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Improved infrastructure, especially in terms of public transport, is among the most pressing needs for rural areas. Farming is seen as the sector contributing the most to rural areas.

These are some of the key outcomes of the online public consultation on the Long-term vision for rural areas held between 7 September and 30 November 2020. The public consultation aimed at gathering input from European citizens and stakeholders to assess what the long-term vision on rural areas should focus on. A total of 2 326 respondents from all EU Member States participated in the public consultation, providing their views on rural areas today, aspirations for the future of rural areas as well as involvement of citizens in decision making and the vision itself. Learn more about the consultation's findings.

A new statistical framework to better account for biodiversity and ecosystems in national economic planning and policy decision-making, approved this week, allows countries worldwide to use a common set of rules and methods to track changes in ecosystems and their services.

The new framework goes beyond the commonly used statistic of gross domestic product and ensures that natural capital accounts (the contributions of forests, oceans and other ecosystems) complements existing economic accounts. Learn more about next steps in the revision of the Regulation on European Environmental Economic Accounts (EEEA) to expand its coverage to include a new module on natural capital accounting.

The highlights report of the 3rd meeting of the ENRD Thematic Group on the Long Term Rural Vision provides more insight into the Foresight Scenarios developed by the JRC and takes stock of the main messages that have been coming out of the work carried out so far on the LTVRA.

Participants tried to identify and exchange ideas about the ‘common strands and the step changes needed to ensure the future LTVRA becomes a reality for rural communities across Europe’ and then discussed the opportunities for taking some of the key ideas and messages forward at the upcoming virtual ENRD Rural Vision Week (22-26 March 2021).

The Horizon 2020 project RurAction produced a documentary film entitled 'Working with communities: social enterprises in rural regions of Europe', that shows how social enterprises in Portugal, Greece and Ireland are helping to find innovative solutions to existing challenges in rural areas.

RurAction is an integrated research and doctorate programme funded by the European Union in the Horizon 2020 Marie-Sklodowska-Curie actions Innovative Training Network .