To the problem of social security of Bulgarian agricultural woks after accession to the European Union

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National transport university

To the problem of social security of Bulgarian agricultural woks after accession to the European Union

Mariya Georgieva,

PhD in history, docent, associate professor at the department of theory and history of state and law

Kyiv

Abstract

The article considers the issue of social security of the rural population in Bulgaria after accession to the European Union. The peculiarities of the implemented measures of public authorities to improve the social protection of the rural population, in particular, those engaged in agricultural production, have been clarified. The influence of market transformations on the complex of social problems is analyzed. However, these processes were not easy, in conditions of instability, structural adjustment and was accompanied by a change in the production potential of the agricultural sector of the Bulgarian economy. With the introduction of qualitative changes in agricultural production in accordance with European requirements, it became necessary to improve social legislation and create socially necessary foundations for rural development.

It is determined that without social support the problem of revival and development of the Bulgarian countryside cannot be solved. This support depended on many factors: the state of production of industrial and agricultural products, the pace and quality of agrarian reform, the activities of the social infrastructure of the village, the social policy of the state in the countryside.

The author of the scientific article used the following research methods: the method of systematic analysis made it possible to study the issues of public administration in the field of social protection of the rural population of Bulgaria. In the process of summarizing information on the problem, which is considered in the proposed article. Comparative retrospective and historical methods were used to study aspects of the formation of the social policy system in the Bulgarian countryside. Thus, the study showed that the tasks were implemented and the following conclusions were made: the system of state social policy of Bulgaria was part of the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union; improvement of public administration measures on the issue of social protection of the rural population was a necessary condition for the integration of the agricultural sector of the Bulgarian economy into the European space; reforming the social sphere of the Bulgarian countryside was to increase the competitiveness of the industry and improve the living standards of the rural population.

Key words: Bulgaria, agriculture, social protection, integration, provision, European Union.

Анотація

state agricultural social transformation

Проблеми соціального захисту працівників аграрної сфери Болгарії після вступу до Європейського Союзу

Марія Георгієва

кандидат історичних наук, доцент, доцент кафедри теорії та історії держави і права, Національний транспортний університет,

Київ, Україна

У статті розглядаються питання соціального забезпечення сільського населення Болгарії після вступу до Європейського Союзу. З'ясовано особливості впроваджених заходів органів державної влади щодо вдосконалення соціального захисту сільського населення, зокрема, зайнятому в сільськогосподарському виробництві. Проаналізовано вплив ринкових перетворень на комплекс соціальних проблем. Однак ці процеси відбувалися непросто, в умовах нестабільності, структурної перебудови та супроводжувалися зміною виробничого потенціалу аграрного сектору економіки Болгарії. В умовах впровадження якісних змін в аграрному товарови - робництві відповідно європейських вимог, необхідним стало вдосконалення соціального законодавства та створення соціально значимих засад розвитку сільської місцевості.

Визначено, що без соціальної підтримки проблему відродження і розвитку болгарського села розв «язати неможливо. Ця підтримка залежала від багатьох факторів: стану виробництва промислової та сільськогосподарської продукції, темпів і якості проведення аграрної реформи, діяльності соціальної інфраструктури села, проведення соціальної політики держави на селі.

Автором наукової статті використано наступні методи дослідження: метод системного аналізу дав змогу вивчити питання державного управління сферою соціального захисту сільського населення Болгарії. В процесі узагальнення інфорації з проблеми, яка розглядається, в запропонованій статті. Порівняльно-ретроспективний та історичний методи застосовані при дослідженні аспектів становлення системи соціальної політики в болгарському селі. Таким чином, проведене дослідження показало, що поставллені завдання реалізовані та зроблено наступні висновки: система державної соціальної політики Болгарії була складовою Спільної аграрної політики Європейського Союзу; удосконалення заходів державного управління питанням соціального захисту сільського населення стало необхідною умовою інтеграції аграрного сектору економіки Болгарії в європейський простір; реформування соціальної сфери болгарського села мало підвищити конкурентоздатність галузі та покращити рівень життя сільського населення.

