Commitment to the EU Rural Pact – European Economic and Social Committee

Public authorities across Europe are increasingly demonstrating political leadership and long-term commitment to strengthening rural areas through the Rural Pact.

As part of this growing community, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has formalised its engagement by submitting a political commitment to the Pact. This commitment aligns the EESC with the shared goals of the  EU rural vision.

Committed actions

In its signed commitment, the EESC pledges to advance rural development through two concrete lines of action:

  1. Mobilise its 329 members representing organised civil society in the 27 EU Member States;

  2. Further contribute to the facilitation process of the Rural Pact at political level through, for example:

  • further participation in the co-design of the Rural Pact;

  • further participation in the organisation of the biannual Rural Pact conference;

  • promotion and implementation of the Rural Pact through internal EESC meetings of the Sections/CCMI and Observatories – such as on rural mobility, digital transition – or through the organisation of ad-hoc meetings;

  • participation in and/or organisation of EU inter institutional meetings/debates to maintain the momentum at EU level;

  • possible organisation of an EESC civil society prize on rural areas;

  • possible organisation of a 'Your Europe - Your Say' event with a focus on youth in rural areas.

The commitment was submitted to the Rural Pact Support Office on 24 June 2024.

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