News

The four-year transdisciplinary RUSTIK project is one of the two large projects funded under Horizon Europe to improve rural evidence, with the idea to enrich the Rural Observatory with new data and indicators. RUSTIK aims to facilitate the digital and green transformation of rural areas in Europe by providing rural communities' actors and policy makers with better strategies, initiatives, and policies that foster sustainability transitions of rural areas.

Although pay inequalities for equivalent jobs persist in the European Union, Eurostat reveals that in 2021 the gender gap in median net equivalent income is smaller in rural areas than in urban areas. Yet, while this observation is based on a European average, the rural/urban differences in gender income gaps vary between Member States at the national level.

A recent study conducted by Stefan Kah, Haris Martinos, and Urszula Budzich-Tabor entitled “CLLD in the 2014–2020 EU Programming Period: An Innovative Framework for Local Development” examines the effectiveness of the previous (2014-2020) Community-Led Local Development (CLLD) programme in promoting sustainable and inclusive local development across the EU.

The European Commission's Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME) has launched a EUR 40 million call for proposals for project grants under the 2023-2025 AMIF Work Programme with deadline on 16 May.

ESPON, the EU-funded science programme that supports public authorities responsible for designing territorial policies, has announced 6 new calls for tenders under the ESPON 2030 Programme.

The SHERPA annual conference 2023 took place on 31 January and 1st February, bringing together stakeholders from science, society, and policy from across Europe. Participants discussed how to support and develop rural communities by reflecting on the social dimension, digitalisation, climate change and land use, resilient and sustainable value chains in rural areas and the sustainability of the SHERPA Multi-Actor Platform (MAP).

The 21st edition of the European Week of Regions and Cities will take place from 9th to 12th October 2023. Jointly organised by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the European Commission DG REGIO, #EURegionsWeek will welcome an increased number of participants to onsite sessions and exhibition spaces in Brussels. Applications to become a partner are open until April 11th, 2023!

The European Commission and the Joint Research Center (JRC) have launched the Startup Village Forum as part of the long-term vision for EU’s rural areas’ flagship action on research and innovation. The forum is designed to promote startup-driven innovation in rural areas by creating an open and inclusive platform for institutions and stakeholders to meet and discuss ways to drive innovation and entrepreneurship.

This online webinar, organised on 11 May 2023, will offer a range of inspiring initiatives and provide an opportunity to discuss and explore them in depth. It is targeted at practitioners currently or potentially involved in the implementation of, or support to, social entrepreneurship projects, including local actors, experts and policy makers at various levels.

Short-term outlook for EU agricultural markets – spring

The call for applications for the 2nd edition of the EU Organic Awards is now open. The ceremony will be held on 25 September 2023.

We are delighted to share with you the latest information on the Rural Pact conference in Sweden!

Today the first Turkish Cypriot ‘Χαλλουμι’ (Halloumi)/‘Hellim’ cheese producer was awarded the protected designation of origin (PDO) certificate under the EU quality scheme.

The Commission presented to Member States a draft measure of financial aid to support Bulgarian, Polish and Romanian farmers facing market imbalances.

The Commission will provide €27,2 million from the agricultural reserve to Italy to help compensate farmers in areas affected by outbreaks of avian flu.

The call for applications to join the EU Fertilisers Market Observatory is open until 4 April. The group will be formally launched before summer 2023.

The modernised EU-Chile agreements on wines and spirits entered into force today, enhancing trade of these products between two of the world’s leading wine-making regions.

The latest monthly agri-food trade report shows imports and exports of EU agri-food products in November 2022, with a special focus on poultry and beef in the world.

This 2023 edition of the Forum will discuss the main elements and enabling conditions of the Startup Village concept through a genuine science-for-policy interaction, supporting the identification and analysis of triggering factors for innovation and startup creation in rural areas.

The Commission published today a database and study with thousands of best practices and techniques of integrated pest management to reduce the use of chemical pesticides.