The leadership work is recognized in a new report from the EU.
On March 27, the European Commission released a report on the long-term vision for the EU's rural areas.
The report describes the progress made so far and highlights results achieved since 2021. The report reminds us of Leader's important role in the work to strengthen the EU's rural areas and to meet its needs. However, the report also emphasizes an insufficient financial allocation. The amount allocated for Leader has not increased compared to the previous period, despite the population in our rural areas having increased from 61 to 65 percent during the same period. Leader is expected, in other words, to do more with less funding.
ELARD, the umbrella organization for all of the EU's Leader areas, continues to work on the issue and argues that ”Leader is more than a funding tool.” ”Leader is ready to become the most important method for rural development across Europe,” says Thibaut Guignard, chairman of ELARD.
Read more in the report available here:
https://rural-vision.europa.eu/rural-vision/long-term-vision-eus-rural-areas-key-achievements-and-ways-forward_en