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Flowering meadows at Endrup - promoting extensive grazing on communal land to enhance biodiversity in and around a Natura 2000 designated area in Denmark.

Discover how a total of 42 ha were prepared for extensive management, thus contributing to biodiversity improvement, boosting local interest in nature and establishing a local short value chain for quality meat produced from the small Irish Dexter cattle breed.

Find out more about this project.

On 22 July 2020 the European Commission released the Roadmap for the adoption of a Communication on the Long Term Vision for Rural Areas, announced for the second quarter of 2021. The Roadmap is available for the comments and opinions of rural stakeholders until 9 September 2020. Your feedback is welcomed!

For more information and for contributions please visit this website.

The ENRD Contact Point (CP) is setting up two new Thematic Groups, one on the Long Term Vision for Rural Areas and one on the European Green Deal in Rural Areas. The deadline to express your interest to participate in either of these groups is 28 August 2020. Visit our website to find out more information and to submit your expression of interest.

The European Commission launched a public consultation to gather information and feedback from stakeholders and the wider public about the impact of the CAP on biodiversity, soil and water. The online questionnaire is available until 22 October 2020.

The European Commission proposes to implement a mission in the area of 'Soil health and food' as part of the next research programme, Horizon Europe. Missions are a new instrument for research and innovation to increase the impact of research, connect with citizens and show that science matters in day-to-day lives.

Through this online survey the Commission would like to hear your views about soils and their functions and the mission’s remit on 'soil health and food'.

An In-Depth Analysis by the Policy Department for Structural and Cohesion Policies of the European Parliament (EP) explored the possible implications of the Farm to Fork Strategy (F2F) for agriculture and the CAP and, as a result, on the legislative programme of the EP's AGRI Committee for the 2020 - 2023 period. A separate blog post provides an overview of the key conclusions of the analysis.

The Social Economy can contribute significantly to overcoming many of the challenges facing Europe but its added value is often poorly understood. In order to collect practical, tangible stories of how social economy stakeholders are contributing to create economic value, societal bonds and environmental impact, the European Commission has launched the Social Economy Diaries. The collected stories will be published in a small downloadable booklet that will also be distributed across Europe to policymakers, citizens, opinion leaders and fellow entrepreneurs. Do you have stories from rural Europe to contribute?

The European Bee Awards recognise innovative projects which enhance the protection of pollinators in farmed environments. Submissions for this year's edition are open until 4 September 2020.

The LEADER Cooperation section of the ENRD’s website now includes an updated summary of LEADER transnational cooperation (TNC) projects approved by RDP Managing Authorities of EU Member States until May 2020.

The document will be updated twice per year (the next update is scheduled for October 2020) and aims to provide information to LEADER stakeholders about the state of play of LEADER TNC in the EU, complementing the existing relevant information on cooperation provided by the ENRD.

The ENRD CP is building its network of rural development professionals on the LinkedIn Company page which has recently reached 1000 followers. If you are a regular LinkedIn user please follow our Company page to stay up-to-date with all our new information – including news about CAP Programming, rural networking, LEADER/CLLD, and the two new ENRD Thematic groups on European Green Deal, and #Rural2040 – the Long Term Vision for Rural Areas.

Finance and advice from the European Investment Bank Group (EIB) can provide significant support to help develop rural Europe. In the future, this role could increase. EIB loans, for example are currently used in Romania (€ 450 million) and Latvia (€ 200 million) to help national authorities finance Rural Development Programmes (RDPs). The loans focus on investing in farm modernisation, services and other aspects of rural economies. A new publication by the EIB aims to inspire future initiatives by highlighting their key projects in agriculture, the bioeconomy and rural development.

The final report of the Pilot Project on Smart eco-social villages, initiated by the European Parliament, is now available. The Pilot Project identified many examples of villages currently engaged in innovative initiatives to address key challenges or improve the quality of life of their inhabitants.

The conclusions of the Pilot Project are important for the future use of the Smart Village concept in the EU. The Project identified smart solutions in a wide range of thematic areas, including agriculture, environment, energy, mobility, health, education, culture and tourism.

The COVID-19 pandemic is not only impacting food trade, food supply chains and markets, but also people’s lives, livelihoods and nutrition. This collection of policy briefs by the Food and Agricultural Organisation(FAO) presents a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the pandemic’s impacts in these fields.

The briefs are released on a day-to-day basis, so please check the FAO website regularly for the latest updates.

The ENRD is continuing and extending its work of collecting examples of projects and initiatives launched primarily by rural communities to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, support rural businesses and foster solidarity with those more vulnerable in this exceptional situation.

This page aims to disseminate good examples that can inspire other rural stakeholders, and also provides information about European Commission initiatives aimed at alleviating the current challenges faced by rural Europe and promoting recovery. To submit your contributions, contact: publications@enrd.eu.

Update: the ENRD CP office in Brussels remains closed until further notice due to the COVID-19 outbreak and as teleworking increasingly becomes a new norm. However, our team remains fully operational and available via email, social media and our website. We invite you to keep an eye on the Upcoming Events section of our website, where we list relevant forthcoming events. Feel free to contact us at any time!

The EU Rural Review 29 on 'LEADER achievements' explores how the seven LEADER principles are interpreted today by people who have been deeply involved with implementing LEADER in rural communities across Europe. It is now available in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish and Croatian.

The highlights report of the ENRD seminar on Climate Action and Resilient Rural Economy takes stock of the lessons learned about how the Rural Development Programmes (RDPs) can contribute to a climate resilient, low-carbon economy in Europe’s rural areas.

This thematic briefing is one of the tools developed by the ENRD to assist Managing Authorities and rural stakeholders in designing and implementing Smart Villages initiatives in key domains. The focus of the document is on promoting digital transformation in villages and rural areas.

The highlights report of the 4th ENRD Thematic Lab on ‘Maintaining and widening stakeholder engagement' explores the role of LEADER and LEADER Local Action Groups (LAGs) in maintaining and widening stakeholder engagement in their local areas to develop short- and long-term responses to local challenges. The meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss LAGs' responses to the COVID-19 situation.

This ENRD factsheet explores the opportunities for delivering economic value through a bioeconomy that contributes to climate change mitigation. It reflects on the ways in which the Rural Development Programmes (RDPs) have supported these opportunities and provides concrete examples from several EU Member States.