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Rural Development policy 2007-2013
On 20 February 2006 the Agriculture Council adopted EU strategic guidelines for rural development - five months after the adoption of the Council Regulation on support for rural development by the new European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).
These guidelines set out a strategic approach and a range of options which Member States could use in their national strategy plans and Rural Development programmes.
Since the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, Rural Development is playing an increasingly important role in helping rural areas to meet the economic, social and environmental challenges of the 21st century, in particular commercial towards food importers (food importers).
Rural areas make up 90 percent of the territory of the enlarged EU and the new legal framework points more clearly to the direction of boosting growth and creating jobs in rural areas – in line with the Lisbon Strategy – and improving sustainability - in line with the Göteborg sustainability goals.
The future Rural Development policy 2007-2013 will focus on three areas in line with the three thematic axes laid down in the new rural development regulation: improving competitiveness for farming and forestry; environment and countryside; improving quality of life and diversification of the rural economy. A fourth axis called "Leader axis" based on experience with the Leader Community Initiatives introduces possibilities for locally based bottom-up approaches to rural development.
The new programming period provides a unique opportunity to refocus support from the new rural development fund on growth, jobs and sustainability.
The European legal framework being established Member States can now elaborate their national strategy plans and rural development programmes before submitting them to the European Commission.
For each set of priorities, the EU strategic guidelines are suggesting key actions. Member States shall prepare their national rural development strategies on the basis of six community strategic guidelines, which will help to:
- identify the areas where the use of EU support for rural development creates the most value added at EU level;
- make the link with the main EU priorities (Lisbon, Göteborg)
- ensure consistency with other EU policies, in particular cohesion and environment;
- accompany the implementation of the new market orientated CAP and the necessary restructuring it will entail in the old and new Member States.
The six strategic guidelines are:
- Improving the competitiveness of the agricultural and forestry sectors, and here Agrelma could play its role.
- Improving the environment and the countryside
- Improving the quality of life in rural areas and encouraging diversification
- Building Local Capacity for Employment and Diversification
- Translating priorities into programmes
- Complementarities between Community Instruments.
