LEADER/CLLD after 2027: what is the European Commission proposing?

This article by the Rural Pact Support Office provides an overview of the European Commission’s proposals as they stand at the time of this publication, and outlines some key points of the current discussions. The proposals remain subject to negotiations with the Council and the European Parliament, and the final legislation may therefore change.

For more than 35 years, LEADER has enabled local authorities, businesses, civil society organisations and citizens to work together through LAGs in order to design and implement local development strategies. Beyond financing individual projects, this approach has helped strengthen cooperation, local governance and social capital in rural areas. 

In the current programming period, more than 2 600 LAGs are implementing LEADER strategies covering around 65% of the EU’s rural population. LEADER has built a strong network of more than 120 000 members: local public and private social and economic actors in rural Europe – members of LAGs. This is a unique asset of rural Europe. 

The European Commission (EC) proposes that LEADER should continue. The EC’s proposed NRPP Regulation includes support to integrated territorial development, notably LEADER/CLLD. In this proposal, two Regulations are particularly relevant for LEADER/CLLD. The proposed CAP Regulation contains specific provisions for LEADER, while the proposed NRPP Regulation sets out the wider rules for integrated territorial development such as LEADER/CLLD. 

The proposed CAP Regulation makes LEADER mandatory, at least in rural areas facing specific disadvantages as defined by the Member States, which may obviously cover wider rural territories if funding allows. 

The EC proposal would ensure that LEADER continues as a territorial approach. This broad territorial scope is reflected in several provisions of the Commission’s proposal: 

Beyond LEADER, Member States are also encouraged to use CLLD to strengthen community-led action in multiple policy areas, such as social inclusion, employment, fisheries or other territorial priorities. Under the proposed NRPP Regulation, these policy areas would be brought together within a more integrated programming and financing system. In the new NRPPs with a single set of rules, it should be easier to programme and implement multi-sector CLLD, including LEADER.

LEADER is mandatory, but the EC proposal does not include a minimum financial allocation to ring-fence it, unlike the current period, where at least 5% of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) resources are reserved for it. Each Member State would decide how much funding to allocate to LEADER within its NRPP, outside the ring-fenced amount of CAP. 

Therefore, LEADER would need to compete for resources with all other priorities in the NRPP. The size of this potentially available budget differs between Member States, meaning that some countries will have more flexibility than others to allocate resources to LEADER (see green bars in the graph below).

his has important practical implications. LEADER funding would need to be discussed within the wider NRPP process, involving not only ministries responsible for agriculture, but potentially other ministries and authorities responsible for different policy areas. In this more competitive funding context, many LEADER stakeholders have concerns about the funding that will be allocated by Member States. 

To respond to concerns regarding funding for measures targeting rural needs and challenges (including LEADER), the President of the European Commission put forward a proposal to the Council and Parliament in November 2025. This included a rural target of 10% of each NRPP envelope beyond funding already ring-fenced for income support under the CAP and Fisheries policies (or EUR 48.7 billion). Even if not exclusively for LEADER, this could facilitate a discussion on LEADER/CLLD funding.

The EC proposal retains all the elements of the LEADER method and the role of LAGs. LEADER would continue to be implemented in subregional areas through partnerships of public and private local actors, with no single interest group controlling decision-making. 

The proposal also maintains key elements such as innovation, networking and cooperation. LAGs would retain core exclusive responsibilities for preparing local development strategies, building the capacity of local actors, establishing transparent project-selection procedures and selecting operations. These provisions preserve the main elements underpinning the seven features of the LEADER approach.

The proposal also seeks to simplify implementation through greater use of Simplified Cost Options (SCOs). SCOs would be mandatory for LAG running costs, while projects of up to EUR 20 000 would be supported through lump sums. Lump sums of up to EUR 100 000 could also be used for rural business start-ups for non-agricultural activities.

The main elements of the current and proposed implementation frameworks are summarised below. 

The answer is to show that the added value of LEADER goes beyond that of a standard granting scheme. It is what differentiates LEADER from other EU funding instruments and the values it generates beyond a mainstream funding scheme. The LEADER method generates three interconnected benefits (find more information here):

Over time, these benefits can change an area for good: new sustainable jobs and businesses, unused buildings and spaces brought back into use, and a stronger sense of local pride and willingness to cooperate. Therefore, if LEADER were to disappear from a territory, the partnerships, connections and local capacity built over many years could gradually be lost, weakening the territory’s capacity to develop. 

The LEADER network is also a unique asset of rural Europe. More than 120 000 people and organisations are currently members of LAG partnerships across Europe, connecting municipalities, local businesses, civil society and other local actors. 

These partnerships also create opportunities for groups such as young people and women to participate in local development and decision-making. They have been built up over years of working together. They help rural communities see what they need, get people and resources moving, develop ideas and respond collectively to changing circumstances and emerging challenges. This could include building social resilience and potentially counteracting disinformation.

The added value of LEADER should therefore be an important consideration when Member States define LEADER territories in their future NRPPs, its scope of action and the resources allocated.

Rural territories face a wide range of needs, including housing, mobility, healthcare, renewable energy, digital infrastructure, crisis preparedness and economic diversification, but LEADER cannot address them all. With limited resources, it makes sense to use LEADER where it makes the biggest difference: for things that would otherwise not happen, for making the most of what an area already has, and for building local capacity that keeps producing new initiatives. 

It is also important to keep the scale of LEADER and its funding in mind. That is above all where local animation, partnership building, cooperation across sectors, trying out new ideas and involving the community make projects better and generate a wider effect on the whole area. 

LEADER can also help governments with the delivery of wider national and regional policy priorities through their established partnerships. 

