Farm Cooperatives in the Old EU-Member States

The author proves the necessity of establishing farm cooperatives, contributing to the development and updating of the contemporary farms, in order to maintain the farmers’ income and to establish links between production and consumption of fresh and treated farm goods. The key trends of development of the modern agricultural cooperatives are highlighted. The organizational structure of the national farm cooperative societies, including their agricultural banks and other credit institutions is outlined. The activities and management forms of the European international cooperative organizations are presented in a systematic way. The opportunities of such organizations to interact with EU governing bodies in order to be involved in the elaboration of the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union and to facilitate the farmers in absorbing EU funding are summed up. The role of specialized organizations in the agricultural markets in the EU is considered. The methods for annual fixing the purchase prices of key farm goods are also stated therein.