Ключові слова: Болгарія, сільське господарство, соціальний захист, інтеграція, забезпечення, Європейський Союз.

Main part

Formulation of the problem. The agricultural sector is an important strategic sector of the Bulgarian national economy, which ensures food security and food independence of the state, provides a significant part of the rural population with jobs. Despite the fact that the agricultural sector provides about 60% of the consumption fund, ranks second among the sectors of the economy in the commodity structure of exports, its economic opportunities are not fully used. Therefore, for its prosperity it is necessary to identify priority areas and industries in order to improve state regulation of the agricultural sector of the economy, including the issue of social security of workers in the industry. The development of agriculture is designed to solve, above all, the problem of restoring the country's food independence and employment of the rural population.

Bulgaria's membership in the European Union has confronted the country's agricultural sector with the challenges of the Common Agricultural Policy reforms, the requirements of the single market, its rules, standards and competitive environment. Their successful overcoming is connected both with successful adaptation of farms to the new environment, and with increase of their competitiveness. This is expected to lead to sustainable development of the industry, increase real incomes of agricultural workers and improve the quality of life in rural areas.

The purpose of this study is to assess the opportunities for sustainable development of the agricultural sector in Bulgaria by analyzing the impact of policy measures under the common agricultural policy on the level of income and social security of its employees. To achieve this goal, the following main tasks have been solved: the general state of the country's agricultural sector after joining the European Union has been analyzed; the general capacity of the agricultural sector and opportunities for its sustainable development in the new institutional environment are revealed; the prospects of increasing incomes and social security of those employed in the agricultural sector are assessed. The complex nature of the study necessitated the use of a wide range of scientific methods and approaches. An important place among them is occupied by methods of analysis and synthesis, system approach, statistical method, method of comparison and others.

Analysis of recent research and publications. The state of social security in the Bulgarian countryside has been the subject of debate for the past two decades. The problem was first revealed by A Shach in his Essays on the Laws of Population, [5] and then formulated by John Steward Mill as a «static state» leading to a level of development characterized by a static population served by static capital [5]. Although the problem was realized in the 19th century, the first steps towards its full detection were made only in the second half of the 20th century. The Club of Rome was created to study global processes and their impact on modern civilization. A member of this club is Denis Meadows, who is the author of the scientific work «Growth Limits», which is one of the first research attempts to describe in detail the issue of social security for agricultural workers.

Presenting main material. The rural population of Bulgaria is the starting point that has formed the main driving force of the formation, development and effective management of all socio-economic systems in rural areas. This is a difficult problem, because the improvement of «quality» and human development are related to everyone's health, family and social upbringing, education and training, historical heritage, national customs and traditions, other problems of human development, as well as the formation mentality and consciousness of the people in accordance with the requirements of the time. The solution of these problems is intertwined with the formation of the peasant and the formation of man [2, p. 43].

In addition, it should be noted that the social protection of the Bulgarian rural population during the period of integration into the European Economic Area was influenced by the concept and standards of decent living, which were the final product of the International Labor Organization. These indicators indicated that the social and labor component of the agricultural production sphere is crucial in building a system of social protection. Statistical indicators of decent working conditions, organized on the principle of strategic goals of the International Labor Organization, they include 11 groups (availability of job opportunities; unacceptable forms of work; adequate earnings and productive work; decent working hours; stability and security; harmonious combination of work with family life, fair treatment in the process of work, occupational safety, social protection, social dialogue and labor relations, socio-economic context).

The indicators of decent work proposed for social protection emphasize the levels of actual coverage and real benefits for the working people and the whole population, but without the legislative and organizational framework, which in practice relate to social security. We are talking about public spending on social security; government spending on assistance in providing livelihoods, taking into account basic needs in the form of direct cash payments; the number of recipients of direct financial assistance in providing livelihoods; the share of the population over the age of 65 receiving pensions; the share of economically active population who paid contributions to the pension fund; average monthly pension; insurance coverage in case of occupational injuries [1, p. 40].

Features of social protection of the rural population can be divided into three groups. The first group included the social direction of economic reform of agricultural production. It was at the expense of the social sphere of Bulgaria that the initial accumulation of capital and the transfer of the economy to market methods of management took place.

