A new interactive guide mapping all funding opportunities available at EU level for rural areas has been launched by the European Commission.
While EU funding can foster sustainable growth and well-being in rural areas, the commission said that identifying the best options is not always straightforward.
However, rural entrepreneurs and local authorities can now find out the best funding available to help them develop their project using the Rural toolkit.
The tool aims to provide the tools needed to address local needs. Beneficiaries may be local authorities, institutions, businesses, associations and individuals.
Rural toolkit
The recently launched toolkit gathers funding opportunities from 26 different EU funds, including the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and Horizon Europe.
The tool offers automatic translations in all EU languages. An interactive funding finder allows users to filter schemes based on several criteria:
- Their role or organisation;
- The activity they want to implement (for example improving infrastructure, addressing societal challenges, strengthening the local economy, enhancing climate resilience and sustainability);
- The type of support they are looking for: grants, financial instruments (such as loans and guarantees) or technical assistance like advisory services, training, mentoring programmes, support networks, etc.
After narrowing the choice to the most relevant options, key information about current programmes and initiatives is readily available in printable factsheets.
These explain how each option is relevant for rural areas and include practical details, links to calls and relevant contact points, the commission said.
Uses can also access guidance on how to make the most out of available opportunities and explore a wide range of examples and case studies.
Guidance documents on EU funding opportunities is available for specific sectors, including broadband, culture, education, energy, environment and tourism.
Rural areas
The EU’s rural areas cover 83% of the EU territory and are home to 30% of the EU population, according to the commission.
The tool is part of the commission’s long-term vision for stronger, connected, resilient and prosperous rural areas in the EU, which was published in 2021.
Welcoming the launch of the Rural toolkit, EU Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski said:
“By using this toolkit, rural citizens can release new resources and unlock new opportunities for their communities.
“I encourage all local authorities, community groups, and business leaders across our rural areas to engage with this toolkit and explore how the EU can fund their future.”