1. EU RURAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY Half of the population of the 25 EU member states live in rural areas Therefore rural development is a very important policy area and strengthening this policy area has become an EU priority. In September 2005, a fundamental reform of rural development policy for 2007-2013 was adopted.

2. Agenda 2000 Initially rural development policy was essentially sectoral with limited territorial aspects Agenda 2000 introduced RD policy as second pillar of CAP and brought rural development under a single regulation to apply to whole of EU Offered a “menu” of 22 measures which member states can choose from according to which best suits their rural development needs (flexibility of programming) Decentralisation of responsibility-thus strengthening subsidiarity and partnership

3. Agenda 2000 contd. Objectives: (1) To create a stronger agricultural and forestry sector, the latter recognised for the first time as an integral part of the rural development policy; (2) To improve the competitiveness of rural areas; (3) To maintain the environment and preserve Europe's rural heritage. MTR- promote animal welfare and quality and provision of more EU funds through reduction in direct payments

4. 3 MAJOR POLICY OBJECTIVES 2007-2013 1) Increasing the competitiveness of the agriculture sector (15%) 2) Enhancing the environment and countryside through support for land management (25%) 3) Enhancing the quality of life in rural areas and promoting diversification of economic activities (15%) In addition to this: Integrate the Leader Community Initiative (locally- based, bottom-up approaches to rural development) Simplification through a single funding and programming framework

5. 2007-2013 One single rural development fund One single programming system One single set of financial rules One single control system Simpler!

6. Main Differences 2007-2013 period focuses on jobs, growth and sustainability Menu of options enlarged New single European Agricultural Fund for RD est. to fund all RD measures (in place of Guarantee and Guidance funding under Agenda 2000) Simplifies delivery of policy- more coherent Agenda 2000 was more focused on the environment, food quality and the vitality of rural life. It was heavily farm based (90% of expenditure whereas viability of rural areas only 10% expenditure)