Commitment to the EU Rural Pact – Castilla-La Mancha’s regional government

• Promote the Rural Pact and the Rural Vision through the principles of action and measures established in Law 2/2021, of May 7, on Economic, Social, and Tax Measures against Depopulation and for the Development of Rural Areas in Castilla-La Mancha, ensuring access to opportunities and public services regardless of place of residence, and in line with the objectives of the Rural Pact;

• Strengthen and improve the Strategy against Depopulation in Castilla-La Mancha 2021-2031 during the mid-term review carried out in 2025, with the goal of attracting and retaining population in rural areas, as well as its political alignment with the Rural Pact;

• Continue incorporating a Demographic Impact Report in legislative processes and strategic planning in order to identify and assess the different effects and outcomes of a regulation or public policy in sparsely populated and depopulation-risk areas, with the aim of establishing measures to adapt them to the fight against depopulation;

• Continue including a Demographic Impact Assessment in the regional budgets, which makes it possible to identify and accurately quantify the spending allocated to active policies to combat depopulation and ensuring both transparency and accountability;

• Draw up Urban and Rural Development Agendas (es. ADUR) – in collaboration with Local Action Groups and through the corresponding public participation process – in rural areas affected by depopulation, incorporating their respective action plans;

• Improve governance and give greater voice to rural areas, continuing to energise the Regional Council for Rural Development and Against Depopulation, actively participating in the governance structure of the Regional Strategy against Depopulation;

• Maintain a network of continuous healthcare service points to ensure that any population centre in the region is located less than 30 minutes away from them, 24 hours a day. Likewise, maintain a public schooling in those towns where at least four students are enrolled in early childhood and primary education;

• Guarantee the care and support of elderly people living in rural areas with home-based and proximity services such as home care or advanced tele-assistance, and when it is not possible to remain in their home, a residential care facility will be guaranteed within 40 km of their home, so that elderly people can remain in their environment and avoid uprooting;

• Continue the implementation of on-demand transport in sparsely populated rural areas of the region in order to improve local connectivity, reduce the isolation of small settlements, and facilitate access to healthcare, education, commerce, banking, or other means of transport;

• Continue incorporating positive incentive criteria and providing higher-intensity aid in rural areas affected by depopulation to facilitate business establishment and encourage entrepreneurship. Likewise, support the creation and consolidation of the figure of the ‘rural entrepreneur’, providing them with the necessary backing from the regional administration;

• Continue applying differentiated taxation that benefits individuals, businesses, and entrepreneurship in sparsely populated and depopulation-risk areas;

• Launch social awareness campaigns to highlight the value of life in rural areas and to publicise the economic, social, and fiscal incentives set out in Law 2/2021, promoting sustainable rural development throughout Castilla-La Mancha.

Read the formally signed commitment document.

Commitment signing and acknowledgement

The commitment was signed on 5 November 2025 in Brussels by José Luis Martínez Guijarro, Vice-President of Castilla-La Mancha. It was formally recognised during a high-level session of the Rural Pact Policy Action Lab ‘Rural areas and communities in the post-2027 EU budget and policies’, held in the presence of EU institutions, Member States and rural stakeholders.

Public authorities’ commitments to the Rural Pact

Commitments by public authorities are voluntary actions intended to implement some of the elements identified as key to achieve the objectives of the Rural Pact at national and regional levels, such as strengthened governance, funding coordination, rural proofing and stakeholder engagement. 

They help ensure that the ten shared goals of the EU rural vision guide policies across all levels of government.

All public authorities’ commitments to the Rural Pact Submission process for public authorities   More Rural Pact actions in Spain