1. Leader+ OBSERVATORY Contact Point European Commission

2. Good Practice database 56 Good Practice Examples soon available in an online database; more examples to follow later this year Process of gathering was finalised in April 2006 Approval on a national level This represents up to 5 examples per Member State (EU-15) at this first stage Continuous process

3. EC publication on Leader+ Best Practices Publication of Leader+ Best Practice examples in a printed publication on a yearly basis by the European Commission First publication of this kind later in 2006; process has already started 21 Best Practice examples were selected out of the 56 Pilot Actions/Good Practices by the Contact Point and the European Commission The selection of a total of 21 Best Practices was based on both conceptual, thematical and geographical balance. This selection was sent to the NNUs and confirmed by all. As a final result it means that bigger MS are represented with 2 examples each, smaller MS with 1 example.

4. Leader+ OBSERVATORY Steering Committee Meeting 28/29 June 2006 Cooperation projects – state of the play European Commission

5. Results by end May 2006 231 projects notified (less then in January, some double and preparatory projects eliminated) Detailed information available for 108 of them (double of what was available in January)

6. What is the projects origin ? The highest numbers of projects coming from: Ireland (15,2% of projects) Germany (13,9%) Italy (12,6%) UK (11,7%) Some new projects notified for Belgium, Spain, Finland, Italy. *concerns projects where a national LAG is a Lead partner

7. LAGs involvement in the leadership The most active LAGs remain the same: Ireland, Sweden, Finland

8. Who are the partners? At least 369 LAGs are involved in the cooperation, on average 4 per project Approximately 15% of them are not LAGs L+ LAGs financed under previous Leader programmes Partnerships financed under national programmes (PRODER, POMO) Other bodies involved in the cooperation: Tourism and development agencies, associations (environmental, educational, heritage), local and regional authorities, universities and research institutes.

9. Where do the partners come from? All EU-15 MS New Member states: Estonia, Hungary, Slovenia, Latvia, Malta Accession country: Romania Macedonia, Switzerland, Russia, Georgia, Azerbajdjan, Tunisia, Canada, Brasil, Mozambic

10. In which fields do they cooperate? Predominant theme: best use of natural and cultural resources Two themes chosen by a quarter of projects each: quality of life, use of new know-how and new technologies Local products – least popular

11. Which intervention fields ? Best use of natural and cultural resources: Nature and environment (waste management, protection, biodiversity, technology) Culture and education (training, raising awarness, religion, art, museums, history) Tourism (tourism concept, booking structures, eco-tourism, tourism trails)

12. Which intervention fields ? Using new know-how and new technologies Marketing and promotion (tourism products, local products, natural and cultural sites) through common web sites and booking structures Professional training

13. Which intervention fields ? Improving the quality of life Culture and education (languages, links with new inhabitants, events) Training (professional and life-long training aimed at SME, focused on local resources) Raising awareness on subjects linked with environment protection / nature (sustainable tourism)

14. Which intervention fields ? Adding value to local products Economy (cooperation between SME / producers) Marketing (e-commerce) Food quality and brand development Crafts Tourism

15. Cooperation with NMS 6 NMS implement the Leader+ measure Only Czech Republic, Hungary and Lithuania have selected their LAGs under the sub-measure « Implementation of development strategies » CzR: transnational cooperation limited to the activities carried out on the national territory Hungary: transnational cooperation possible if foreseen in the development strategy Lithuania: no transnational cooperation financed

16. Cooperation with NMS - challenges LAG selection procedures have not been terminated yet in 3 MS, 3 other NMS do not provide financial support for cooperation at all Very short time for implementation of projects Low budget assigned per LAG (ranges from EUR 47 000 in Lithuania to almost EUR 400 000 in Hungary) Little previous experience Assistance structures under development

17. Follow-up Some countries are still in the process of completing the information (half of project templates are not filled in) The translation into English of the projects Please inform us about each new project approved!

18. Leader+ OBSERVATORY Steering Committee Meeting 28/29 June 2006 EVENTS European Commission

19. Events 2005-2006 Retrospective: what has happened eventwise: Leader+ Observatory Seminar « New Know-how and new technologies in rural areas» 6-10 April in Kauhajoki, Finland Leader+ Observatory Conference: « European Cooperation Fair » 28 – 29 June 2005 in Brussels/Belgium Leader+ Observatory Seminar « Adding value to local products » 14 – 18 February in Grosseto, Italy Schruns/Austria, 25 – 29 April Leader+ Observatory Seminar « Making best use of natural and cultural resources »

20. Seminar in Austria: Making the best use of natural and cultural resources

21. Has the participation been worthwhile for you? How do you rate the event as a whole?

22. Retrospective of all past seminars from 2005 until now

24. Future events October 2006: possibly 18-20 October 2006 and in principle in Budapest/Hungary (to be confirmed): Leader+ Observatory Seminar for and in the New Member States State of play Questionnaire

25. Future events Decentralised seminar in Portugal in March 2007 last decentralised seminar of the current programme period transversal theme information will be available in September

26. LEADER+ STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING LEADER+ OBSERVATORY SEMINAR 28-29 JUNE 2006 IN BRUSSELS/BELGIUM European Map European Commission

27. EU LEADER+ MAP STATUS STATUS OF GIS-DATA COLLECTION ON LEADER+ LAG AREAS IN JANUARY 2006

28. EU LEADER+ MAP STATUS STATUS OF GIS-DATA RECEIVED FROM THE MEMBER STATES ON LEADER+ LAG AREAS IN JUNE 2006

29. EU LEADER+ MAP STATUS SPATIAL DATA FROM THE FOLLOWING MEMBER STATES IS STILL MISSING: FINLAND PORTUGAL SWEDEN DENMARK THE NETHERLANDS : No spatial data available SPATIAL DATA FROM THE FOLLOWING MEMBER STATES IS INCOMPLETE: UNITED KINGDOM: Data received from England, data missing from: Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.