The President of ELARD, Maria João Botelho, was invited by the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Parliament (EP) to speak at the joint public hearing on LEADER experiences on 22 November, in Brussels.
The Committees on Budgetary Control (CONT) and on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) held a joint public hearing entitled “LEADER experiences – lessons learned and effectiveness of EU funds for rural development” for the purpose of evaluating what impact LEADER/Community-led local development (CLLD) has had over the past, what is its added value and how it could be improved in the future, in the context of the reform of the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Maria João Botelho spoke during the second panel dedicated to the “Stakeholder perspective – Local Partnerships for rural development and innovation” and she also participated in the ensuing debate with the Members of both Committees.
After the institutional and government perspective, with representatives from the European Commission/DG AGRI, the European Court of Auditors and the Rural Network Support Unit/Scottish Government, the stakeholder perspective was sustained by ELARD, Copa-Cogeca, Robert Lukesch (LEADER Evaluator), and Paul Soto (Policy Expert at the Contact Point of the European Network for Rural Development).
Find here a Briefing Note and the Presentations.
The web-streamed hearing can be watched via the following link: