Interim Report for OSI International Policy Fellowship –  Description of activities

Rural Development Policies in Central and Eastern Europe - is there an alternative way?
 
Gusztáv Nemes (895-PPP-NEM-HU)

July, 2002

 

Research activities
 

The research has two major phases.

The first phase[1] of the research has been successfully completed. I have written a research report in English (currently being translated into Hungarian), which was an analysis of the effects of preparation for EU accession on Hungarian rural development. As part of the project, I gave a public lecture in the Kossuth Klub (Budapest), which was supported and organised by an NGO, WWF Hungary. All the relevant stakeholders (ministries, NGOs, interest groups) were invited to the event. They received the study in advance and could make comments and criticisms to it. The aim of the exercise was double fold:

·         to get relevant feed-back on the study itself;

·         to provide a forum for confrontation and discussion between different stakeholders of this highly controversial topic.

The event was very successful, and it had significant publicity in several newspapers as well as on television (Gazda TV on channel 1, and Duna Television) and in the National Radio (Radio Budapest – English programme of the Kossuth Radio).

 

The second phase[2] of the research has been started. I have established appropriate connections, conducted a number of interviews and participated on several national and international workshops (see bellow) as a representative of the Hungarian Rural Parliament, and carried out a case study in a rural micro-region (see attached).

 

The comparative part of the research has not started yet. It needs re-thinking and the consideration of possibilities.

I can only provide the research paper now. For the policy paper I need to fully conduct the second part of the research.



Dissemination of the results and participation at events, closely related to the project
 

Since the start of the fellowship I got involved in two significant international projects, both highly relevant to the aims of the fellowship and to my proposed research plan.

 

The first project is called ‘ Europe’s Rural Futures’, and it is the continuation of a previous project (The Nature of Rural Development). This is a collaborative research project, subsidized by WWF International and the English Countryside Agency. Its main aim was to collect lobbying material for the Mid-term-review of the Common Agricultural Policy under Agenda 2000. Practically, we compared rural development and the effect of EU rural policies in eight European countries. My original tasks were:

·         writing an analysis on the effects on EU policies in Hungary;

·         contributing to a high profile seminar in Brussels (high level EU-, Member State- and Applicant Countries’ officials; NGOs; politicians and experts were invited) being the Central European speaker.

Additionally I got involved in writing the comparative study. For all this I had to attend several workshops and a conference in London and Brussels, throughout the year.

 

The second project is called the European Agricultural Convention. This project was initiated by the Agricultural Committee of the European Parliament and aimed to make an impact on the Mid-term-review, as well as the European Convention and future rural and agricultural policies of the European Union. I became a member of an expert team, working on a policy proposal. I also participated at a high profile workshop, held in the European Parliament on the 6-7th of June. The president of the European Convention, six European ministers of agriculture, high level officials from both the European Commission  and the Parliament, European level NGOs and other interest groups participated on this workshop. The aim of the event was to reach a consensus and provide political background to our proposal. The final version of the document was handed to the European Commission on the 30th of June and it can be accessed through the following website: www.europeanconvention.org

 

Non of these projects could be foreseen before starting the fellowships, however, both of them are very important. They greatly extended my international connections, contributed to my knowledge and enabled me to make far more significant influence on domestic and EU level policy making than I could have imagined before. Though, they have two important consequences for my fellowship project:

 

First, the research has focused on high level (domestic and European) policy making more slightly more than it was expected at the beginning, and the role of civil society has had somewhat les`        s emphasis.  This has not changed the overall subject of the research, though certainly means a small alteration of the focus between the two research questions, favouring higher political aspects of the Eastern enlargement. Nevertheless, my mentors agreed with these slight changes.

Second, these ‘new activities’ have influenced my budget. Both projects were fairly poorly funded, consequently I had to cover most of my travel expenses, while attending workshops and meetings in Brussels and in London. This involves small amendments of my budget (see in the budgetary report).

 
Conferences, workshops attended
·         I attended a three day workshop in Hungary, (Kerekegyháza, February 2002) organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Regional Development for the preparation of a LEADER-type local development programme in Hungary.

·         I was invited to the General Assembly of the Swedish Rural Parliament and the workshop of its European Group, held in Pitio, Sweden, 13-17 March 2002; (receipt 1)

·         I attended a one day conference-workshop of the ‘Europe’s Rural Futures’ project in Brussels on the 16th of April, 2002 (receipt 2).

·         I attended an international conference on: ‘CAP and its Reform: Needs and Impacts in the Region" in Tartu, Estonia on the 3-4th of May 2002 (receipt 3).

·         I attended the European Agricultural Convention meeting in Brussels, at the 6-7th of June.

·         I attended the last workshop of the ‘Europe’s Rural Future’s’ project (held on comparative aspects) in London, on the 27th of June, 2002 (receipt 4).

·         I attended the Visegrad Summer school in Krakow, Poland, 19 July – 3 August, 2002 (receipt 5).

 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] According to the research plan: In-depth investigation of Research Question 1 would include the analysis of policy documents, and interviews with officials in different ministries and their regional offices; with experts and consultants working for government departments

[2] According to the research plan: In-depth investigation of Research Question 2 would include interviews and participant observation in: nation-wide NGOs, representing civil society in high level politics (the Hungarian Rural Parliament, and environmental NGOs, such as Ecoservice, or WWF Hungary); and in a chosen rural micro-region, with the local development association and formal and/or informal civil organisations.