PREPARE aisbl was represented by Goran Šoster at the 6th meeting of the Rural Networks’ Assembly held on 16 December 2019 in Brussels. Agenda of the meeting included overview of the CAP legislative framework, self-assessment of the rural networks, governance of EU networks and rural networks’ activities and actions for 2020
The most interesting information and debate concerned the future structure of the rural networks at the European and at the member states’ level. Discussion on this topic will go on in 2020, parallel with preparation of the national strategies for the next programming period. The main change will be by inviting new set of stakeholders to the rural networks, representing “Pillar 1”. Those stakeholders were not members of the networks in the current or past programming periods. Networks will continue to have an important role in the future. There will be much greater emphasis on innovation and knowledge transfer. Positive information was given about the transition period, with the possibility to overcome the danger of the gap between two periods.
Goran Šoster from PREPARE was invited to introduce the outcomes from the 4th European Rural Parliament, held in November 2019 in Asturias, Spain. Response from the European Commission was very positive, assuring that ERP will be one of the future tools for public consultation about rural policies.