The second feature of the social protection of the rural population of Bulgaria was the creation of associations of landowners and property of former social formations. In the early stages of reforming the agricultural sector of the Bulgarian economy, peasants were not socially and psychologically ready for self-management and self-government, as well as for radical changes in their social status, organization and wages, social protection system based on private property, selfsufficiency and self-sufficiency [1, p. 41]. which was not taken into account by the Bulgarians in conducting social policy in the countryside.

During the period of transformation of land and property relations in the countryside, among the owners of shares in land and property were more than 30% of people of retirement age, who physically can not independently manage on the basis of private property. In addition, among them was a large number of single peasants who inherited or leased their shares. As a result, a significant part of land and property shares fell into the hands of farmers and tenants. Most of them were middle-aged people who, objectively, for historical reasons, were not ready for effective self-management, often did not have proper training and practical experience of management, as well as the ability to regulate labor and human relations with employees [4, p. 15].

Part of the distributed land and property was combined into production cooperatives and other forms of collective management, which were usually headed by former, no longer young leaders of Labor Cooperative Farms with their inherent professionalism in management and human wisdom in the management of production. processes, labor and human relations. The main factor and motive for the viability of corporate management was the post-socialist mentality of the modern Bulgarian peasantry.

The first attempt to build a comprehensive social policy for sustainable rural development was made in 1992 at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro by developing the so-called Agenda 21, which includes representatives of 178 countries and more than 1,000 non-governmental organizations [4, p. 15]. After this conference, a new one is held every five years to monitor the results and progress of the developed program.

In 2002, a regular meeting of UN member states, popularly known as the Earth Summit, took place in Johannesburg, at which the «Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development» was adopted. In the same year, the authors of the Club of Rome published «Growth Limits - 30 years later», in which they emphasized the implementation of the effects they envisioned.

An important step for the member states of the European Union in solving the problem was adopted in 2001 «Strategy for Sustainable Development of the European Union», which contains four main areas:

- direction of economic growth;

- environmental protection;

- social equality and cohesion;

- fulfillment of international obligations [1, p. 46].

Following the adoption of a single strategy by the European Parliament, the Member States were tasked with developing their own sustainable development strategy, which should be tailored to the specific natural, economic and social environment in each of them.

In the context of ensuring the social development of the Bulgarian countryside, Bulgaria has developed its «National Strategy for Sustainable Development of Bulgaria» [1, p. 45] on the basis of the updated joint strategy of the European Union in 2006 and the Lisbon Strategy. Despite the development and ratification of a number of documents, sustainable development has remained difficult to study and, moreover, to solve the problem. When discussing the EU's Common Strategy for Sustainable Development, Commissioner Menderson noted that «people have a limited understanding of the complex social, spatial and temporal dynamics that characterize sustainable development, so it remains even more a concept than a pure theory» [5, p. 33].

The Bulgarian agricultural sector has historically depended on the natural and climatic environment due to the biological component of agricultural production. Prior to World War II, the increase in agricultural production was due solely to the increase in arable land, but further technological progress and two green revolutions intensified their use. Production of larger and higher quality food products has led to an increase in living standards, as well as farmers' incomes.

The first report of the World Commission on Environment and Development noted the leading role of the sustainability of the social base of agriculture, emphasizing the complex relationship between the sector, the environment, the economy and society. Sustainable agricultural development is recognized as the key to global sustainability. Much of the territory of each country was used for agricultural production, and in Bulgaria it is about 50%. The agricultural sector was responsible for the use of sustainable farming methods that did not degrade the quality of the environment in these areas.

Achieving sustainable development of agricultural production and maintaining it over time was a difficult task. On the one hand, farmers had to use only production practices that did not degrade the quality of the environment, but on the other hand, their production had to be efficient, competitive and economically sustainable. In order to feed the population, the industry had to produce enough products to meet the needs of all members of society. Bulgaria's agricultural production had to be environmentally friendly so that it could survive in the long run and be economically viable to provide a certain level of income for those employed in the sector. Noting these necessary conditions for agricultural production, the UN has identified three pillars of sustainable development of the agricultural sector:

Environmental safety preservation of productive qualities of land as the main productive resource of agriculture, on the one hand, and protection of the environment and diversity of species of animals and plants, on the other. It is necessary that the degree of use of the resource does not exceed its ability to recover within the production cycle. Waste disposal should not exceed the ecosystem's ability to absorb and decompose.

