The accession of 10 Central and East European Countries (CEEC) to the EU is expected to take place some time after the year 2000 (2002 for the larger sugar producers and exporters Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, later for the smaller sugar producers and importers). Extending the sugar quota system to them seems the most likely solution and their definition at the national level is not expected to raise any major problem. At the company or factory level, their attribution is not advisable before the required restructurations take place. Beet and sugar prices are well below EU levels and a gap is expected to continue existing until adhesion, but to be easily bridged by convergent moves. Other questions like privatization, regime management, statistical reportings are also quite important. Accession should rescue the CEEC’s sugar industries and at the same time bring just the required amount of reform in the EU sugar regime.
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