Draft programme

11:00 | Introduction and opening statements

• Mr Peter Schmidt, president of the EESC's NAT Section
• Mr Stefano Palmieri, president of the EESC's ECO Section: The Territorial Agenda 2030 and balanced territorial development
• Mrs Ulrika Landergren, chair of the Committee of the Regions' NAT Commission 

11:20 | Setting the scene: why is it worth considering rural and urban development together to achieve sustainability and prosperity? 

• Mrs Meera Ghani, Policy Coordinator, Ecolise (European network for community-led initiatives on climate change and sustainability)
• Mrs Rosa Gallardo Cobos, Director, Department of Economics, Sociology and Agricultural Policy, University of Cordoba
• Q&A 

11:50 | Session 1 – How to overcome the challenges of balanced territorial development and which opportunities are emerging?  

• Mr Staffan Nilsson, Co-President of the European Rural Community Alliance & member of the Steering Group of the European Rural Parliament  
• Mr Christian Jonet, coordinator, ASBL Ceinture Aliment-Terre Liégeoise

12:10 | Session 2 – How can the EU institutions concretely contribute to the development of a sustainable and holistic territorial approach for rural/urban areas? 

• Mrs Deša Srsen, member of the cabinet of Mrs Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President for Democracy and Demography at the European Commission
• Mr Niklas Nienass, MEP, co-chair of the RUMRA&Smart villages Intergroup and Coordinator in the EP Committee on Regional Development (REGI)

12:30 | Overall debate with NAT Section Members 

12:55 | Conclusions

• Mr Josep Puxeu Rocamora, vice-president of the EESC's NAT Section, and rapporteur of the opinion on an An integrated approach for the EU's rural areas, with particular emphasis on vulnerable regions

The debate can be followed via webstreaming in the following languages:  EN, FR, DE.