Archive:Enlargement countries - agriculture, forestry and fisheries statistics

Data extracted in March 2022.

Planned article update: May 2023.

Highlights

In 2021, the contribution of agriculture, forestry and fisheries to the gross value added in the candidate countries and potential candidates varied between 6.3 % in Turkey and 20.3 % in Albania, compared with 1.8 % in the EU.

In Albania, employment in agriculture, forestry and fisheries as share of total employment fell from 41.3 % in 2015 to 36.1 % in 2020; in Kosovo it rose from 2.3 % to 4.8 % over the same period.

Total cereals production in the candidate countries and potential candidates amounted to 52.4 million tonnes in 2020, corresponding to 18.3 % of the cereals production in the EU (286.5 million tonnes).

Employment in agriculture, forestry and fishing, 2015 and 2020

Countries are ranked based on 2020 data.
Country codes: AL = Albania; TR = Turkey; RS = Serbia; MK = North Macedonia; ME = Montenegro; BA = Bosnia and Herzegovina; XK = Kosovo*
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.
Albania: Estimates.
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo: Persons aged 15 and more. Data supplied by and under the responsibility of the national statistical authority.
Kosovo*: 2020: break in series.
Source: Eurostat (online data code: lfsa_egan2) and Eurostat data collection.

This article is part of an online publication and provides information on a range of statistics for the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors of the European Union (EU) enlargement countries, in other words the candidate countries and potential candidates. Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia and Turkey currently have candidate status, while Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Kosovo are potential candidates.

The article provides an overview of recent developments in the candidate countries and potential candidates, presenting indicators such as the relative importance of agriculture, forestry and fishing in terms of their contribution to gross value added and employment. It also provides more detailed data on agricultural land use, agricultural production, livestock populations and meat production, as well as trade in food, live animals, drinks and tobacco.

Full article

Gross value added and employment

Agriculture, forestry and fishing generate a considerably higher share of value added in candidate countries and potential candidates than in the EU

In 2021, agriculture, forestry and fishing contributed considerably more to gross value added in the candidate countries and potential candidates than in the EU (see Figure 1). Turkey recorded the lowest share at 6.3 %, followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina (6.6 %). Montenegro and Serbia both recorded provisional shares of 7.8 % in 2021, with shares of 8.7 % in Kosovo and 9.0 % in North Macedonia. These activities contributed to more than one fifth of gross value added (20.3 %) in Albania in 2021, by far the highest share among the candidate countries and potential candidates. From 2011 to 2021, the share of value added from these activities in the total declined in all of the candidate countries and potential candidates. The largest fall (-3.0 percentage points (pp)) was recorded in Turkey, followed by North Macedonia (-1.9 pp), Montenegro (-1.8 pp), Bosnia and Herzegovina (-1.4 pp), Kosovo (-1.3 pp) and Serbia (-1.0 pp). The importance of these activities to the economy of Albania diminished only to a smaller degree, declining by -0.7 pp between 2011 and 2021. In 2021, the relative contribution of agriculture, forestry and fishing to gross value added in the EU economy stood at 1.8 %, only slightly lower than the 1.9 % registered in 2011.

Figure 1: Gross value added from agriculture, forestry and fishing, 2011 and 2021
(% share on total gross value added)
Source: Eurostat (nama_10_a10)

Among the candidate countries and potential candidates, Kosovo (4.8 %) recorded the lowest share of agriculture, forestry and fishing in total employment in 2020; the 6.6 % share in Montenegro was the only other employment share below 10 % (see Figure 2). In contrast, the high importance of agriculture, forestry and fishing to the economy of Albania was also reflected in its employment structure: in 2020, employment in these activities made up more than one third (36.1 %) of total employment in the country. In the other candidate countries and potential candidates, the workforce employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing activities represented between 10 % and 20 % of total employment: in North Macedonia, the share was 11.1 % in 2020, in Bosnia and Herzegovina 12.0 %, in Serbia 12.3 % and in Turkey 16.2 %.