Economic viability - the efficient use of factors of production and increase their productivity was a necessary condition for improving the economic efficiency of the industry and maintaining a sustainable level. Economic viability largely depended on the ability of agricultural production to recoup the capital invested in them.

Social responsibility - agricultural production was not only to provide the necessary food for the population, but also to provide farming families with the income needed to maintain and improve the quality of life. This included the problem of improving the rural environment - access to education, health care and the preservation of cultural traditions and the heritage of rural life.

Sustainable development of the agricultural sector was based on these three pillars, and their comprehensive study was a major challenge for all researchers.

The study of the external impact of agricultural production on the environment and the ability to recover within the production cycle is difficult to measure and required the development of specific methodologies, including quantitative, qualitative research and a number of assumptions about the future dynamics of current processes.

At this stage, the economic condition of the agricultural sector was considered, based on its ability to restore the factors of production invested in it - labor, land and capital (own and borrowed). The analysis also took into account the impact on the sector provided by the support of the EU Common Agricultural Policy.

The economic value of the total output of the Agriculture sector rose sharply after the country's accession to the EU and reached its highest level in 2008, immediately after which it decreased by about 14.5% and remained at these levels until the end of 2008.

The level of social security for agricultural workers fluctuated significantly during the study period, as support from both the Bulgarian and EU governments was calculated as a resource from which farmers benefited. Due to the increase in production resources and the stable level of agricultural production in the country, there was a decrease in the rate of recovery of investment in agriculture.

The resources used in production were restored at the end of the production cycle throughout the study period. While maintaining the dynamics of economic viability of the industry in the future, we can expect the inability of some agricultural producers to return the investment in production, which will inevitably negatively affect the stability of the industry. Unstable levels of state support for the industry and increasing the economic value of land as the main resource, lead to reaching the limit of economic viability in the last year of the study period. It was necessary to implement measures to increase the efficiency of the use of factors of production and improve their combination to reach the threshold of «Strong resilience», without becoming weak.

Economic viability in the sector was not homogeneous. Higher levels observed in cereals and industrial crops have led to the transformation of agriculture, which has tended to become monocultural, reducing its ecological characteristics, undermining the preservation of variety diversity. In the last year of the study period, about 72% of arable land in the country was used for growing industrial and grain crops. Improving the economic efficiency of other sectors of agriculture was an important task of the next programming period of the SAP and the National Program.

Improving the economic efficiency of the industry was an important factor in retaining producers and workers employed in it, as well as improving their quality of life. At the end of the study period, more than 678 thousand people were employed in agriculture, of which 67 thousand were registered as agricultural producers and 84 thousand employed [2, p. 52].

Social security for this part of the population is closely linked to the sustainable development of the agricultural sector. The majority of the employed population in the agricultural sector lived in rural areas, where agricultural production was the only source of income.

The lack of alternative employment for the rural population created a direct relationship between the economic viability of agricultural production, its profitability and the social security of the population tied to the agricultural sector.

While maintaining and even reducing the levels of production costs in the agricultural sector, fluctuations in income from capital, labor, land, and entrepreneurial skills were observed. The structure and dynamics of value added created in the industry give grounds to draw conclusions directly related to the social security of those involved in the development of the industry.

Consumption of the main investment resource increased slowly, which was mainly due to the growing technical security of agricultural production. Following Bulgaria's accession to the European Union, there has been a clear upward trend in land rents. This was due both to increased competition between the tenants of agricultural land in the country and to the subsidies they received in the form of direct payments and national allowances.

The total and relative amount of remuneration for hired labor changed from year to year without a clear trend. This could be due to both the surplus of labor in rural areas and the lack of alternatives for most workers.

