Possible Support of the EU for the Republic of Macedonia for Regional and Rural Development

Abstract

The conditionality of the EU for the potential member states and its respective pre accession funding prepare these states for the future possibilities and circumstances within European policies and forms of cooperation. The goal of this paper is to establish the possible conceptual and financial support of the EU for the Republic of Macedonia, regarding the regional and agricultural policy. The regional policy of the EU which is aimed at diminishing economic, social and infrastructural disparities and the concept of balanced regional development of the Republic of Macedonia necessarily have overlapping points with the agricultural policies since rural areas in RM are underdeveloped and comprise the living area of about 40% of the Macedonian population. Therefore, it is of great significance to determine sustainable development strategy in these terms, dominantly to the end of improving economic activities and living conditions of the rural population. The basic method applied in the paper is the analysis of the EU and RM policies and necessary means for agricultural and regional development. The main expected results can be seen in identification of the circumstances and conditions that have an impact on the effectiveness of these developmental trends and possible opportunities that RM would take in former areas upon EU accession.