European Added Value and the EU Common Agricultural Policy
Purpose: The aim of the paper is to try to determine what is the EAV, what are its roots, how it is formed? It could be argued that the effect of added value is the third effect (next to the two known from the theory of economic integration: trade creation and trade diversion effects), resulting from the creation of integration links. Design/Methodology/Approach: EU integration is strong in agriculture. Joint actions brought visible effect - implementation of CAP. The concept of European Added Value (EAV) can contribute to understanding and assessing the relevance of CAP to the EU. CAP is one of the few EU policies chiefly implemented at the EU level and closely linked to the subsidiarity principle. EAV derived from CAP has its own specificity. It creates new values in agriculture, and beyond. CAP's contribution to other areas and UN's sustainable development objectives is being shown. Further research studies on Added Value can contribute to the theory of regional economic integration. Document analysis, comparative methods are employed. Findings: The research shows that EAV is an manifestation of the synergy effect, through cooperation at the regional level. European Added Value implemented under the CAP has its specificity: It creates new values in rural areas and agriculture. It also generates economic, social and environmental effects beyond agriculture Many actions are of a cross-border nature, i.e. they concern other sectors. The CAP is linked to the Single Market, which in turn depends on global markets. Actions on common issues are more effective when undertaken at a higher level of centralization. The shared budget builds solidarity. Thus, projects can be implemented in the Member States or regions, even where there is a lack of local funding. Practical Implications: The results of the research shall be of interest for scientists, politicians and decision makers. Originality value: This is a new approach. Besides the trade creation and trade diversion effects as described in theories of economic integration one can find the third “added value effect”.