The European Commission has published a new study examining the contribution of EU funding to the development of rural areas and the evaluation of the impact of LEADER.
Both highlight the significant impact of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), in addressing the needs of these areas and tackling the actions set in ‘Long-term vision for rural areas’.
The study also assesses the role of other EU funds targeting rural areas (2014-2020): The European Regional and Development Fund/Cohesion Fund; the European Social Fund; the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF); as well as national funds.
The study shows that having a comprehensive rural strategy in place helps EU countries to efficiently direct CAP funding to these areas and meet the needs of the communities.
Rural areas
The commission has stated that it is committed to supporting all rural areas and remote regions.
In most EU countries, support for remote and constrained rural regions predominantly comes from the CAP.
This latest study shows that between 2014-2022, the CAP has allocated €8.6 billion to support non-farming related activities in rural areas.
According to the commission, this demonstrates the CAP’s role in not only supporting farmers and agriculture, but also strengthening other businesses and communities in these areas.
CAP support can, for instance, invest in the construction of new public roads and in the implementation of renewable energy solutions, or the conversion of abandoned houses into community centres.
Equally, the commission has said that the CAP has helped to set up spaces offering digital services to rural communities, providing opportunities to hold training sessions, sports events, performances, or local school gatherings.
Local rural authorities also receive EU funding to digitalise their operations, improve access to services, promote environmental awareness, and support rural start-ups in developing innovative technologies.
The most effective support is based on grassroots approaches and builds on small-scale projects, according to the commission.
The study acknowledges that the needs of rural areas are becoming more complex and its conclusions recommend adopting holistic policy approaches to even better target CAP and other EU funds in those areas in the future.
The evaluation also demonstrated the added value of the LEADER approach which delivers “small but impactful” projects and has contributed to creating almost 60,000 jobs and more than 2,700 local action groups (LAGs) covering a rural population of 170 million people.
It also specifically targets areas that are economically disadvantaged, peripheral or remote, or which host vulnerable communities.
Europe
EU’s rural areas cover 83% of the EU territory. Rural development is the ‘second pillar’ of the CAP, reinforcing the ‘first pillar’ of income support and market measures by strengthening the social, environmental, and economic sustainability of rural areas.
In the programming period 2014-2020, the CAP has co-financed rural development programmes implemented at regional or EU country levels throughout the EU.
In the CAP 2023-2027, EU countries have created various interventions, including agriculture-related and non-area-based initiatives like investments, cooperation, and knowledge exchange, in their CAP Strategic Plans to address their diverse needs.
In 2021, the European Commission presented its ‘Long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas’, identifying the challenges and concerns that they are facing as well as the many opportunities available to them.