Rural areas are the fabric of our society and the heartbeat of our economy. They are a core part of our identity and our economic potential. We will cherish and preserve our rural areas and invest in their future.
A vibrant tapestry of life and landscapes, Europe’s rural areas provide us with our food, homes, jobs, and essential ecosystems services.
To ensure that rural areas can continue to play these essential roles, a European Commission communication sets out a long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas up to 2040. It identifies areas of action towards stronger, connected, resilient and prosperous rural areas and communities. A Rural Pact and an EU Rural Action Plan with tangible flagships and new tools will help achieve the goals of this vision.
In December 2021, Vice-president Šuica, Commissioner Wojciechowski and Commissioner Ferreira extended an open invitation to join the Rural Pact community. They encouraged all interested authorities and organisations to express their support for the vision’s ten shared goals and take an active role in the Pact’s development. The proposal for the Pact was endorsed at the Rural Pact conference on 16 June 2022.
Stakeholders can get involved in the Pact by joining the Rural Pact community and commit to helping to deliver one or more of the objectives.
Lean more about the rural vision and how it was developed.
Action Plan
The action plan includes 30 actions implemented by 14 European commission departments working together in close cooperation. It is organised against the four pillars of the rural vision.
Learn more about the action plan.
Rural Pact
The Rural Pact is a framework for cooperation between national, regional and local governments, civil society organisations, businesses, academics and citizens to act towards the shared goals of the rural vision. It has three objectives:
Amplifying rural voices and bring them higher on the political agenda
Structuring and enabling networking, collaboration & mutual learning
Encouraging and monitoring voluntary commitments to act for the vision
Learn more about the Rural Pact.