The report advocates the potential of rural regions in Europe and puts forward suggestions to ensure it is fully exploited. Opening up these territories through transport infrastructure and digital development is the key to attract new industries and jobs. Creating a new rural development policy, independent from the agricultural one, becomes therefore necessary. Jean-Paul Denanot, President of Limousin Region (FR), underlined the risk of budget cuts on the new 2014-2020 programme: “Increased dialogue is needed to be conducted to improve the EU’s funding system. We should replace the current system, which consists in each Member State giving and receiving a contribution, by a budget based on the Union’s own resources, most notably via taxation on financial transactions or carbon emissions, two taxes which could usefully serve territorial cohesion in Europe”.

Regions participating in the report: Lead-Limousin (FR), Andalucia (ES), Jämtland (SE), Gelderland (NL), Etelä-Pohjanmaa (FIN), Östergötland (SE), Gabrovo (BG), Hampshire (UK) Vojvodina (SRB), and Wallonie (BE).