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Issue 23 of the ‘EU Rural Review’ - the ENRD’s main thematic publication - has been published on the topic of ‘Green Economy - Opportunities for Rural Europe’. It explores some of the ways in which social and environmental sustainability can go together with economic growth in Europe’s rural areas.

The publication examines how the Rural Development Programmes (RDPs) can support aspects of the green economy, such as the move to a low-carbon economy and more sustainable production. It also looks at practical aspects of green economy projects and how cooperation can help.

The publication was informed by ENRD thematic work on ‘Transition to the Green Economy’, which will also feature an up-coming EAFRD Projects Brochure.

For subscriptions to ENRD publications please write to subscribe@enrd.eu.

The consultation on the Future of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) – including Rural Development policy - will be launched on 2 February 2017.

The announcement by Phil Hogan, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, came during the Commissioner’s presence at International Green Week in Berlin. He confirmed “Our aim is to look ways how to modernise and simplify the CAP. I am well aware of the complexity of our policy and I am dedicated to making the CAP simpler.”

The autumn 2016 edition of the ENRD’s networking magazine ‘Rural Connections’ is now available in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Polish on the ENRD website.

This edition gives special attention to the discussions and outcomes of the Cork 2.0 European Conference on Rural Development of September 2016 and the resulting Cork 2.0 Declaration. The magazine also provides its regular range of news and updates, and stakeholder perspective pieces. Send your contributions for the Spring 2017 edition to editor@enrd.eu.

A case study on the first rural development Financial Instrument (FI) in Europe and the initial findings of a feasibility study on market-responsive FIs supported by the EAFRD form part of a range of new information materials on designing and implementing Financial Instruments (FIs).

Produced by the advisory platform fi-compass, the materials cover FIs under the Rural Development (EAFRD), Fisheries (EMFF), Regional Development (ERDF) and Social (ESF) Funds. They include a set of 13 case studies examining the use of loans, guarantees and equity investments under the four funds and a summary report of progress in setting up FIs across Europe 2014-2015.

Additional materials including an ex-ante assessment manual and case studies explore how FIs can be used to support energy efficiency and the shift towards a low-carbon economy.

Several initiatives around social inclusion and demography in rural areas are coming together to explore further joint actions and cooperation at an ENRD social inclusion workshop on 9 February 2017.

The workshop will take place in Brussels and be structured around existing ‘hubs of activity’ amongst network members on the themes of: women; migrants and refugees; youth; Roma; and the role of arts and culture in promoting social inclusion. You can register to attend here.

A new Connecting Europe Broadband Fund intends to invest in broadband infrastructure across under-served areas of Europe. It was announced in December 2016 by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank.

The new EU Fund will lead to an investment platform combining private and public resources to finance smaller-scale, higher-risk broadband projects across Europe – many of which are likely be in rural areas. The new Fund will aim to invest in seven to 12 projects between its operational launch in mid-2017 and 2021.

The European Commission has launched calls for projects aimed at promoting European agricultural products on both the EU and third country markets.

The calls seek to finance multi-annual promotion campaigns to find new markets for European agricultural products. The deadline for submitting proposals is 20 April 2017. Find out more about these calls and the type of actions they support.

A 2nd Thematic Group (TG) meeting has helped define the main areas of interest for improving implementation of the Rural Development Programmes (RDPs) to better support the resource-efficient rural economy.

The group considered the extent to which a motivation gap, a policy gap or an implementation gap was the main obstacle to be overcome in various areas of activity. The group’s contributions will now guide screening and analysis of the RDPs and the identification of good practice examples in the field. Keep up to date via the thematic webpage.

With one third of the food produced globally being wasted or lost, a new report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) has concluded that further action is needed at EU level to improve the resource efficiency of the food supply chain.

The report examines EU policies and instruments to reduce food waste and argues that the EU should strengthen and better coordinate its various policy instruments to minimise environmental and economic costs. The report in available in 23 European languages.

Two new projects funded under the EU’s research programme Horizon 2020 will work to improve the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) through new and smart digital technologies.

The RECAP project will develop a digital platform for the delivery of public services and monitoring of CAP obligations targeted at Paying Agencies, agricultural consultants and farmers. The ‘Internet of Food and Farm 2020’ project will work to accelerate the adoption of ‘Internet of Things’ to strengthen the competitiveness of European farming and food chains.

The new Agri-Food Smart Specialisation (S3) Platform has launched an open call for expressions of interest from EU regions and Member States to propose topics for setting up and co-leading new regional partnerships on agri-food topics.

The first group of partnerships formally joined the Agri-Food S3 Platform at the kick-off event in Florence, Italy, 6-7 December 2016. The event also saw presentations of interesting pilot projects in agri-food smart specialisation, including on ‘traceability and big data’ in Andalusia (Spain) and on ‘high-tech farming’ in Tuscany (Italy).

A recent OECD - FAO publication provides guidance to businesses all along agricultural supply chains on ways to ensure their actions contribute to sustainable development.

The guidance applies from input supply to production and retailing, and addresses issues such as: food security, health and safety; environmental protection and sustainable use of natural resources; governance; and technology and innovation. It is available in English, French and German.