ELARD believes that at the very least any future EU rural development policy must incorporate the following components:

1. A significant increase in resources for rural development and in particular for LEADER type measures which have a proven capacity to facilitate successful rural restructuring.

2. A greater focus on exploiting and adding value of rural assets. The sustainable development of the rural economy is dependent on finding rural solutions to rural problems and should not be undermined by the importation of short-term urban generated solutions.

3. A greater emphasis on promoting cooperation between the farming and non-farming rural communities. The sustainable restructuring of the rural economy requires all stakeholders working in partnership. EU policy must aim to facilitate and encourage this process and should avoid measures that promote competitiveness or conflict between rural interests (e.g. modulation).

4. Recognition of the need for a new relationship between urban and rural areas, based on a better mutual understanding of the inherent value of each area and of their contribution and potential contribution to the wider society. This should include new measures aimed at attracting urban resources and entrepreneurship to promoting development in rural areas that is rural rather than urban in character.

5. EU policy must attempt to better quantify the value of the contribution of farming and rural areas generally to the preservation of the landscape and biodiversity. The value to society of rural areas (biodiversity, recreation, air and water quality, food production, etc.) must inform the debate and discussion on the development of EU rural development policy and the role of landowners must be recognised accordingly.

6. EU rural development policy must better develop and exploit synergies with other EU policies (e.g. Regional Policy, Energy, Social cohesion, Enterprise/Tourism, Environment, etc.) and such synergies should be better coordinated at EU level. All areas of EU policy should recognise the inherent value of rural areas to European society and should include measures to help realise and to protect this value.

7. The LEADER approach, which has now been develop and refined over three programmes, has proven its capacity to bring about real sustainable development in rural areas, which is lead by communities themselves. This approach must be at the centre of future implementation of EU rural development policy.