Nevertheless, except for in Kosovo, the importance of agriculture, forestry and fishing for employment was diminishing across the region. From 2015 to 2020, these activities’ contribution to total employment decreased by -5.9 percentage points (pp)) in both North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, by -5.2 pp in Albania and -4.8 pp in Serbia. The decreases in these shares were somewhat smaller for Turkey (-2.7 pp) and Montenegro (-0.4 pp), while for Kosovo the share of agriculture, forestry and fishing in total employment expanded, albeit at a low level, by 2.5 pp from 2.3 % in 2015 to 4.8 % in 2020.

Employment in agriculture, forestry and fishing in the EU accounted for 4.0 % of the total number of persons employed in 2020; this was 2.2 times the contribution of the gross value added of these activities to total gross value added in the same year (1.8 %). However, the contribution of these activities to the overall workforce had decreased since 2015, by -0.7 pp.

Figure 2: Employment in agriculture, forestry and fishing, 2015 and 2020
(% share on total employment)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_egan2) and Eurostat data collection

Land use

Half of the area of North Macedonia is used for agriculture

The area that is used for agriculture varies according to climate, terrain and soil type, while the level of economic development and population density may also play a role in determining land use. Within the EU, roughly two fifths of the total land area are used for agriculture. The remainder of the land is generally composed of wooded land, built-up areas (villages, towns and cities), infrastructure (roads or railways), scrub or waste land.

The utilised agricultural area (UAA) refers to the area that is actually used for agricultural purposes. In 2020, the combined utilised agricultural area for the candidate countries and potential candidates was around 46 million hectares, equivalent to 28.5 % of the total utilised agricultural area in the EU. Among the candidate countries and potential candidates, Turkey had by far the largest utilised agricultural area, with almost 38 million hectares in 2020. Relative to their total area, North Macedonia and Turkey recorded the highest proportions utilised for agricultural purposes in 2020 (50.0 % and 48.4 %, respectively) followed by Serbia (45.2 %) (see Figure 3). In Albania (40.5 %), the share was also over two fifths. In Kosovo (38.6 %), the share of utilised agricultural area was similar to that in the EU (38.4 %), with the level recorded in Bosnia and Herzegovina slightly lower at 35.3 % (2019 data). Montenegro registered by far the lowest share, with less than one fifth (18.6 %) of its total land area used for agricultural activities.

The utilised agricultural area, just as the production of agricultural products, typically varies somewhat from year to year, reflecting climatic, meteorological and hydrological conditions, market conditions, crop rotation, the share of permanent crops, pests, etc. Compared to 2010, the share of UAA in the total area had decreased in Albania (-1.2 percentage points (pp)), Turkey (-0.6 pp; 2011 to 2020) and Serbia (-0.5 pp). The same applied to the EU, although marginally (-0.2 pp). In contrast, the share of UAA had increased substantially in North Macedonia (+5.9 pp) and, to a lesser degree, in Montenegro (+2.6 pp), Bosnia and Herzegovina (+1.9 pp) and Kosovo (+1.3 pp).

Figure 3: Utilised agricultural area, 2010 and 2020
(% share on total area)
Source: Eurostat (apro_cpnh1) and (reg_area3) and Eurostat data collection

Agricultural production

The production of cereals in candidate countries and potential candidates corresponded to 18 % of the EU production in 2020

In 2020, the combined production of cereals by the candidate countries and potential candidates exceeded 52 million tonnes, equivalent to 18.3 % of the output of the EU which amounted to 286.5 million tonnes (see Table 1). For potatoes, the combined production of the candidate countries and potential candidates (6.9 million tonnes) was equivalent to 12.7 % of the EU total, with production concentrated in Turkey, with 5.2 million tonnes.

