• fr
  • en

Cuts to rural development budget unacceptable

The Rural Coalition and Coalition of European Agriregions deem the recently proposed cut to rural development funding to be unacceptable and call on the policy-makers to review this approach ahead of the summit on 20th February. Europe’s rural areas and rural communities face existential threats due to rural exodus and an increasing urban-rural divide and cutting this financial lifeline would make this situation even more dire.

The two groups that gather organisations representing rural actors and regions in the EU highlighted this during the ‘Amplifying local voices: Addressing rural development in the CAP post 2020’ event at the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria to the EU.

Hosted by MEPs Simone Schmiedtbauer (EPP, AT), Paolo De Castro (S&D, IT) and Jérémy Decerle (Renew Europe, FR), the event brought together representatives of rural local actors – farmers, forest owners, rural value chain actors, landowners, hunters and regional authorities – as well as EU decision-makers and representatives from civil society organisations.

Speakers drew attention to the importance of involving rural actors and local authorities in policy-making processes in order to develop successful bottom-up and community-led interventions tailored to local needs. The importance of creating synergies between EU rural development funds and the sustainable and active management of rural areas was highlighted. This is required to guarantee the long-term viability of Europe’s rural areas, including generational renewal, and to address major challenges.

Speaking at the event, Jannes Maes, the President of CEJA said: “Rural areas are the heart and soul of the EU. They are invaluable in their economic, environmental and social contributions and must not be left behind. In this regard, we cannot accept the cuts to the crucial rural development support. If policy-makers do indeed want to live up to their promise of preserving vibrant rural areas, they need to at least maintain the funding as well”.

Olivier Allain, Vice-President of the Brittany Region in charge of agriculture, echoed: “It is crucial to stress the importance of collaboration between rural stakeholders and agricultural regions when achieving common goals and adapting the policy framework to our needs. However, this cannot be done without a strong rural development budget in the CAP post 2020. This is the only chance for us to succeed when striving for dynamic rural areas.”

The Rural Coalition and Coalition of European Agriregions further outlined their requests in an open letter published today.

 

Rural coalition

 

Coalition of European agriregions

Açores, Andalusia, Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Bretagne, Castilla y Léon, Emilia-Romagna, Extremadura, Lombardia, Nouvelle Aquitaine, Pays de la Loire, Toscana, Wielkopolska

Share
18 February 2020

Euromontana sur Facebook

5 days ago

Euromontana
Today, members of the Rural Pact Coordination Group (RPCG) meet online to discuss: • The forthcoming RPCG Declaration on the future of EU rural policy, which addresses the open questions in the @European Commission’s ‘key achievements and ways forward’ report;• RPCG members’ position papers on the future of Europe’s rural areas;• RPCG members’ role in the Rural Pact Conference of April 2025;• Members’ actions to date & the Rural Pact Support Office 2025 work programme.More information at: bit.ly/4fwtjnS#RuralPact #RuralVisionEU ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook

6 days ago

Euromontana
📢 #CallForProposals: you can now submit proposals for the #InternationalMountainConference!The international conference dedicated to #MountainResearch is taking place from 14-18 September 2025 in #Innsbruck. It is being organised by the Research Area “Mountain Regions” at the Universität Innsbruck ⛰️🇦🇹📝 The #IMC is currently looking for proposals focusing on scientific research in #MountainRegions around the world. There are six formats to choose from, including plenary sessions and workshops - find out more and submit your proposal by 28 November: loom.ly/ntncy_M ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook

2 weeks ago

Euromontana
We're at the #Gismart project Kick Off meeting in Paris today to share guidelines on communication, dissemination and exploitation of results 💡For the next two days, we will discuss the following steps to assess the sustainability of geographical indications all over Europe, including in the mountains ⛰️🌱🚜👩‍🌾 How to transition to more sustainable diet systems ? 🌱 How to implement the Farm to Fork Strategy?🥩🧀 how to develop a methodology to assess economic, social, environnemental dimensions of GIs sustainability?Pleased to be working on this key topic with INRAE and to continue collaboration with AREPO! More info on GI-SMART 🔗 www.euromontana.org/gi-smart/ ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook

3 weeks ago

Euromontana
🌄 A week ago, we were opening the #MountainConvention2024 in the stunning Catalan Pyrenees! 🏔️✨ 250 mountain stakeholders came together in Puigcerdà to shape the #MountainEconomies of tomorrow! 💬 In the face of socio-economic, environmental, and demographic transitions, our economies must become 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬, 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 than ever! 💪🌱From fair remuneration of farmers & ecosystem services, to funding for the transition of mountain resorts, circular economy development for wool and wood products, support for entrepreneurship and interesting public procurement or taxes systems ... all a huge thank you to everyone for your energy and ideas! 🙌 These will be captured in the 𝐏𝐮𝐢𝐠𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐚̀ 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, which will be presented on 11 December on International Mountain Day 📜🏔️🔜 Presentations and materials will soon be available! A special thank you to our co-organisers Territori. Generalitat de Catalunya. and CREAF, as well as our supporters Ajuntament de Puigcerdà , #NEMOR Network for European Mountain Research, European Rural Pact 🙏 ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook

Euromontana sur Twitter