Representatives from the Pyrenees-Mediterranean Euroregion, the Association of Rural and Maritime Initiatives [of Catalonia] (ARCA), and the Catalan Association of Municipalities and Regions (ACM) met with MEPs on Wednesday, 4 March, to demand more resources and recognition for the rural and maritime world at the European level.
The session also brought together representatives from the European Commission and the European Committee of the Regions. In the context of the debate on the 2028–2034 multiannual financial framework (see EUROPE 13822/20), they advocated [ensuring] sufficient, stable European funding that guarantees opportunities and a future for rural and fishing communities. They stressed that it was necessary for the next European budget to preserve both the ‘LEADER’ (Liaison Entre Actions de Développement de l’Économie Rurale [Links between Actions for the Development of the Rural Economy]) programme and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) in the structural funds—guaranteeing adequate resources beyond 2027.
For them, it is a matter of making sure that European funds remain a useful and transformative lever for implementing policies that ensure local development and territorial cohesion in rural and fishing areas. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)