The ideals and realities of European agricultural policy

Increasingly fierce, globalised competition awaits agriculture and food production in general. This explains the fact that the ideals and realities of European agricultural policy are increasingly in conflict with each other and is the cause of the continuous CAP reforms, as well as being related to distortions in competition and incon­sistencies in the CAP. Beyond all this, the Hungarian situation and its development potential are influenced by the new challenges of inherited competitive disadvantages and the uneven preparations for Accession. 2007 is an important year in terms of preventing a competitive collapse, as it is when the national subsidy system, including the system of national top-up subsidies, is to be transformed, and when preparations must be made for transforming the EU’s direct subsidy system, the so-called SAPS system. The foundation for possibly bridging the gap and retaining markets and jobs can be laid via the sensible expenditure of the roughly 1,400 billion forints of regional development resources.