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SEMINAR 1998 |
THE ARKLETON TRUST
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[CONTENTS] [NEXT PAGE] |
4.3. Relevance of the pre-accession measures for rural needs of the CEECsThe proposed programme of the pre-accession assistance seems to be lacking in flexibility. Pre-accession support for the applicant CEECs focuses on structural operations and rural development issues seem to be disregarded. Emphasis on infrastructure building can result in growth of rural-urban development disparities. As a result there has been some negative experience with the actual Structural Funds spending and even where funds were spent in rural areas, the programmes were not always appropriate. The objectives of structural policy need to be addressed: are these merely about redistribution of public money to reinforce the growth poles, or is the need and scope for diversification of rural economies fully recognised?Since the CEECs are a heterogeneous group in the terms of agricultural structures, it is necessary that the Community assistance offers enough flexibility to the individual states/regions to decide upon the most appropriate measures. However, it appears that the mechanisms for the CEE accession countries, proposed by the Agenda 2000, do not offer enough flexibility to run a rural policy specific to the needs of individual countries. In the EU, it is often the case that the structures and capacities at regional level are not capable of delivering development plans. Constraints are present in both financial and human resources terms. That problem will be more evident in the accession candidates from CEECs. The pre-accession support should therefore focus on capacity building, training and the development of structures and not merely on financial support for 'hard' infrastructural development. The emphasis on capacity building and improvement of agricultural structures in the existing support programmes was oriented to the existing EU structures, which are (especially in the case of the CAP) moving targets for the CEEC candidates.
[The Funds] |