What future for rural areas in Europe?

University of Gloucestershire Reader, Janet Dwyer, was a keynote speaker at a Conference of the Association of European Regions (AER) earlier this month in Bari, Italy.

Dr Dwyer gave an overview of the changing EU framework for rural development and the recent reform of the CAP. She urged the regions of Europe to get more involved in seeking to influence and deliver the new policies of the CAP for rural development, and highlighted the importance of ensuring that the new draft regulation on rural development, which is expected from the Commission in July this year, takes account of regional needs and enables a partnership approach to the delivery of goals and measures, involving farmers and other rural stakeholders.

“The new framework for the CAP, breaking the link between subsidies and production and giving more support for broader rural development means that regions will become more closely involved in CAP design and delivery beyond 2006. It is essential that they begin to prepare themselves for this role over the next year or so, as the planning process begins in earnest”, said Dr Dwyer.

The decline of rural areas in Europe has become a major concern over recent years, and the conference, entitled "What future for rural areas in Europe?", aimed to review the different problems that exist in rural areas, and to identify strategies to solve them. Other issues under review included the causes of isolation and impoverishment of rural areas in Europe, and the difficulty of preserving organic agriculture against the growing threat of new technologies.