Legislation & Guidelines
The implementation of EU rural development policy in 2014-2020 is regulated by a number of legislative acts which include the framework provided by the common strategic approach for the European Structural and Investment Funds (see more information here) as well as that of the reformed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP: looking ahead)
In addition to the basic regulations adopted by the European Parliament and the Council, the European Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts and delegated acts to regulate more detailed aspects of the policy. The preparation and adoption process of delegated and implementing acts for the CAP 2014-2020 is still on-going.
Finally the European Commission (in close consultation with Member States) will produce a number of technical documents in order to provide guidance to Member States and regions involved in programming and implementation of several issues related to the policy.
This section of the Gateway outlines the multiple layers of legislation which have an impact on rural development policy and more specifically on the definition and implementation of future RDPs.
Click on the buttons below to get direct access to legislative acts relevant for rural development policy in the 2014-2020 period and a number of ENRD resources and available guidance documents from the EU and the Member States.
EU Regulations for 2014-2020
The section provides links to the legal texts which are relevant for the EAFRD and the implementation of RDPs in 2014-2020.
- Regulation (EU) Nº 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, The Cohesion Fund, The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund covered by the Common Strategic Framework and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Funds, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund repealing Regulation (EC) Nº 1083/2006 [PDF
]. The ‘Common Provisions’ Regulation provides for a shared set of basic rules applying to all structural instruments including the EAFRD. - Regulation (EU) Nº 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) [PDF ]. This is the basic act that sets out the specific rules relating to the EAFRD for rural development programming.
- Regulation (EU) Nº 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy [PDF ] The so-called CAP Horizontal Regulation provides the financial management rules for the two CAP funds, the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) which finances market measures and direct payments, and the EAFRD which finances support to rural development. It brings together the rules on cross compliance, farm advisory systems and monitoring and evaluation of the CAP
- Regulation (EU) Nº 1310/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down certain transitional provisions on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) [PDF ]. This regulation defines transitional rules in order to bridge the gap between two multi-annual programming periods.