The European Commission’s “Roadmap for the Long Term Vision for Rural Areas”. The Commission has begun online Public Consultation on the Roadmap finishing 30th November. More details are available at Europa (here).
The Commission advises that the need for designing a long term vision for rural areas was underlined in President Von der Leyen’s political priorities. The Vision aims to create a debate at European level on the future of rural areas and the place they should have in our society. The European Commission intends to work with rural stakeholders, local and regional authorities to develop a long-term vision which will support rural areas in achieving their full potential. The vision will address challenges from demographic change to connectivity, low income or limited access to services, and explore innovative, inclusive and sustainable solutions including those triggered by climate and digital transformation or new developments arising from the current COVID-19 crisis, and offer reflections to feed future policies.