Table 1: Agricultural production, 2010, 2015 and 2020
(thousand tonnes)
Source: Eurostat (apro_cpnh1) and (apro_mk_farm) and Eurostat data collection

Crop production levels can fluctuate substantially from year to year as a result of climatic/weather conditions and variations in demand. Apart from Albania, production of cereals was higher in 2020 than in 2010 in all the candidate countries and potential candidates; the same applied to the EU. Together, Turkey and Serbia made up close to 93 % of the total quantity of cereals produced in the region, with Turkey accounting for 71.0 % and Serbia for 21.9 %. The other candidate countries and potential candidates contributed only minor quantities of cereals: Bosnia and Herzegovina provided 3.7 % of the total tonnage produced in the region in 2020, Albania 1.3 %, North Macedonia 1.1 %, Kosovo 1.0 % and Montenegro a marginal share (0.014 %).

When studying the production of potatoes throughout the region in 2020, it was also dominated by Turkey with more than three quarters (75.8 %) of the total. However, the remaining production volumes were more evenly distributed across the other candidate countries and potential candidates. Again, Serbia was the second most important producer in the region with 9.7 % of the total potato production, while Bosnia and Herzegovina (6.4 %), Albania (3.7 %) and North Macedonia (2.8 %) also contributed notable production volumes. However, Kosovo (1.1 %) and Montenegro (0.4%) had only limited production of potatoes.

The EU registered a decrease in the production of potatoes between 2011 (2010 not available) and 2020 by -4.7 %, corresponding to a decrease of 2.7 million tonnes to 54.0 million tonnes. Serbia registered a decrease in production by one quarter (-25.1 %) over the period 2010-2020, with production falling also in Kosovo (-14.7 %) and North Macedonia (-4.4 %). In contrast, the other candidate countries and potential candidates registered substantial growth in potato production, ranging between 14.3 % in Turkey to 66.3 % in Montenegro, with Bosnia and Herzegovina (16.5 %) and Albania (22.5 %) also within this range.

Turkey had by far the highest production of raw milk available on farms (which may include milk other than cows’ milk), with 23.0 million tonnes in 2019. This corresponds to 84.0 % of the total raw milk production in the region. In Serbia and Albania, the production was 1.6 million (5.8 % of total production in 2020) and 1.1 million (4.2 %; 2018, the most recent data available), respectively. The production of raw milk was less than 1 million tonnes in each of the other candidate countries and potential candidates. Turkey recorded a substantial increase in milk production between 2015 and 2019 (+23.1 %).

In the EU, the production of raw milk was 4.9 % higher in 2020 (160.1 million tonnes) than it was in 2015 (152.7 million tonnes); 2010 data is not available for the EU.

Livestock: population structure and production

Climatic and cultural characteristics in the candidate countries and potential candidates are reflected in their livestock and meat production

The structure of livestock populations in the candidate countries and potential candidates is presented in Figure 4. In 2020, Serbia had the highest number of pigs across this region, with 3.0 million heads, corresponding to more than three quarters (76.1 %) of the population of pigs in the candidate countries and potential candidates. For cattle, sheep and goats, the highest livestock populations in the region were all found in Turkey: 17.2 million cattle (2018 data; 88.5 % of the total), 33.7 million sheep (2017 data; 86.4 %) and 10.6 million goats (2017 data; 89.9 %). In comparison, there were 76.5 million cattle, 145.9 million pigs, 62.2 million sheep and 12.4 million goats in the EU in 2020. The number of goats in Turkey (2017) corresponded to 85.7 % of the total number of goats in the EU in 2020.

Among the candidate countries and potential candidates, Serbia was the only one where pigs made up the largest number of heads in the livestock population in 2020. More than half (51.8 %) of the livestock population in Serbia was made up by pigs. In contrast, farmers in Kosovo were specialised in raising cattle, which made up almost half (47.7 %) of its total livestock population in 2020. In the other candidate countries and potential candidates, the most common form of livestock was sheep, with shares from 49.2 % in Bosnia and Herzegovina to 57.8 % in Montenegro (2019 data); Albania (54.6 %), Turkey (2017 data; 54.7 %) and North Macedonia (56.7 %) also fall into this group. Albania had the highest share of goats among the candidate countries and potential candidates (27.1 % in 2020). However, the by far highest number of goats in the region were recorded in Turkey (2017 data). Some of the differences between countries regarding the structure of their livestock populations reflect religious, cultural or traditional practices, in particular with respect to the consumption of pig meat.

