and the development of supplier networks. Agricultural development also plays an important role in transforming economic structure, since the characteristics of the region, its traditions and long term competitive advantages are favourable, therefore it is going to represent a higher ratio within the economy than the EU average. The modernisation of the agricultural sector can be promoted by supporting market accession, quality agricultural production and stimulating producer-retailer cooperation. The development of transportation and informatics infrastructure as well as human resource development plays a significantly important role in the development of the region.
In conclusion, the implementation of such a consistent regional development policy is required in the future, based on the strengths of the region, that serves the most efficient utilisation of regional development funds through the implementation of regional policy principles and prevents the irreversible decay of the region while promoting rapid development. -
The effects of joining The European Union in the area of tourism within health tourism in Hungary
169-177Views:86The occasion of Hungary joining to the European Union caused difficult tasks and questions for tourism in Hungary. Tourism sector must have been prepared for joining to European Union, which means developing a well-functioning and future planning strategy. It has to improve taking parts our tourism into international market without significant deficit. The main aim is achieving the sustainable tourism by approach marketing and environmentally sound of way that is able to become competitive.
My aim is to analyze by numerous indexes what are the effects of joining Hungary to the European Union in tourism sector. However the results need to extend survey into many years. It is very important to reach long-term economic results and development, next to it has to be suitable impacts for social and natural environment, quality of life and developing health tourism as well.
To sum up we can establish extension of European Union area has improved diversity of tourism destination and goods, accessibility of natural and cultural features.