Brussels, 25/10/2007 (Agence Europe) - The Rural Development Committee (of representatives of the 27 EU member states) gave a positive opinion on 25 October to a new series of Rural Development Programmes for 2007-2013.
Cyprus. EAFRD (the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) is contributing €163 million in total (from 2007 to 2013). Overall public funding totals €325 mil.
Belgium. The Rural Development Programme for Flanders has been given total funding of €668 mil, €225 mil of this from the EU budget.
Germany. The Rural Development Programmes of three Länder have been approved: Baden-Wurttemberg (€1.266 billion in total in public funding, of which €611 mil comes from the EAFRD), Rhineland-Palatinate (€487 mil in total, of which €245 mil comes from the EAFRD) and Thuringia (€894 mil in total, with €693 mil from the EU budget).
Italy. The Rural Development Programmes of the following three regions have been approved: Campania (€1.882 billion in public funding, of which the EAFRD will be providing €1.082 bn), Friuli Venezia Giulia (€247 mil in total, of which €109 mil from the EAFRD) and Liguria (€277 mil in public funding, of which €106 mil comes from the EAFRD).
Spain. Spain is implementing 17 regional programmes, and 2 horizontal programmes (a national framework and a rural network). The EU has approved the national framework, which comprises six horizontal measures: 1) management of water resources/other rural infrastructures, 2) increase in the added value of agricultural and forest products, 3) start-up of advice services to the farms, 4) installation of young farmers, 5) mitigation of desertification, and 6) prevention of forest fires and Natura 2000 in the forest environment. (L.C.)