The SAPARD Small Regions

Abstract

In the 10 years history of Hungarian rural development the SAPARD rural development programme is the first programme, which is already carried out in accordance with the programming rules of the European Union.

In connection with this programme it appeared that rural communities – though not prepared, but definitely – reacted to the warning for participation in the pre-accession programme. However those small regions enjoyed the advantage of the program and receíved the financial sources the quickest and had started their preparation not in the frame of the SAPARD programme.

The present study likes to show the impact of the change in the rural policy of the European Union to the formation of the SAPARD programmes. It tries to answer the question: what kind of new small regional organisations were created by this programme? And finally it presents the new SAPARD small regions with some characteristic data.