The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyse the overall challenges for agriculture and rural development in South Eastern Europe (SEE) and Turkey, and to assess the concept, importance and policy measures tailored towards improving agricultural competitiveness, rural income diversification and environmental sustainability for overall rural development. The South East Europe region refers to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Romania and Serbia and Montenegro (formerly the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). The paper concludes by suggesting policy options for the SEE and Turkey based on examples of successful support measures for agriculture and rural development from an international perspective related to the specific challenges of the region.