Community Strategic Guidelines DG AGRI, July 2005 Rural Development

2 Regulation and Guidelines RDR => purpose and scope of assistance from the RD fund CSG => EU level priorities within the RDR framework, in particular focus on sustainability (Göteborg) and growth and jobs (Lisbon)

3 The CSG will help to: identify and agree the areas where the use of EU support for rural development will create the most value added at EU level; make the link with the main EU priorities (Lisbon, Göteborg) and translate them into RD policy; ensure consistency with other EU policies, in particular in the field of cohesion and environment; accompany the implementation of the new market oriented Common Agricultural Policy and the necessary restructuring it will entail in the old and the new Member States.

4 Community priorities Axis 1: improving the competitiveness of the agricultural and forestry sectors Guideline 1: the resources devoted to axis 1 should contribute to a strong and dynamic European agrifood sector by focusing on the priorities of knowledge transfer and innovation in the food chain and priority sectors for investment in physical and human capital.

5 Community priorities Axis 2: improving the environment and countryside Guideline 2: the resources devoted to axis 2 should contribute to three EU level priority areas: biodiversity and preservation of high nature value farming and forestry systems, water, and climate change.

6 Community priorities Axis 3: improving the quality of life in rural areas and encouraging diversification Guideline 3: the resources devoted to axis 3 should contribute to the overarching priority of the creation of employment opportunities in the fields of diversification and quality of life.

7 Community priorities Axis 4 (Leader): building local capacity for employment and diversification Guideline 4: the resources devoted to axis 4 should contribute to the priorities of axis 1 and 2 and in particular of axis 3, but also play an important role in the priority of improving governance and mobilising the endogenous development potential of rural areas.

8 Community priorities Horizontal: translating priorities into programmes Guideline 5: in working out their national strategies, Member States should ensure that synergies between and within the axes are maximised and potential contradictions avoided. They will also wish to reflect on how other EU level strategies such as the Action Plan for Organic Farming, the latest Commission Communication on Renewable Energy, the Commissions recent Communication on Climate Change and the Commissions report on the EU Forestry Strategy (which can help deliver on both the growth and employment and the sustainability objectives) and the forthcoming thematic environmental strategies can be taken into account.

9 Community priorities Horizontal: complementarity between Community instruments Guideline 6: The synergy between structural, employment and rural development policies needs to be encouraged. In this context, Member States should ensure complementarity and coherence between actions to be financed by the ERDF, Cohesion Fund, ESF, EFF and EAFRD on a given territory and in a given field of activity. The main guiding principles as regards the demarcation line and the coordination mechanisms between actions supported by the different Funds should be defined at the level of national strategic reference framework/national strategy plan.

10 The reporting system Strategic monitoring based on the common monitoring and evaluation framework Limited set of common indicators (output, result and impact) which can be aggregated from the individual programmes (annual) to the MS summaries and the Commission EU level report (every 2 years) to measure progress in achieving the EU priorities

11 Examples of EU level lead indicators

12 The timetable: Legislative framework: Council regulation, 3 IRs in place by end of 2005, idem CMEF Community Strategic Guidelines: adoption in the Autumn National strategy plans: end of 2005/beginning 2006 RD programmes: submission 1 st half 2006, approval 2 nd half 2006

13 Rural development and territorial cohesion RD is a mix of a sectoral and territorial dimension; axis 1: more sectoral approach, axis 2: both sectoral and territorial, axes 3 and 4: territorial approach RD contributes to territorial cohesion: a robust agricultural and forestry sector contributes to narrowing the economic gap between rural/non- rural areas, local development strategies complement regional policy and contribute to narrowing further the gap, including in social terms

14 Interaction rural/urban Rural areas can offer safe and quality food, leisure, public amenities and environmental goods to urban populations: rural areas are the drivers of the urban welbeing Urban poles are the clients of the rural areas in many respects: they consume and enjoy what rural areas offer: urban areas are the players for the economic and social survival of the rural areas

15 Conclusion Both policies, regional and rural, can offer the tools for fostering interlinks and enhancing positive interactions between rural areas and urban poles