Brussels, 11 September 2025
Do 90% of rural residents no longer count?
The European LEADER Association for Rural Development has sent today a formal letter to the European Commission expressing serious concerns about the recently published legislative proposals for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028–2034.
While ELARD welcomes the Commission’s ambition to simplify EU funding and increase flexibility through a single consolidated Fund, the current drafts risk undermining the very essence of LEADER and Community-Led Local Development (CLLD).
“More than 90% of rural residents are not farmers. Yet, as currently drafted, the Commission’s proposals risk confining LEADER to serving only the farming population, marginalising municipalities, NGOs, SMEs, and local inhabitants. This runs counter to the very DNA of LEADER-CLLD,” warns ELARD President Piotr Sadłocha.
Key concerns and amendment requests
ELARD highlights seven critical areas where the draft regulations must be improved to safeguard LEADER-CLLD:
1. Eligibility of beneficiaries: ensure that all rural actors (not only farmers) remain eligible under LEADER-CLLD.
2. Scope of interventions: broaden LEADER beyond agricultural objectives to include services, infrastructure, culture, youth, social innovation and SMEs.
3. Coverage across policies: make CLLD a binding obligation not only under the CAP, but also in cohesion, social and maritime policies, to avoid fragmentation and urban bias.
4. Ring-fenced resources: reintroduce and strengthen minimum allocations for LEADER-CLLD to secure financing within national and regional plans.
5. Simplified financing: apply simplified cost options and lump sums consistently across all CLLD instruments.
6. Consistency between CLLD and LEADER: clarify that LEADER is the CAP-specific form of CLLD, ensuring legal and practical coherence.
7. Local Action Group (LAG) competences: restore the full set of LAG responsibilities, including preparing calls and fixing support levels, to maintain their role as genuine community leaders rather than technical intermediaries.
A call to preserve Europe’s most successful rural tool
For more than 30 years, LEADER-CLLD has demonstrated its capacity to strengthen rural communities, foster innovation, and build trust between citizens and institutions. The next MFF should build on these achievements, not jeopardise them.
ELARD calls on the Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council to amend the draft regulations to ensure that LEADER-CLLD remains a strong, inclusive and effective tool for the future of Europe’s rural, coastal and peripheral areas.