During the five years under study, the entrepreneur's income increased in absolute terms, despite a decrease in its relative share. This increase in the amount of entrepreneurial income was due to both the concentration of agricultural production and the growth of European subsidies [4, p. 12]. The lag in the growth rate of incomes of workers in the industry was a cause for concern. This was due to both a decrease in their number and a relatively low growth rate of average wages.

Eventually, this led to a reduction in funds for the restoration of used factors of production and to the unsustainable development of the industry. An increase in entrepreneurial income, even with a decrease in gross value added in the sector, would mean a decrease in the relative share of wages in the sector. The growth rate of entrepreneurial income in absolute terms exceeded the growth rate of the average monthly wage of employees. This effect intensified with the increase in the number of temporary workers in the industry due to permanent workers, due to the seasonal nature of agricultural production.

Increased environmental requirements and improved production practices have led to a decrease in entrepreneurial income in the short term, but in the long run the protection of the environment has had a positive impact on Bulgarian agricultural production.

Conclusions. The priority areas for improving the social protection of the rural population should include:

- revision of the amount of the minimum wage and pensions;

- definition of economic, legal and organizational functions of wages and employment;

- introduction of uniform tariff conditions for remuneration of workers and employees in general professions and positions;

- revision of the minimum consumer family budget.

The most receptive to the formation of a new worldview on the socio-economic reorientation of the agricultural sector of the economy was the youth. It owned the results of socio-economic market transformations. At the same time, if guided by such a motivational criterion, the youth was the main driving force of market transformations, the implementation of new ideas and technologies of agricultural production. With this in mind, the reform of the agricultural sector will help to consolidate the youth in rural areas.

In view of this, in the process of creating socioeconomic and legal bases for the development of a market economy there was an objective need to improve social legislation on the right of youth and minor children in rural areas to land and property, as well as to create socially necessary benefits for middle class of the young generation of peasants. The crisis demographic situation in the countryside has dictated the need to consolidate young people here: increasing depopulation, aging rural population and labor resources in the agricultural sector, deteriorating quality of labor in the agricultural sector, as well as the need for labor dynasties. and qualitatively new social strata.

It is determined that without social support the problem of revival and development of the Bulgarian countryside cannot be solved. This support depended on many factors: the state of production of industrial and agricultural products, the pace and quality of agrarian reform, the activities of the social infrastructure of the village, the social policy of the state in the countryside.

During the period of market transformations in the countryside, a complex of industrial, economic, social and other problems was gradually solved. However, this process was not easy, in conditions of instability, rupture of economic ties, structural adjustment and was accompanied by declining production, inflation, continuous price increases, shortages of energy, goods and services. Added to all this is the difficult demographic situation, which has deteriorated significantly over the last decade. The number of rural population decreased, the number of rural settlements decreased, the village grew old. Agricultural enterprises experienced a shortage of labor, the number of workers in agricultural production decreased. Rural social infrastructure also declined - health, education, and cultural institutions were in a difficult position.

Sustainable development of the Bulgarian agricultural sector, as part of the CAP of the European Union, was a necessary condition for improving the quality of life of both those employed in the industry and the population as a whole. The protection of the environment and the cultural heritage of the countryside in the country was of exceptional importance for the development of various types of tourism and organic production. Adoption of sustainable production practices will lead to stable development of the agricultural sector and protection of its resources for future generations.

Sources and literature

1. Калчев Р Развитие на секторната заетост в България. Известия-издание на Икономически университет. 2018. №1. С. 36-48.

2. Митова Д. Доходи и заетост в селските райони на България след присъединяването към ЕС. Икономика и управление на селското стопанство. №3. 2018. С. 42-57.

3. Папцов А. Необходимость единой сельскохозяйственной политики. Аграрная Европа в XXI веке. Москва: Институт Европы РАН, 2015. 389 с.

4. Mitev A. Social Security Systems and Demographic Developments in Agriculture in the CEE Candidate Countries. European Agriculture. IAMO. 2003. №3. P. 11-17.

5. Shah A. The Reform of Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations in Developing and Emerging Market Ekonomies. The Word Bank. 2014. №2. P. 30-37.

References

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