Programme

Making rural areas the engines of a sustainable Europe

Joint Conference of the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Rural Parliament

14th March 2019 - Room JDE51

Draft agenda

14.30 - 15.00│Introduction

  • Mr. Tom Jones, EESC Member, Rapporteur on Rural Development
  • Mr. Staffan Nilsson, President of European Rural Community Alliance (ERCA), Co-Chair of the ERP Steering Group

Presentation of the Reflection Paper

  • Ms. Florence Buchholzer, Adviser - Foresight and Impact Assessment, Directorate C, DG AGRI, European Commission

15.00 - 16.15│An urgent call for action to new, incoming legislators to step up the role of rural areas in a sustainable Europe

Moderator: Mr. Tom Jones, EESC Rapporteur on Rural Development

  • Mr. Goran Šoster, Vice-President of Partnership for Rural Europe (PREPARE), Co-Chair of the ERP Steering Group
  • Ms. Maria João Botelho, President of the European LEADER Association for Rural Development (ELARD)
  • Mr. Gérard Peltre, President, Rurality-Environment-Development (R.E.D.) / European Countryside Movement (M.E.R.)
  • Mr. Eamon O'Hara, Executive Director,  European Network for Community-led Initiatives on Climate change and Sustainability (Ecolise)
  • Mr. Juan-Andres Gutierrez, President, European association for mountain areas (Euromontana)

Discussion

16.15 – 16.30│Coffee break

16.30 – 17.45 | Stocktaking of current situation of rural development policy: Assessing accomplishments since Cork 2.0, evaluating prospects post-2020

Moderator: Mr. Josep Puxeu Rocamora, EESC Member, Member of the NAT Section Bureau

  • Mr. Lambert van Nistelrooij, Member of the European Parliament
  • Mr. Peter Welch, Director of Chamber I, European Court of Auditors
  • Mr. Achim Irimescu, Minister Plenipotentiary, representing the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU
  • Mr. Guido Castellano, Deputy Head of Unit - Conception and Consistency of Rural Development, DG AGRI, European Commission
  • Mr. Guillaume Cros, CoR Rapporteur on the CAP after 2020, Vice-President of the Regional Council of Occitanie (France)
  • Mr. Paul Soto, Senior Policy Expert at the Contact Point of the European Network for Rural Development

Discussion

17.45 – 18.00 | Closing remarks

  • Mr. Petri Rinne, European Rural Parliament and President of the Finnish Village Movement Association
  • Ms. Maria Nikolopoulou, EESC Member, Member of the NAT Section Bureau

Participants can speak in FR/DE/EN/IT/ES/PT and listen to FR/DE/EN