EU Rural vision

This inaugural edition provides you with stories to drive progress in implementing the rural vision. It highlights the political achievements of 2023, browses through the first year of activities of the RPSO and the progress made in areas such as depopulation, digital education, energy transition and social entrepreneurship.

We are thrilled to share 20 new, inspiring good practices from across the EU. The practices showcase innovative approaches to rural development, encouraging Rural Pact Community members to learn from successful examples and implement similar solutions in their own regions.

The Policy Briefing outlines the key ingredients needed to mobilise stakeholders around the Rural Pact and foster concerted action towards meeting the objectives of the long-term vision. It further outlines inspiring examples of how these elements can be put into practice.

Explore the outputs from our recent webinar to discover solutions to boost the energy transition in rural areas. The event, jointly organised with the Covenant of Mayors – Europe, intended to build participants’ capacity in designing and implementing high-quality projects aligned with rural needs.

Discover EU-level initiatives and get inspired by local experiences aiming at improving access to health services in rural areas, as well as attracting and retaining healthcare workforce.

The presentations from our second Policy Lab outline essential elements of resource development and funding strategies. Get inspired by examples improving existing funding methods and discover recommendations for mobilising support for rural areas.

The European Economic and Social Committee's (EESC) Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment (NAT) has adopted two opinions, in line with the long-term vision for EU’s rural areas: one on the role of youth in rural development and one on the impact of high energy prices on the agricultural sector and rural areas.

The European Commission has launched the Harnessing Talent Platform, a key tool to help national, regional and local authorities address the demographic change.

A recent event, organised by the European Rural Community Alliance (ERCA), explored the state of play of the Rural Pact, the Rural Funding Toolkit and other useful tools related to the implementation of the EU’s long-term vision for rural areas.

The 5th edition of the ARIA 2023 celebrated the most inspiring rural development initiatives co-funded by the EU. With 13,000 votes, this edition marked the most successful competition to date. Discover these projects!

Is your organisation dedicated to fighting climate change and contributing to a sustainable future? Apply by 5 January to become a European Climate Pact Partner and get access to a diverse network committed to climate action and policy progress across the EU.

The 2023 European Broadband Competence Offices (BCOs) Network annual conference offered an opportunity for knowledge sharing and exchange of good practices. It reflected on the challenges, expectations, support needs and barriers to broadband deployment in rural areas.

People living in rural areas spent a higher proportion of their total household expenditure on the operation of personal transport equipment in 2020 according to Eurostat.

The Horizon 2020 SHERPA project developed a set of recommendations for future rural policies, structured around the Rural Vision’s four blocks of action. This is the result of work and dialogue within the project’s Multi-Actor Platforms and partners, and debated at EU-level conferences.

The dRural project has launched two new calls to create and implement collaborative digital solutions. The Call for simple services in Extremadura (ES) seeks service providers in the region’s rural areas and the Call for ‘mirror regions’ offers the opportunity to replicate the dRural platform in applicants’ regions.

The European Commission is calling on regions experiencing the effects of a departing younger population to apply for technical assistance before 7 February 2024. Up to ten regions will receive support to attract, retain and develop talent.