Roughly one half (49.1 %) of the livestock population in the EU in 2020 was made up by pigs; one quarter (25.8 %) by cattle; one fifth (20.9 %) by sheep; and the remainder (4.2 %) by goats.

Figure 4: Livestock population, December 2020
(% share on total number of heads)
Source: Eurostat (apro_mt_lscatl), (apro_mt_lspig), (apro_mt_lssheep) and (apro_mt_lsgoat)

The livestock figures shown in Figure 4 are reflected in the meat production figures in Table 2, notably in the relatively low level of pig meat production in some candidate countries and potential candidates. The quantity of pig meat (23.4 million tonnes) produced in the EU in 2021 was 3.4 times as high as the quantity of meat from the slaughter of cattle (6.8 million tonnes). Among the candidate countries and potential candidates, a similar ratio was observed for Serbia (3.5), while it was much higher in North Macedonia, where pig meat production was almost 20 times as high as production of meat from cattle. By contrast, less pig meat than meat from cattle was produced in Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Turkey reported no production of pig meat in 2021. No data on production of pig meat are available for Kosovo for 2021.

In contrast, Turkey alone reported output of 2.3 million tonnes of poultry meat from slaughtering in 2021; this represented 93.1 % of the total for the candidate countries and potential candidates (2.5 million tonnes of poultry meat). Recent data for Kosovo are only available for slaughter of cattle.

Compared to 2016, the levels of poultry slaughtering increased substantially in almost all of the candidate countries and potential candidates. The exception was North Macedonia, which reported no slaughtering of poultry in 2021; in addition, 2021 data for Kosovo are not available. Production of poultry meat more than doubled in Albania as well as in Montenegro (2016 to 2020), albeit in both countries from a relatively low level.

In contrast, the quantity of slaughtered cattle decreased substantially in North Macedonia (-65.2 %; 2015 to 2021) and Albania (-47.1 %) from 2016 to 2021. The output of meat from slaughtering of pigs decreased in Albania (-39.2 %), Bosnia and Herzegovina (-10.6 %) and North Macedonia (-6.1 %); in Turkey, the only marginal production of pig meat of 20 tonnes in 2016 had ceased by 2021. However, slaughtering of pigs in Serbia increased by 2.6 % to 168 870 tonnes in 2021; in Montenegro it was 6 times as high in 2020 than it had been in 2016, although still remaining at a relatively low level (560 tonnes in 2020).

Table 2: Slaughtered animal production, 2016 and 2021
(tonnes)
Source: Eurostat (apro_mt_pann)

Trade in food, live animals, drinks and tobacco

Note that the values of imports and exports shown in Table 3 are presented in current prices. Fluctuating prices for raw and processed food may have a considerable impact on the trade position of a country, while climatic/weather conditions can determine if there is a surplus of food for export or the need for more imports.

Most of the products originating from the agriculture sector are categorised within Sections 0 and 1, covering food, drinks and tobacco (as well as live animals), in the Standard international trade classification (SITC), the United Nations (UN) product classification used for statistics on exports and imports of commodities and merchandise.

Collectively, exports of food, drinks and tobacco from candidate countries and potential candidates were valued at €22.5 billion in 2021, equivalent to 12.8 % of the EU total, while the value of imports of these goods was €16.0 billion, equivalent to 13.7 % of the EU total.

