Agenda 2000 -
Setting the objectives for rural policy and CAP reform

In the years ahead, agriculture will have to adapt to further changes in market evolution, market policy and trade rules. Local economies in rural areas will also be affected by these changes, at a time when many such areas are confronting acute economic development problems.Moreover, rural areas are increasingly required to fulfil important environmental and recreational functions. A prominent role will therefore be given to agri-environmental instruments to support a sustainable development of rural areas and respond to society's increasing demand for environmental services.

Targeted agri-environmental measures should be reinforced and encouraged through increased budget funding and, where necessary, higher part-financing rates. Most relevant are services which call for an extra effort by farmers, such as organic farming, maintenance of semi-natural habitats, alpine cattle keeping, etc. Another possibility which deserves further consideration is to take into account the considerable overlap between less-favoured areas (LFAs) and areas of high nature value, and to gradually transform the related support scheme into a basic instrument to maintain and promote low-input farming systems. Finally, with respect to better integrating the environment into the market organisations, the Commission will make a proposal enabling Member States to make direct payments conditional on compliance with environmental provisions.

As far as the other aspects of sustainable rural development are concerned, the Commission suggests that these developments should be encouraged and supported by a reorganisation of the existing rural policy instruments:

The existing CAP accompanying measures financed by the EAGGF, Guarantee Section (agri-environment scheme, afforestation, early retirement) will be supplemented by the LFAs scheme. All these measures will be applied horizontally and implemented in a decentralised way.

The current approach of integrated development programmes will be maintained in those rural areas, located in regions which are presently eligible under Objective 1 of the Structural funds.

In rural areas eligible under the new Objective 2 of the Structural Funds, rural development measures will be financed as accompanying measures by the EAGGF Guarantee Section. These measures will be implemented together with the Regional and the Social Fund within the same programme at the level of the Objective 2 region.

In all rural areas outside Objective 1, rural policies designed to accompany and complement market policies will be part-financed by the EAGGF Guarantee Section. Rural policy, in this context, will embrace all types of measures supporting structural adjustment and rural development, as presently part-financed by the EAGGF Guidance Section. These will be applied horizontally and implemented in a decentralised way, at the initiative of the Member States.

In this way it should be possible to ensure that the reform of the CAP, in addition to continuing with market and income support, is accompanied throughout the Union by a broad range of rural development measures without neglecting the goal of economic and social cohesion.

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