EU Rural vision

The Rural Pact Support Office Policy Action Lab of 22 May developed proposals to enhance the achievements of the Rural Vision and Pact objectives at the local level. Event participants worked together to identify the key ingredients for a successful implementation of the Rural Pact at the local level and approaches to make it happen.

A new opinion by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) calls for enhanced governance frameworks, annual assessments, and targeted interventions in the implementation of the EU's rural vision. It highlights the need for a post-2027 rural development policy specifically dedicated to the implementation of the Rural Action Plan and recognising the significance of the Rural Pact.

The highlights report of the Good Practice Webinar 'Rural communities tackling climate change' is now available online. It features a range of local practices across European rural areas, which successfully address climate issues.

The Rural Pact contributes to addressing rural mobility issues by bringing together and enabling collaboration among stakeholders working in various policy areas, such as tourism, health, education, and housing, which impact rural mobility. The Rural Pact Support Office Team Leader Pascale Van Doren highlighted the added value of the Pact at the fifth meeting of the European Rural Mobility Network of 14-16 May 2024 in Èvora, Portugal. Explore the latest Rural Pact resources on rural mobility, join the dedicated online community group and look out for the outcomes of our upcoming Good Practice Webinar 'Enhancing rural mobility through local action'.

The social economy is an effective tool for stimulating development and local participation in rural areas, as emphasised at the closing event of the ‘Social Economy Actors for the New European Bauhaus’ (SEA4NEB) project of 15 April 2024. Explore resources developed by the project, such as policy recommendations and local action plans. Discover the latest Rural Pact resources on the topic of social economy and join the dedicated online community group to connect and exchange with peers.

Do you work for a local authority, national or regional managing authority under the EU’s 2021-2027 cohesion policy? Try the new SAT4TER tool to assess your integrated territorial development strategy and benefit from peer-reviews, benchmarking, and dissemination activities.

The laureates in the 2024 edition of the New European Bauhaus (NEB) Prizes were announced on 12 April at an award ceremony in Brussels – discover the winning projects dealing with rural topics.

The BRILIAN project works between 2023 and 2027 to facilitate a transition to bio-based economies in rural areas by integrating primary producers into the supply chain, aligning with the Common Agricultural Policy, the Green Deal, and the European Bioeconomy Strategy.

The MOVING project (MOuntain Valorisation through INterconnectedness and Green growth) recently launched a set of tools assessing the regional vulnerability of 23 mountain regions across Europe in the aim of boosting their sustainability in the face of climate change.

A new online observatory will bring together rural youth stakeholders and serve as an open-access repository of research data, methodological tools and best-practices concerning rural NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training).

Discover an online platform for regional development policy advice, knowledge sharing and networking, brought to you by Interreg Europe. Sign up to become a community member and learn from peer advice on policy challenges and discover tried and tested policy solutions, including some targeted to rural areas.

A new publication by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy provides examples of projects showcasing the long-lasting impact of Cohesion policy on the ground.

A recent publication by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) calls for interterritorial collaboration, network governance and coordinated policy action to enable efforts at the local, regional and national levels in order to achieve long-term societal wellbeing and climate resilient development.

The European Commission has mobilised previously unallocated Horizon Europe funding to increase the 2024 budget of the EU's research and innovation programme by nearly EUR 1.4 billion. The amendment features opportunities for green and digital development in rural areas.

Last days to apply to Interreg Europe’s third call for proposals for interregional cooperation projects gathering policy-relevant organisations from across Europe to work jointly on a common regional development issue.

The Horizon-funded AURORAL project is seeking to fund initiatives that use digitalisation for improving rural areas in aspects such as economical growth and social wellbeing or for overcoming the digital divide between rural and urban areas.

A new call for tenders by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Energy seeks to assist the set-up or facilitation of citizen-led energy projects through technical, organisational, administrative and outreach support. The deadline for submitting tenders is 14 June 2024.