ELARD at the Rural Pact Conference – From consensus to action
On 16 and 17 September, ELARD took part in the Rural Pact Conference in Pecq, Belgium, where more than 250 stakeholders, including European Executive Vice President Raffaele Fitto (Cohesion and Reforms) and Commissioner Christophe Hansen (Agriculture and Food), gathered to discuss the future of Europe’s rural areas.
The message from the conference was clear: participatory rural development approaches, such as LEADER-CLLD, are indispensable for resilient, inclusive and forward-looking rural territories. Across panels and discussions, a clear consensus emerged on the need for a dedicated budget line in the next EU MFF to safeguard community-led local development.
ELARD used this opportunity to reiterate our call to the European Commission (read our latest press release on this here): protect and ring-fence the LEADER-CLLD approach, and make sure it is not reduced to agriculture. As our recent letter to Commissioners highlights, more than 90% of rural residents are not farmers. They are teachers, mayors, shopkeepers, craftspeople, NGO leaders, young people with ideas, elderly people in need of services. Rural development is about people, communities, innovation, services, and opportunities, not only agriculture. There can be no farmers without vibrant rural areas.
Yet despite broad agreement in events like this, a gap remains: too often, when we say “rural development”, policymakers hear only “agriculture”. Moving forward, the challenge is not in building consensus, it already exists, but in ensuring that EU regulations and budgets reflect fully our of rural realities.
ELARD will continue to advocate for rural communities, ensuring their voices are not only heard but translated into concrete commitments at EU level.
