Expectations, reality, options ten years of Hungarian agriculture in the European Union

Vajda, László

Keywords: EU accession, challenge, Common Agricultural Policy, adaptation, national margin

Before Hungary’s accession to the European Union on 1 May 2004, a great number of studies, articles and brochures analysed the possible impacts of accession on the Hungarian agri-food sector. After the accession the number of publications on the ef-fects of accession was relatively modest, although they contained valuable information. The present study attempts to overview the expectations before membership, the ten years road of the Hungarian agricultural economy and the future prospects. The author – himself an active participant of the process – considers that despite many difficulties the Hungarian agri-food sector managed successfully the challenges of the accession; on balance it could valorise the opportunities offered. During accession efforts concen-trated on the fulfilment of the requirements stemming from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). By now both the government and the producers could adapt to the framework represented by the CAP and found their own way among the options of-fered, thus creating a solid basis for the next ten years of development of agriculture and of rural areas.

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