Final programme

9.30-10.00 | Registration and coffee

10.00-10:10 | Opening

  • Welcome words by Brendan Burns, President of the Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment
  • Introduction by Sofia Björnsson, Rapporteur of the EESC Opinion "From Cork 2.0 Declaration to concrete actions"                                         

Chair: Maurizio Reale, President of the Study Group

10.10-11:00 | Session 1: Implementation of the Cork 2.0 Declaration from an institutional perspective

  • Christiane Canenbley, Member of the Cabinet of Commissioner Hogan, European Commission, The Cork 2.0 declaration – how to put it in action?
  • Eleftherios Stavropoulos, Policy Officer, Territorial and urban development policy, DG REGIO, European Commission, Cohesion Policy - an integrated framework for the development of rural areas

Questions and answers

11.00-11:40 | Session 2: Funding of rural development

  • Werner Schmidt, Director for the Environment and Sustainable Territorial Development, European Investment Bank, Innovative financial instruments supporting the delivery of the policy objectives of the Cork 2.0 Declaration

Questions and answers

11.40-12:55 | Session 3: Civil society, practitioners and their networks transforming the conclusions into concrete actions

  • Paulo Gouveia, Chief Policy Advisor, Copa Cogeca, Agriculture and forestry as drivers for sustainable and smart rural areas
  • Jabier Ruiz, Senior Policy Officer, Agriculture & Sustainable Food Systems, WWF European Policy Office, Working together for rural development and sustainable farming
  • Paul Soto, Team Leader of the Contact Point for the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD), Networks as an instrument for achieving the policy objectives of the Cork 2.0 Declaration
  • Andrzej Hałasiewicz, Polish Rural Forum, More effective functioning of Polish rural communities
  • Staffan Nilsson, Chair of the European Rural Community Alliance (ERCA), A practical experience of a rural development project

Questions and answers

12.55-13:00 | Closing

  • Concluding remarks by Sofia Björnsson

Interpretation foreseen from EN/FR/DE/IT/SV into EN/FR/DE