"Rural Development" Topical Working Group

The setting up of this Working Group, proposed during the plenary meeting of the Network held on June 27, 2005, originated from the need to follow up the implementation of the rural sector projects within the context of the policies co-financed by the Structural Funds, with special regard to the aspects of sustainability and integration.

The activity of the Group is carried on based on the objectives set out within the context of the action plan adopted by the Network for 2006.

The rural development policy is a European-wide strategic sector, keeping also into account the reform of the Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP) of September 2003 and the recently adopted rural development regulations. Besides, it is one of the themes to which special attention is paid in the ROPs and in the Single Programming Documents, owing to its specific implications and links with the environmental policies.

The Group purposes to give an informative contribution in respect of the implementation of the rural development measures in the current programming cycle with a view to identifying points of strength and weaknesses in the sector. Finally, the Group aims at giving rise to a common platform of exemplary experiences of sustainability, from the institutional, technical, procedural and financial points of view, that have had positive repercussions on the implementation of the initiatives and that may be turned to account for the 2007-2013 programming.

The activities of the Group include the identification of experiences and tools for transferring good practices, giving access to the outcome of analyses and in-depth studies, the formulation of operational proposals to contribute to the improvement of organizational, procedural and methodological aspects, even with a view to enhancing the integration of the environmental component in the rural development policy.

The survey of the measures co-financed by the Structural Funds in the Objective 1 and Objective 2 Regions is still under way and is going to be submitted in the final document that is being drafted.