**2. Methodology**

The research illustrated in this paper arises from a need to determine the link between land grabbing and the sustainable development of agriculture in Romania compared to other EU countries.

Since 2000, land grabbing has become an essential concern for the academic community, civil society, governments, corporations and financial institutions. Although the phenomenon is global, there is no accepted definition that fully captures its characteristics. Frequently, specific terms are used to mark the takeover of large land areas, such as "land consolidation", "land concentration" and "large-scale land acquisition". These terms are not synonymous; they express the interests of stakeholders who want to highlight the economic aspects of the phenomenon without mentioning the violations of human rights, the negative consequences on the environment or the socio-cultural implications.

The debate on land grabbing becomes complex when considering the social aspects of the phenomenon and their implications on economic development. Opinions are polarized, and arguments are often mutually exclusive. The phenomenon is associated with "Accumulation by Dispossession", which is the neoliberal variant of the "primitive accumulation of capital" [13]. The two concepts share ideas of the dispossession of peasants from the primary means of production within the limits of the law, the transformation of work into capital and the practice of peasants being forced to work solely as a matter of work.

A remarkable definition provided by Eco Ruralis (a grassroots association in Romania made up of small farmers who practice organic and traditional farming based on environmentally conscious principles) is that land grabbing represents the control of an amount of land that is more significant than the typical local amount, by any person or entity (i.e., public or private, foreign or domestic), through any means (i.e., "legal" or "illegal"), for purpose of speculation, extraction, resource control or commodification at the expense of peasant farmers, ecological agriculture, land stewardship, food sovereignty or human rights [14].

Sustainable agriculture is characterized by all elements of the sustainable development concept, namely, competitiveness and economic efficiency over a long term period that ensure agricultural production systems through healthy eating, increasing the quality of life for people in rural areas, the preservation of natural resources and reducing negative impacts on the environment [15]. To these elements, we can add cultural sustainability, which involves observing and promoting a set of values according to cultural factors, as well as political viability: good governance, democracy and respect for the rights of individuals. We believe that there is an active link between land grabbing and all the elements that characterize the sustainable development of agriculture.

Our research presents disparities in the sustainable development of agriculture between Romania and the other EU Member States based on indicators that characterize performance, economic growth and environmental impact (European Commission).

Agri-environmental indicators are in line with the set of indicators developed by the European Commission that monitor agricultural sustainability [16] and facilitate assessment of the link between land grabbing and environmental impact. Also, our information and concrete data reviews illustrate the effects of land grabbing and other elements of sustainable development in agriculture and rural areas.

To achieve the purpose of this paper, we used a comparative process to determine and analyze the dimensions at which land concentration and land grabbing manifest themselves in Romania and other countries, as well as the influence of the phenomenon on the sustainable development of agriculture.

The comparison highlighted the common elements and disparities between the agriculture situation in Romania and other countries that joined the EU more recently (Poland and Hungary) as well as countries with developed agricultural systems (Germany and France). These countries have similar agricultural potentials, which enables us to draw realistic conclusions following the comparison.

The comparison with Germany and France enables us to realistically contrast the agricultural sustainable development policies in Romania with certain disparities concerning the countries with developed agricultural systems. The comparison with Hungary and Poland shows the position of Romania vis-à-vis two countries that have implemented similar agricultural reforms.

The definition and characterization of the land grabbing phenomenon and land concentration are based on academic literature, on studies promoted by national and international bodies and on the concerns expressed in the media of various NGOs. Land grabbing is a complex phenomenon that occurs on the border of legality and morality, and assessments can be contradictory as they depend on a diverse set of interests.

This research has had difficulties due to a lack of real data regarding the magnitude of the land grabbing phenomenon in Romania, but also in other EU countries. Therefore, the argumentation of real situations is based on a synthesis of information published in public documents. Most of the data used to assess the disparities regarding the sustainable development of agriculture holdings in Romania and other EU countries came from the Eurostat database. The data were processed and presented in tables and charts, based on which we extracted our interpretations. Random factors generated by the climatic conditions can also have an effect on agriculture, and for this reason some series of data related to the performance of agricultural holdings were dynamic.
