Comparative analysis of rural development policy 2007-2013 in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: EAFDR; EŽŪFKP; Kaimo plėtra; Kaimo vystymasis; Kirviai; Mažinimas; Priemonė; Priemonės; Žemdirbystė; Žemės ūkis; Agriculture; Axes; EAFDR; Measure; Rural development.

ENIn this article will be carried out an analysis of the manner in which the three Baltic countries were able to implement rural development Policy at EU level. For rural development policy at EU level through EAFDR was allocated a budget of 96,3 billion € for the period 2007-2013. The total amount of funds for the three countries compared in this article is 3,54 billion €. The article begins with a comparative study on some characteristics of the national economy and the agricultural sector, such as population, GDP, GDP per capita, the total area, the area used for agriculture, the number of farms, number of persons engaged in agriculture, the importance of agriculture to the economies of those countries, will continue with the presentation of the amount of funds allocated for each axis and measure in the rural development programmes for the period 2007-2013 and another chapter will refer to the degree of access of funds from the EAFRD and shall end with a number of conclusions concerning the capacity of States to access EU funds. The three countries have experience in implementing EU funds considering that benefited from rural Development Plans in 2004-2006 and SAPARD.The main objective of this paper is to identify the amount and degree of accessing funds from EU rural development in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the year 2012. The Estonian Rural Development Plan 2007–2013, Rural Development Programme for Latvia 2007–2013 and Rural Development Programme for Lithuania 2007–2013 cover the entire territory of these three states which is under convergence region. The data sources used in this article are from official statistical institutions such as Eurostat (European Commission), Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, The Lithuanian Department of Statistics, Official Statistics Portal and Statistics Estonia. [From the publication]