The effects of the EU’s regional policy to the regional disparities in Hungary

Absztrakt (kivonat)

The European Union's regional policy has become one of its principal policy areas: It accounts for a major share of EU's budget and is of essential interest for its beneficiaries, the Southern countries and the new EU members. Created with the ambition to reduce income differences between countries and regions in the EU, it did not only achieve success and thus has also repeatedly been criticised. This study wishes to present the most important facts of EU regional policy as it developed during the past decades. It starts with the historical development and discusses the major theoretical arguments which motivate EU regional policy. Consequently, the policy priorities, the so-called "objectives", are presented and the financial contribution made by the Structural Funds to old and new members is shown. The second half of the study is the practical part, which wishes to show the effects of the regional policy. The objective of this examination is Hungary. The examination shows that the main reason of the regional disparities is the attitude of the Hungarian policy making, which neglects important factors, like the education in the east, or the RaD in the west. Through the example of the Northern Hungary region (eastern region) and the Western Transdanubia region (western region), the research highlights the importance of the rural areas, the correct use of the regional policy and the sustainable development in all regions. What is more important, it encourages the cooperation between the levels of policy making.