Cooperative phenomenon in European context

The study aims to highlight the role of agricultural cooperatives as agents of rural development and their huge potential for socio-economic structures. The potential of cooperatives resulting from their ability to respond to the needs of economic, social, cultural and institutional outcomes in the rural development process, as well as their ability to provide mechanisms for organization, mobilization and management of material, financial and human resources. In addition, cooperatives, rural organizations and management as its own management, the ability to respond in a higher degree the needs of all members at the same time helping to increase confidence in the actions and mutual aspirations. However, European agricultural cooperatives function as business organizations, where there is capacity to act directly as agents of social and economic development. In the process of accumulation of goods, expanding the variety of services, to increase the rate of supply of performance management and increasing employment of labor unions are actively involved in the process of modernizing and improving activities in rural and / or agriculture. Through qualitative analysis of the common agricultural policy documents were highlighted: typology of agricultural cooperatives in the EU operation, cooperative models, the weaknesses of European agricultural cooperatives, the main shortcomings of European agricultural cooperatives, etc.. It was concluded that in the EU, even if co-operative principles are the same, there is no uniform legal procedure regarding agricultural cooperative structures