Change your subscription language here.

A three-month public consultation on modernising and simplifying the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was launched on 2 February by the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan.

The consultation will run between 2 February and 2 May 2017 and is available in 23 EU languages. Input from the consultation will contribute to the drafting of an EU Commission Communication that will address the current performance of the CAP and potential policy options for the future. For additional information, see the related Q&As.

Two recent events, the fourth meeting of the LEADER Sub-group (21 February) and a workshop on LEADER innovation (22 February) stressed the importance of exchange and networking in support of more effective and innovative LEADER/CLLD implementation.

The workshop discussed ways of strengthening and expanding rural innovation through both Local Development Strategies and a broader range of initiatives such as EIP-AGRI Operational Groups and Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems (AKIS).

The Sub-group highlighted its role and that of rural networks in supporting local actors to deliver improved results on the ground building on the messages from events such as Cork 2.0, LEADER/CLLD 2020+, and Achieving results the CLLD way.

Join the ENRD Seminar on ‘Revitalising Rural Areas through Business Innovation’ on 30 March 2017 in Brussels – register to attend here before 8 March.

The event will explore how EU policies and tools for business support and innovation can be used in rural areas. It will examine the opportunities for rural businesses from digitisation, smart specialisation, and social innovation, using inspiring examples. The Seminar is part of the broader ENRD thematic work on 'Smart and Competitive Rural Businesses'.

Two recent ENRD workshops have focused on major social and demographic challenges in rural Europe.

A first workshop - jointly organised by the ENRD Contact Point and the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA) on 25 January – was on ‘Generational renewal through rural development’. It looked at how to overcome the main challenges facing young farmers, such as access to land, finance, training and knowledge.

A second workshop on ‘Social hubs in rural Europe’ was structured around existing ‘hubs of activity’ on specific social and demographic topics: migrants and refugees; Roma; youth; and women in rural areas. It also considered the role of arts and culture in promoting social inclusion.

A new study by the European Parliament Think Tank analyses ‘gold-plating’ – additional rules and regulatory obligations that interfere with expected policy goals – in the European Rural Development (EAFRD), Fisheries (EMFF), Regional Development (ERDF), Social (ESF) and Cohesion (CF) Funds.

The study discusses the presence, reasons and effects of gold-plating across the five funds and proposes solutions and recommendations to reduce it in both the 2014-2020 and post-2020 programming periods.

A new booklet providing practical training on Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) has recently been published by the International Network for CSA (URGENCI).

The booklet presents the practical aspects of starting CSA which is a partnership between local farmers and consumers that can contribute to a better food system.

The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre has published a new Handbook on ‘Implementing Smart Specialisation Strategies’.

The handbook covers processes of stakeholder involvement, good governance principles, project selection, transnational cooperation and monitoring.

A new publication by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) makes the case for integrating the gender dimension into the policy cycle of agriculture and rural development.

The publication overviews EU and international policy objectives and provides a collection of useful resources and practical examples on mainstreaming gender into agricultural policy.

A recent study commissioned by DG AGRI analyses the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and makes recommendations for the future based on a review of the existing choices made by EU Member States.

The publication examines countries’ implementation decisions in relation to direct payments to farmers and rural development measures to study their relevance, coherence and effectiveness.

A new agreement backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) will support EUR 112 million of new investment in privately owned forests across Ireland.

The initiative will enable crucial upgrades to Ireland's forestry infrastructure and seek to address issues faced by small-scale foresters.

A new publication by the Bavarian Academy of Rural Affairs and the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSS) collects practical experiences in integrating refugees in German rural areas.

It provides details on specific structures and processes to address arising challenges. For additional information, see a collection of integration projects and initiatives throughout Germany.

A set of EU-funded research projects have been working to develop novel biomass solutions to support the wider European bioeconomy.

The projects aim to provide the agricultural sector with the knowledge and expertise needed to support resource-efficient biomass strategies and solutions.

The OECD has produced a roadmap for the implementation of its ‘New Rural Policy 3.0’.

The roadmap sets out the steps for rural development approaches to move beyond farm supports to also recognise the diversity of rural regions and the importance of connectivity to dynamic areas.