Public Authorities’ Commitments to the Rural Pact

National and regional governments /
EU institutions

Date

Committing to

• 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 being 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 in the regional budgets a Demographic Impact Assessment that 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 (ADUR, for its name in Spanish) in rural areas affected by depopulation, incorporating their respective action plans, in collaboration with Local Action Groups and through the corresponding public participation process.

• Improve governance and give greater voice to rural areas, continuing energizing 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 center in the region is located less than 30 minutes away from them, 24 hours a day. Likewise, maintain a public school 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 publicize the economic, social, and fiscal incentives set out in Law 2/2021, promoting sustainable rural development throughout Castilla-La Mancha. 

• implement the goals of the long-term vision for the EU's rural areas through its own initiative, Opolska Odnowa Wsi 2.0, as well as other activities for rural areas adopted for implementation under national programmes or those financed by the European Union, and selected objectives of the Rural Pact, striving to achieve the goals of sustainable, inclusive, and resilient rural development.

For over a quarter of a century, the Opolskie Voivodeship has been a pioneer in supporting rural development in Poland, as well as a promoter of European standards in this field. It was in our region that the Opole Rural Renewal Programme was launched in 1997, based on the principles of self-organisation, partnership, local identity, and intergenerational solidarity. Thanks to this initiative, residents of hundreds of villages became active participants in local development processes, and the model was later adopted by other Polish regions.

The voivodeship actively participates in an international network for rural development cooperation, particularly through its membership in the European Working Community for Rural Development and Village Renewal (ARGE – Arbeitsgemeinschaft Landentwicklung und Dorferneuerung), which brings together regions and countries from 21 European States. As a result, Opolskie not only benefits from the best European practices but also contributes to shaping them.

A continuation and enhancement of these efforts is the “Opolska Odnowa Wsi 2.0” (“Opole Rural Renewal 2.0”) initiative, launched in 2025. It constitutes a comprehensive framework for rural development in the Opolskie Voivodeship, combining 25 years of local community achievements with new challenges. Embedded in the “Opolskie 2030” Regional Development Strategy, the initiative is aimed at:

1. Strengthening local and regional identity,

2. Preserving cultural, natural, and culinary heritage, including both tangible and intangible rural heritage,

3. Creating high-quality places, facilities, and public spaces,

4. Fostering broad civic engagement of rural residents in social and developmental activities,

5. Strengthening rural leadership and enhancing the competencies of community leaders and organisations,

6. Guiding visions of change and supporting the creation and implementation of village renewal and development plans, including through digital tools,

7. Promoting exemplary solutions and social attitudes,

8. Consolidating social participation and cooperation among village councils (sołectwa),

9. Ensuring the transfer of ideas and knowledge on local development mechanisms, as well as information on available development support, particularly that provided by the regional self-government.

• Strengthening Rural Governance: Ensure the continuity and effective coordination of the triple governance of the Rural Agenda of Catalonia, consolidating its three pillars:

  • Civil society: Strengthen the role of the Comissió Motora (Steering Committee) de l’Agenda Rural, facilitating the active participation of the more than 40 entities that make it up.

  • Government of the Generalitat: Ensure the cross-sectoral nature of rural policies through the Comissió Interdepartamental (Interdepartmental Commission) de Governança Rural.

  • Parliament of Catalonia: Promote institutional monitoring through the Comissió de Seguiment (Follow-up Commission) for the implementation of the Rural Agenda. 

• Regulatory and Institutional Promotion:

  • Support the implementation of the Estatut dels Municipis Rurals (Statute of Rural Municipalities) as a key tool to recognise the specific characteristics of rural municipalities and ensure territorial equity.

  • Participate in the activation of the Rural Guarantee Mechanism to ensure that all public policies incorporate the rural perspective and do not create territorial inequalities.

• Catalan Rural Pact: 

  • Work jointly with the other Departments of the Government of Catalonia to develop the Catalan Rural Pact as a strategic instrument to consolidate the implementation of the Rural Agenda, with concrete commitments for each of the challenges identified in the Rural Agenda of Catalonia. 

• Coordination with the European Rural Pact:

  • Actively participate in European rural networks, sharing good practices and promoting transnational cooperation.

  • Adapt Catalan rural policies to the principles of the European Rural Pact, ensuring coherence with the objectives of the EU’s Long-term Vision for Rural Areas (2040).

Mobilise its 329 members representing organised civil society in the 27 Member States.
Further contribute to the facilitation process of the Rural Pact at political level. This could imply, for example:

• the further participation in the co-design of the Rural Pact;
• the further participation in the organisation of the biannual Rural Pact conference;
• the promotion and implementation of the Rural Pact through internal EESC meetings of the Sections/CCMI and Observatories, e.g. on rural mobility, digital transition, … or through the organisation of ad-hoc meetings;
• the participation in and/or organisation of EU inter institutional meetings/debates to maintain the momentum at EU level;
• the possible organisation of an EESC civil society prize on rural areas;
• the possible organisation of a 'Your Europe - Your Say' event with a focus on youth in rural areas.