Regional and International Trade Policy: Lessons for the Eu Accession in the Rural Sector - World Bank Fao Workshop, June 20-23, 1998 (World Bank Technical Paper, No. 434.)

With appropriate preparation and policies, the enlargement of the European Union (EU) will result in a broader and higher-level integration of European agriculture, create an environment more conducive to further liberalization of global agricultural trade, and lead to further opening of European markets. As part of the World Bank's Strategic Compact Initiative, the Bank has coordinated activities to help the ten EU accession countries achieve EU membership. These activities include the preparation of studies to facilitate implementation of necessary reforms and sponsoring seminars and workshops to disseminate and analyze the results. This volume presents the major papers and summaries of one of the Workshop deliberations. This volume includes the following topics: • lessons learned from other regional agricultural trade agreements • the evolution of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) • an analysis of the economic impact of trade flows • the harmonization of agricultural policies within trade agreements • the implications of the external trade environment for the accession countries • the role of sanitary and phytosanitary trade rule in EU accession • quantifying the incentive and farm income effects of agricultural support policies in transition economies • major challenges to agricultural input regulation and trade during transition and EU accession • concluding comments by the World Bank. The European Union (EU) activities for membership accession, include a series of studies, workshops and seminars, to both facilitate policy and institutional reforms, and disseminate study results, thus improving analytical skills and policy analysis capabilities in countries for EU accession. In cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Bank provides economic analysis and experience, as part of its coordinated activities. The major objective of the Workshop was to present the results of the studies on regional and international trade policy issues, as it relates to experiences and/or implications with regional trading agreements, specifically, the Central and Eastern European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), in relation to the membership of the ten countries under review. Discussions took place regarding the World Bank support in the rural sector, and, the magnitude of potential benefits was suggested, though dependent on an enlargement based on adequate design and implementation of agricultural policies. Liberalization of agricultural trade was considered, viewing further openings of European markets. Improvement of, and competitiveness in the food and agriculture sector was identified as a priority task, before effectiveness of the Common Agricultural Policy instruments takes place. Examines the reforms and policy changes necessary in the food and agriculture sectors of those countries now in the accession process for eventual membership in European Union