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The EU rural policy landscape

Cohesion Policy, the CAP, the Urban Agenda and the 2040 rural vision all reach the same village. PoliRural+ mapped 1,500 references to see how they fit.

Which main EU policy frames shape a rural-urban region, and what does the OECD say makes rural policy work?

Cohesion Policy (EUR 377.5 billion, five priorities, 2021–2027), the CAP (EUR 387 billion, 2021–2027), the Urban Agenda for the EU and the Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas with its Rural Action Plan and Rural Pact. The OECD Principles on Rural Policy group 11 principles under scale, strategy and stakeholders, including whole-of-government coordination and monitoring.

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How a regional action plan plugs into EU policy frames and feeds evidence backFive EU frames (CAP 2023-27, the European Green Deal, the Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas with the Rural Pact, the Territorial Agenda 2030 and the New European Bauhaus) set the direction. A policy gap analysis aligns each pilot's Regional Action Plan with them and finds its financing; monitoring and the D7.3 policy briefs then carry evidence back up as four levers for EU programmes, closing the loop.From EU frames to a regional plan and back: the policy loop CAP 2023-27 EUR 387 bn; climate, generational renewal Green Deal climate-neutral EU by 2050 Rural Vision LTVRA and Rural Pact: stronger rural areas by 2040 TA 2030 Territorial Agenda: functional areas, integrated approach NEB New European Bauhaus: sustainability, aesthetics, inclusion align Policy gap analysis inventory of EU, national and regional policies: build on what exists, avoid overlaps; find gaps in finance, law and training Regional Action Plan in each pilot vision, measures and a roadmap that names who acts and the money: national CAP Strategic Plan, ERDF, RRF, JTF, LEADER / CLLD, EIB loans Evidence goes back up monitoring and KPIs from the pilots; 9 regional policy briefs and 1 brief for the Commission (D7.3, months 1-18) inform Four levers the briefs propose AI-enabled AKIS FAIR rural data space carbon-smart short food chains SME-centred innovation missions via Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, DestinE and InvestEU
Five EU frames (CAP 2023-27, the European Green Deal, the Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas with the Rural Pact, the Territorial Agenda 2030 and the New European Bauhaus) set the direction. A policy gap analysis aligns each pilot's Regional Action Plan with them and finds its financing; monitoring and the D7.3 policy briefs then carry evidence back up as four levers for EU programmes, closing the loop.

The EU policy landscape for rural and urban areas

main tellingdepth: standard3 min markdown

A rural-urban region in the EU sits under several policy frames at once. PoliRural+ deliverable D2.2 recorded 1,500 references on these policies in the project’s domain knowledge database and summarised the main frames as follows.

FrameWhat it doesScale (as given in D2.2)
Cohesion PolicyReduces disparities between regions; five priorities: smarter, greener, more connected, more social Europe, and a Europe closer to citizensEUR 377.5 billion, 2021–2027, focused on less developed regions
Urban Agenda for the EUPact of Amsterdam (2016): 12 priority areas for partnerships, from housing to digital transitionAt least 6 % of the ERDF reserved for sustainable urban development
Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)Farming and rural development through the EAGF and the EAFRDEUR 387 billion, 2021–2027
Long-Term Vision for Rural AreasStronger, connected, resilient and prosperous rural areas by 2040, delivered through a Rural Action Plan and a Rural PactDraws on all EU funds, CAP and Cohesion Policy first
European Green DealClimate neutrality by 2050, with a stated role for rural areasCross-cutting

D2.2 adds further layers that pilots meet in practice: the Recovery and Resilience Facility (EUR 672.5 billion), the Digital Agenda, the Single Market Programme’s support for social enterprises, Gender Action Plan III and the New European Bauhaus.

Why the layers do not add up by themselves

Each frame has its own funds, rules and timetable. Cohesion Policy, for example, is tied to the European Semester, and the Commission may suspend regional funding to a Member State that breaks the EU’s economic rules. Among its recommendations for pilots, D2.2 tells each one to map the policies that affect it at local, regional and national level, look for conflicts and synergies, and set up a policy working group to push for coherence between urban and rural policy.

What the OECD adds

Annex F of D2.2 uses the OECD Principles on Rural Policy: 11 principles in three groups.

These principles explain how the project works. Its pilots build regional action plans with stakeholders, plan for rural-urban linkages rather than for rural areas alone, and back their measures with indicators. The next blocks look at the CAP up close, then at the 2040 rural vision, which is now the common reference point for all of these frames.

The CAP 2023–2027: the largest rural budget line, and LEADER's 7 %

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At the end of 2021 the EU reached a political agreement on a new Common Agricultural Policy for 2023–2027. It is built around ten objectives: a fair income for farmers, competitiveness, the farmer’s position in the food chain, climate action, environmental care, landscapes and biodiversity, generational renewal, vibrant rural areas, food and health quality, and knowledge and innovation.

The money. The CAP has EUR 387 billion for 2021–2027, from two funds: EUR 291 billion from the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and EUR 96 billion from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). A transitional regulation kept most of the 2014–2020 rules in place for 2021 and 2022 and added stronger green ambitions. The EAFRD has six priority areas, from knowledge transfer to social inclusion and economic development in rural areas.

What the pilots draw on. Two PoliRural+ policy briefs name the same three CAP channels. In Slovakia the CAP “channels eco-schemes, LEADER, and AKIS” into regenerative and organic farming and advisory services. Latvia’s CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027 sends LEADER, AKIS and eco-scheme support to Vidzeme’s smart specialisation sectors.

The LEADER trap. D3.1 warns that many people in local government know LEADER and stop there. A European Court of Auditors report found that planned LEADER funding in 2014–2020 was about 7 % of all rural development funding. “Nothing of any lasting significance is possible without talking about the other 93 %,” D3.1 concludes. LEADER funds pilots, but scaling up what works needs multi-funding: CAP, ERDF, RRF, the Cohesion Fund and others, plus national match funding and loans from the EIB.

LEADER still matters as a delivery channel. At a meeting on the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Agriculture, the European LEADER Association for Rural Development (ELARD) said that LEADER local development strategies are generally the only tool CAP strategic plans use to address the many needs of rural areas, and that the EU needs a rural strategy for rural areas as a whole, not only for agriculture.

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