Among the candidate countries and potential candidates, Turkey accounted for the highest value of exports of food, drinks and tobacco in 2021 (€17.4 billion). This was more than three quarters (77 %) of all exports of food, drinks and tobacco from the region. Serbia, with exports of €3.7 billion in 2021 (16 % of the total), was the only other candidate country or potential candidate with exports of these goods valued in excess of €1 billion. In contrast, exports of food, drinks and tobacco from Kosovo were valued at €86 million and from Montenegro at €58 million in 2021. The exports of food, drinks and tobacco from North Macedonia (€585 million), Bosnia and Herzegovina (€407 million) and Albania (€308 million) lay closer to these small exporters than to Turkey and Serbia.

Exports of food, drinks and tobacco from Montenegro were 13.6 % larger in 2021 than in 2011, the smallest overall change among the candidate countries and potential candidates over this period. Over the same time span, exports of these products increased by 33.7 % for North Macedonia, by 58.6 % for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and by 82.5 % for Turkey. Serbia saw their exports of these products more than double (+117.5 %), while the value of exports from Kosovo more than tripled (+234.8 %). However, the largest relative increase over this period was recorded by Albania, as its exports of food, drinks and tobacco were 5.4 times as high (+442.9 %) as in 2021 than they were in 2011, albeit from a low starting level.

In 2020, the value of exports of these products continued to increase compared to 2019 in all of the candidate countries and potential candidates, with the exceptions of North Macedonia (-5.0 %) and Montenegro (-2.1 %). Despite the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the value of the exports of foods, drinks and tobacco continued to rise across the rest of the region, with substantial increases in value for Kosovo (+19.4 %), Serbia (+12.8 %) Bosnia and Herzegovina (+9.0 %) and Albania (+8.1 %), with a more modest increase for Turkey (+1.8 %). In 2021, this trend continued with even stronger growth in exports of food, drinks and tobacco across the region; North Macedonia (+5.0 %) was the only country not reaching double digit growth in these exports from 2020 to 2021. Kosovo (+20.9 %) and Montenegro (+20.8 %) topped the list, albeit from low levels. They were followed by Serbia (+16.7 %), Albania (+15.8 %), Turkey (+15.2 %) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (+11.1 %).

For imports of food, drinks and tobacco among the candidate countries and potential candidates, the highest value was also recorded in Turkey with €8.8 billion in 2021. This corresponded to more than half (55 %) of the food, drinks and tobacco imported to the candidate countries and potential candidates. Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina were the only other candidate countries or potential candidates for which these imports exceeded €1 billion (with €2.3 billion and €1.6 billion, respectively). Imports of these goods were somewhat short of €1 billion for Albania (€987 million), Kosovo (€909 million) and North Macedonia (€835 million, while imports of food, drinks and tobacco to Montenegro were valued at €568 million.

Imports of food, drinks and tobacco to Bosnia and Herzegovina increased by 22.9 % in 2021 compared to 2011, the smallest overall change rate among the candidate countries and potential candidates, followed by Montenegro with an increase of 36.0 %. North Macedonia, Turkey, Albania and Kosovo recorded increases of 56.8 %, 65.4 %, 65.5 % and 72.3 %, respectively, over the same period. The imports of food, drinks and tobacco to Serbia more than doubled (+141.0 %) over the same period.

In contrast to the exports, the imports of food, drinks and tobacco fell across most of the region from 2019 to 2020. The only exceptions were Serbia, with an increase in import value by 8.9 %, and Kosovo with a slight increase by 0.4 %. Montenegro registered by far the sharpest fall, with imports of these products falling by -18.2 %, followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina (-4.3 %), Turkey (-3.4 %), North Macedonia (-2.7 %) and Albania (-1.4%). In 2021, the imports recovered strongly with double-digit increases in the candidate countries and potential candidates, with only Turkey recording a growth rate slightly below (+9.5 %). The strongest growth was registered in Kosovo (+26.4 %), Montenegro (+24.9 %) and Albania (+19.6 %). The recovery was slightly less accentuated for North Macedonia (+13.8 %), Serbia (+13.0 %) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (+12.0 %).