In Asturias, the regional government has committed to implementing an integrated rural strategy through the Asturias Rural Pact, with LEADER as one of its main delivery mechanisms. More than 25% of the region’s current EAFRD allocation is already dedicated to LEADER. 

In addition, LAGs and the regional LEADER network (READER) receive additional resources from other national and regional policies to support action on innovation and demographic challenges, capitalising on LEADER’s added value and complementing LEADER action under the CAP. 

In Ireland, LEADER LAGs and their national network also contribute to the delivery of wider policy priorities in areas such as social inclusion, the green transition and entrepreneurship. LAGs act as frontline delivery partners for national strategies such as Our Rural Future. Fulfilling this role, however, depends on LAGs being adequately resourced, including with additional human and technical capacities to deliver.

Links between LEADER/CLLD and other integrated territorial tools

Finally, LEADER, through its partnerships, can also help larger-scale investments respond better to local needs and create synergies with smaller local initiatives. In Portugal, for example, LEADER complements the Pinhal Interior Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI), helping to align local initiatives with broader investment priorities. 

A recent evaluation of LEADER in Finland also highlights the value of strong coordination between LAGs and regional authorities in creating synergies between local and regional investments.

With the clearly demonstrated effectiveness of the LEADER method, there has been a process to extend it to broader EU policy areas such as coastal, fisheries, regional or social, educational and employment policies in search of even more integrated responses in the wider CLLDs. 

Over the years, several Member States introduced multi-sector CLLDs. This allowed LEADER LAGs not only to cover broader rural needs and get more funding, but also access important know-how and governance networks associated with each policy area. 

However, these opportunities have been highly restricted by practicalities of administration. Each policy area came with its own funds and distinct rules and procedures of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF).

In Czechia, for example, LAG strategies combine EAFRD with ERDF and ESF+ resources, extending community-led action and networks to areas such as social inclusion, education, infrastructure and climate adaptation. The majority of Polish LAGs also successfully incorporate funding and networks from regional and social policies in their local development strategies. 

While some Member States successfully implement the multi-fund approach, it proves more challenging in others, preventing its wider uptake. Further information on CLLD implementation is available in the EU CAP Network background paper on multi-funded CLLD and the materials from the dedicated EU CAP Network workshop on LEADER and multi-funded CLLD.

With only one fund in the future, the Commission's proposed post-2027 framework for the NRPPs will make it easier to go for, the emphasis would shift towards multi-sectoral LEADER/CLLD within a simpler framework under the NRPPs. A multi-sectoral approach means that a single Local Development Strategy can address several policy areas requiring local action in rural territories. 

The key difference compared with the multi-fund approach lies in the financing, reporting, audit and administrative arrangements. Instead of combining several EU funds operating under different rules, local development strategies would operate within a single programming and financing framework and a common set of rules under the NRPP Regulation. 

LAGs would be able to support more activities in a multi-sector CLLD, including LEADER and seek synergies. For example, rural tourism could draw on local heritage or fisheries activities, a larger community building financed under regional policy could host a wide range of activities in social domains. Wider networks and specific know-how in these policies can reach local communities.

At the level of the NRPPs and at each chapter, the partnership principle remains a crucial, legally binding element of preparing and implementing the plans (see Article 6 of the proposed NRPP Regulation). Member States need to involve national, regional, local authorities, relevant social and economic partners and relevant civil society organisations in the design, implementation and monitoring of the NRPPs. 

While establishing the partnership, the Member State shall ensure that authorities concerned by the relevant chapters of the Plan are appropriately represented. This representation shall reflect the corresponding territorial level, as well as the geographical and sectoral coverage of the chapter, as appropriate, according to European code of conduct on partnership.

The legal provisions are stronger than in the past and require the authorities to provide wide access to ensure a true partnership.

Representatives of LEADER stakeholders (e.g. national and/or regional LEADER networks) are well placed to participate in the NRPP partnerships. Not only can they highlight the role of LEADER/CLLD, but they can make an important contribution to discussions on broader rural needs as seen from the local level.

They can:

As discussions on the future policy framework continue, the EU rural vision, Rural Pact, and EU and national CAP Networks provide useful knowledge, evidence and networking opportunities for LAGs, managing authorities and other rural stakeholders.

The rural vision provides a shared framework built around four complementary ambitions – stronger, connected, resilient and prosperous rural areas – and ten shared goals. An increasing number of Member States are also implementing national/regional integrated strategies for the development of rural areas, as is the case in Ireland, Spain, Italy, Finland and France. These frameworks can provide a common direction that will guide the design of the NRPPs and, within those, of a set of measures addressing the specific needs of rural areas and communities. 

This set would include LEADER and multi-sector CLLD, which offer added value in addressing local needs through a bottom-up, participatory approach. It would also include complementary instruments better suited to implementation by public authorities or other types of actors, or at other territorial scales. These could include wider investments in services and infrastructure, or alternative approaches to supporting business development or local innovation.

Several actions under the EU Rural Action Plan can also be used to help build a strong rural dimension in the future plans. The EU Rural Observatory provides data on demographic, economic, social and environmental trends that can support territorial analysis and planning.

LAGs and LEADER networks can also contribute to rural proofing different parts of the plans by providing evidence on how policies affect rural areas and proposing practical improvements. See additional examples on the webpage of the Rural Pact Policy Lab on rural proofing.

The Rural Pact, together with the EU CAP Network and national CAP Networks, especially the LEADER subgroup, also offers opportunities for peer learning, networking and exchange. Rural Pact good practices, webinars, Policy Labs and Policy Briefings provide practical examples that can support the design and implementation of local strategies. The Policy Briefing on Empowering communities to take action for the rural vision is particularly relevant for integrated territorial development, community empowerment and governance.

Author: Rural Pact Support Office