**1. Introduction**

Today the European Union (EU) brings together economic and political criteria for all 28 members with a population of just over 500 million inhabitants and covers an area of over 4 million km2 of land divided between urban and rural areas in immediate proximity to urban

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agglomerations. To perform an interdisciplinary analysis of rural areas in the EU, an overview is needed of what represents today this interstate union. It must be taken into account both political and economic criteria as well as the social impact achieved with the development programs realized and intended for these specific areas. The current stage was reached after several extensions by adopting new union members at different times. Thus, in 1973, the expanding included the U.K., Ireland and Denmark, and in 1981 Greece and Spain, with Portugal in 1986. In 1995, three European countries decided to enter the EU, these being Austria, Finland and Sweden. In 2004, it was registered the largest EU enlargement with the accession of 10 new members: Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary which had at the date of accession a population of over 100 million inhabitants, according to European Union, 2015. The EU enlargement in 2004 increased the land area by approximately 23% and the number of inhabitants by about 20%. In 2007, from January 1, Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU, and in 2013 Croatia became the newest member state. By joining the EU, countries in Central and Eastern European continent opted for access in a community in which they have the opportunity of sustainable development for their economy. This development is possible through enhanced trade relations between union members, investments launch in key areas of the economy, creating new jobs and opportunity of labour movement within the EU to those countries that have opted to accept workers from Eastern countries. Significant funding were allocated from the EU budget for agriculture in order to enable farmers from Eastern countries to obtain better agricultural harvests on the cultivated areas and to improve the endowment with efficient equipment that could reduce working time, fuel consumption per surface unit and emitted pollutants into the environment. Farmers in the rural areas of Eastern European countries now have the opportunity to sell their products directly on the European market, thereby ensuring an improvement in their income levels and living standard. Therefore, joining the EU accounted for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe a unique opportunity, which ensured them the accelerated development of their economies and hence an increase of living standards for the population based on results in the economic branches. The political barriers between member states were eliminated, while assuring sustainable economic development that can ensure social benefits for the residents of these areas [13, 17].