Serbia and Turkey recorded trade surpluses for food, drinks and tobacco throughout the period from 2011 to 2021. All the other candidate countries and potential candidates recorded trade deficits for food, drinks and tobacco in each year of this period.

The EU consistently recorded a trade surplus in food, drinks and tobacco products over the period 2011-2021; note that the trade data presented for the EU in Table 3 concern extra-EU trade only, and do not include trade between the EU Member States.

Table 3: Trade in food, drinks and tobacco, 2011-2021
(€ million)
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc) and (ext_lt_intercc)

Source data for tables and graphs

Enlargement countries — agriculture, forestry and fishing: tables and figures

Data sources

The enlargement countries are expected to increase the volume and quality of their data progressively, and to transmit these data to Eurostat and the wider ESS in the context of the EU accession process. The final objective of the EU in relation to official statistics is to obtain harmonised, high-quality data that conforms to both European and international standards. More details on the statistical aspects of the accession process can be found in the article Enlargement policy and statistical cooperation.

The enlargement countries are not at the same level of development and are progressing towards an efficient and modern statistical system at different speeds. In a number of areas, candidate countries (and sometimes also potential candidates) are in a position to provide harmonised data in accordance with the EU acquis with respect to methodology, classifications and procedures for data collection and the principles of official statistics as laid down in the European statistics Code of Practice. In these cases, the candidate countries (and potential candidates) concerned report their data to Eurostat following the same procedures and under the same quality criteria as the EU Member States and the EFTA countries. Data from the enlargement countries that meet these quality requirements are published along with data for EU Member States and EFTA countries.

In addition, the enlargement countries provide data for a wide range of indicators for which they do not yet fully adhere to the quality requirements specified in the EU acquis and the methodology, classifications and procedures for data collection specified in the relevant Regulations, Directives and other legal documents. These data are collected on an annual basis through a questionnaire sent by Eurostat to the candidate countries or potential candidates. A network of contacts has been established for updating these questionnaires, generally within the national statistical offices, but potentially including representatives of other data-producing organisations (for example, central banks or government ministries). This annual exercise also provides an opportunity to provide methodological recommendations to the enlargement countries.

The situation for international trade statistics is somewhat different, as more detailed international trade statistics are available from Eurostat’s Comext database.

All statistics presented in this article as monetary values in euro terms are based on current price series.

The utilised agricultural area describes the area used for farming. It includes arable land, permanent grassland, permanent crops (such as orchards, olive trees and vineyards) and other agricultural land such as kitchen gardens. Eurostat collects annual data on 18 categories and sub-categories of UAA from the EU Member States, EFTA countries and from the candidate and potential candidate countries in connection with the annual statistics on crop production. This is based on Regulation (EC) No 543/2009 concerning crop statistics and its amended annex (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 2015/1557). In addition, data on UAA are collected through the Farm structure survey (FSS), also known as survey on the structure of agricultural holdings. FSS is conducted every 3 or 4 years as a sample survey, and once in ten years as a census. The data collections are organised in line with the EU legislation. For 2020 (the agricultural census), 2023 and 2026, they are organised in line with the Regulation (EU) 2018/1091 on integrated farm statistics and have a new structure, consisting of a core data set and several modules. More details can be found in the FSS metadata.

Statistics on crop production relate to harvested production. Cereals include wheat (common wheat and spelt and durum wheat), rye, maslin, barley, oats, mixed grain other than maslin, grain maize, sorghum, triticale, and other cereal crops such as buckwheat, millet, canary seed and rice. The annual statistics on production of different crops are based on data provided under Regulation (EC) No 543/2009 concerning crop statistics and its amended annex (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 2015/1557). Eurostat receives and publishes harmonised statistical data from EU Member States, from the EFTA countries and from the candidate and potential candidate countries

Meat production is based on the activity of slaughterhouses regarding meat fit for human consumption and estimates for production outside of slaughterhouses. Livestock and meat statistics are collected under Regulation (EC) No 1165/2008 concerning livestock and meat statistics. They cover meat production, as activity of slaughterhouses (monthly) and as other slaughtering (annual), meat production forecast (semi-annual or quarterly) and livestock statistics, including regional statistics. Slaughterings outside slaughterhouses, including on farms for own consumption, are collected based on a gentlemen’s agreement (ASA/TE/763) if they are considered significant for estimating total national (and/or EU) production. More details can be found in the Animal production statistics metadata and in the draft Handbook on meat statistics (2021).

