Working group Rural Development Policy, Future rural areas decided in April 2011 to initiate a study of Nordic experiences and learnings connected to the EU rural development programme. The aim is to contribute to the discussions on the future of the policy after 2013. Focus is to be on wider rural development, thus the parts of the programmes not directed towards agricultural activities.
Nordregio has been given the task of writing a synthesis report, presenting the European context and comparing and summarising Nordic learnings from Denmark, Finland, Åland and Sweden.
The report is intended as an input to the preparations for the new Cohesion Policy and CAP Rural Development programming period, which is implemented in January 2014. The draft legislation, which is currently the subject of scrutiny by the European Council and Parliament, requires a greater degree of coordination (known as 'coherence') between Regional and Rural Development policies, and this implies a higher level of interaction and mutual understanding between the two policy communities. It is therefore important that actors outside of the agricultural policy community understand how the second pillar is designed, how the programmes are implemented, and what impacts they have. This can help to facilitate the dialog between different interests in rural development and can hopefully improve coherence in the future programming periods.
In May 2012 a seminar/workshop will be held in Stockholm to present the work and together with policimakers discuss the process towards new agricultural and cohesion policies in the period 2014-2020.