Rural Policy of the European Union - Experiences and Lessons for Bosnia and Herzegovina

According to the criteria applied in the EU for the rural areas, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a predominantly rural country. About three-quarters of its territory consists of rural expanses where about half the population lives. One of the biggest structural and development problems of the BiH society today is a rapid decreasing of the rural population (depopulation of villages). Population policy in rural areas should be based on appropriate economic, agricultural, regional, development and cultural policy-bit different from the previous one which squeezed young people out of the village, agriculture and other activities that are successfully developed in the rural areas of developed countries. Since the unemployment rate in Bosnia and Herzegovina climbed to an unacceptably high rate of 42,8% and that the largest number of unemployed are recruited directly or indirectly from rural areas, it is necessary to seek solutions to fully reversed process created and encouraged by many countries, especially those that want to maintain or achieve rapid economic growth.