Tables in this article use the following notation:

Value in italics	data value is forecasted, provisional or estimated and is therefore likely to change;
:	not available, confidential or unreliable value.

Context

Agriculture was one of the first sectors of the economy (following coal and steel) to receive the attention of EU policymakers, and statistics on agriculture were initially designed to monitor the main objectives of the common agricultural policy (CAP). While the CAP remains one of the EU’s most important policies there have been wide ranging reforms, which have led to a range of new objectives designed to correct imbalances and overproduction.

In 2018, the European Commission presented legislative proposals for a new, reformed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) beyond 2020. The reformed CAP should be key to helping the European Union achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal, and 40 % of the funds allocated to the CAP over the next 7-years programming period should be dedicated to actions contributing towards these.

After extensive negotiations between the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission, agreement was reached on CAP reform and the new CAP was formally adopted on 2 December, 2021. The new CAP is due to be implemented from 1 January 2023.

The reformed CAP will help European farmers to contribute more decisively to tackling climate change, protecting the environment and moving to more sustainable and resilient food systems. It will generate economic opportunities for farmers and improve their position in the food supply chain, and better link support for farm income and rural areas to the take-up of sustainable models and practices.

For the years 2021-22, a transitional regulation (Regulation (EU) 2020/2220) is in force, extending and amending provisions set out in the preceding regulations. It will remain in force until the new framework of CAP strategic plans is implemented (due to begin on 1 January 2023).

While basic principles and institutional frameworks for producing statistics are already in place, the candidate countries and potential candidates are expected to increase progressively the volume and quality of their data and to transmit these data to Eurostat in the context of the EU enlargement process. EU standards in the field of statistics require the existence of a statistical infrastructure based on principles such as professional independence, impartiality, relevance, confidentiality of individual data and easy access to official statistics; they cover methodology, classifications and standards for production.

Eurostat has the responsibility to monitor that statistical production of the candidate countries and potential candidates complies with the EU acquis in the field of statistics. To do so, Eurostat supports the national statistical offices and other producers of official statistics through a range of initiatives, such as pilot surveys, training courses, traineeships, study visits, workshops and seminars, and participation in meetings within the European Statistical System (ESS). The ultimate goal is the provision of harmonised, high-quality data that conforms to European and international standards. Additional information on statistical cooperation with the candidate countries and potential candidates is provided here.

Agriculture is one of the most complex, sensitive and critical issues in the enlargement process due to its significant size (share of GDP and the high proportion of the population active in agriculture), as well as its structural deficiencies (subsistence and semi-subsistence farming).

Accession negotiations in agriculture focus on the procedures for future direct payments, support for rural development and the need for transitional measures to allow for integration into the EU, taking into account the specific circumstances of the agricultural sector in each country.

A large number of binding rules and their effective enforcement by an efficient public administration are essential for the functioning of the CAP. This includes the laws governing management systems, such as a paying agency and the integrated administration and control system, and also the capacity to implement rural development actions.

EU membership requires the integration of a range of agricultural products, including arable crops, sugar, animal products and specialised crops, into the common organisation of the market. A list of the current European legislation on agriculture statistics can be found here.

The European Commission experts in the field of agriculture and rural development provide assistance and guidance to candidate and potential candidate countries in preparing for future accession to the EU and more specifically, the common agricultural policy (CAP) and rural development.

Notes

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.