The business sectors of the candidate countries have had to undergo costly restructuring processes to comply with the regulations required by EU law. Privatization and the modernization of systems have been key to the corresponding reforms and have required strategies to attract foreign capital to be implemented.
Agriculture
Agricultural policy has been, in the course of the negotiations for the accession of the ten countries to the European Union, one of the most debated topics of the enlargement process.
To address the structural problems of rural areas in the new Member States, the Commission has established a strengthened rural development strategy, broad in scope and with increased funding. From day one of accession, a number of rural development measures will be co-financed by the EU up to approximately 80%.
Agriculture accounts for an average of 20,9 percent of total employment in the eleven candidate countries, a percentage five times higher than the average of the Fifteen, which stands at 4,2 percent, according to Eurostat data.
Analyzing the current situation in the Fifteen, Greece is the country where agriculture has the greatest weight in the labor market, specifically 16 percent, followed by Portugal (12,9 percent), Ireland (7 percent), and Spain (6,5 percent). The remaining Member States are below these percentages.
According to analysis by Litexco Group, there are potentially attractive projects for the agricultural sector in Poland, although, with the exception of Hungary and the Baltic States, the primary sector generally requires intensive processing of agricultural products to improve productivity per hectare, which is well below the EU average. In the case of Poland, with an agricultural population exceeding 18%, agricultural productivity is only 13% of that recorded for the European Union as a whole.
Industry
The industrial systems of the candidate countries will have to undergo a profound restructuring process to be competitive in the single market. The role of EU companies is vital in this process, through industrial cooperation and the commitment of the Union's institutions.
The restructuring of heavy industry is especially delicate during the preparations for accession, particularly with regard to compliance with state aid rules.
In general terms, aspiring countries must strengthen their industrial competitiveness based on the use of technologies, research and development activities, the quality of their production, and the specialization and diversification of business activity.
State-owned enterprises must restructure, and the entire sector needs to shift toward investment to improve efficiency. The more companies can access external financing and the more successful they are in restructuring and innovating, the greater their capacity to adapt.
Among the candidate countries, the Czech Republic and Slovenia's industries demonstrate a high degree of competitiveness, given their trade integration with the EU, although they must continue modernizing their heavy industry by introducing new technologies and consolidating their foreign investment. At the same time, Poland has developed a large and expanding private sector, which represents significant progress toward its future competitiveness in the single market. Restructuring should focus primarily on the traditional coal and steel sectors. Similarly, Hungary must accelerate its reforms in the food, steel, and textile sectors, as these have fallen behind more advanced sectors.
The necessary infrastructure improvements require a focus primarily on Latvia and Poland, although all candidate countries should increase foreign investment in this area.
Services
In the Member States, the services sector continues to account for the largest share of employment, at 67,1 percent, followed by industry at 28,7 percent. However, in candidate countries for European integration, industry accounts for 31,3 percent of employment and services for 47,8 percent.
Opportunity sectors vary by country, but generally, needs are focused on service sector activities in relatively advanced and economically mature markets such as Hungary, Poland or the Czech Republic, as well as the Baltic Republics: Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.
Telecommunications is a sector that has experienced significant growth in most of the candidate countries, partly due to the introduction of mobile phones in recent years.
Tourism continues to be one of the fastest-growing sectors, especially in Central European countries like Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, leading to the establishment of a large number of service companies. In Malta, tourism accounts for more than two-thirds of GDP. This contributes significantly to the development of trade. At the same time, the creation of insurance companies in the private sector is noteworthy.
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