Background note on the future of rural areas.
Date: 2024-05-15
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: CoR opinion, EU regional policy, European Committee of the Regions, European Union, European election, agricultural production, climate change, common agricultural policy, depopulation, economic and social cohesion, innovation, natural resources, regional and local authorities, rural region, town and country planning

EN

Background note on

the future of rural areas

FACTS AND FIGURES  

One in four people in Europe (more than 110 million citizens) live in Europe's countryside, which itself 
accounts for around 75% of the EU's territory.  

Between 1993 and 2033, 30 million people are expected to have disappeared from Europe's rural areas. 
This is the size of the population of Romania, Bulgaria and Lithuania combined. On an annual basis, 
this means a loss of close to one million inhabitants in rural areas. 

Between 2015 and 2021, the share of people aged 65+ increased by 5% in rural areas, twice as much as 
in urban areas.  

The contribution of rural areas to the EU's ambitious and vital goals is at risk for two main reasons: 
climate change and depopulation. Climate change is threatening the productive potential of agriculture 
and natural resources, from soil to water power. Depopulation reduces the capacity of local communities 
to maintain these resources, to make them productive and to find innovative solutions adapted to local 
circumstances. 

Depopulation and an ageing rural population lead to a vicious circle of declining investment in public 
services  (e.g.  in  childcare,  health  and  long-term  care,  education,  public  transport)  and  economic 
stagnation or decline.  

The  regions  considered  to  be  in  a  "talent  development  trap"  situation  account  for  16%  of  the  EU's 
population. This group of regions is more rural than the rest of the EU. While 37% of people in cities 
have a tertiary level of education, in rural areas this share stands at 21% as of 2021.  

The lack of accessibility to high-speed broadband and lack of digital skills reinforces the impacts of 
distance, isolation and high transport costs.  

Women in rural areas are more likely to be unemployed than men, and are more likely than women in 
urban  areas  to  work  in  informal  employment.  Limited  access  to  public  services  related  to  childcare 
worsens their situation even more. 

Rural areas do not benefit from new green jobs despite their enormous potential for renewable energy 
generation. Engineers, lawyers and consultancy firms work remotely on these projects from big cities, 
and construction workers are on site for only a short time and quickly move on. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MAIN TERRITORIAL ACHIEVEMENTS AND/OR CHALLENGES 

The  complexity  of  the  challenges  in  rural  areas  calls  for  solutions  involving  multiple  levels  of 
government,  stakeholders  and  policy  domains.  These  solutions  must  support  territorial  cohesion  and 
create opportunities for economic growth and well-being in rural communities. Such actions include 
attracting  innovative  businesses,  ensuring  access  to  quality  jobs,  promoting  new  and  better  skills, 
ensuring  better  infrastructure  and  services  and  strengthening  the  role  of  sustainable  agriculture  and 
diversified economic activities.  

The CoR's opinion on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will focus on maintaining 
agriculture and farmers in all territories in order to keep rural areas alive, thus contributing to the Lisbon 
Treaty objective of territorial cohesion. It will be the CoR's contribution to the strategic dialogue on the 
future of agriculture.  

Regions,  cities  and  municipalities  are  therefore  actively  involved  in  developing  and  implementing 
integrated  strategies  for  rural  development.  The  aim  is  to  use  all  possible  EU  funds  and  policies  to 
promote the attractiveness of rural areas and to protect the rural population and their quality of life by 
ensuring equal access to basic services and opportunities. 

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is encouraging all public authorities to make sure that 
new laws and policies take into account the impact they have on rural areas and the potential of rural 
areas to contribute to reaching policy objectives (rural proofing).  

The CoR is actively involved in the Rural Pact, which provides a platform for all levels of government 
and civil society to exchange and generate knowledge and good practices, and to raise awareness of the 
needs of rural areas and highlight their potential. 

Better solutions for all regions, leaving no place and no-one behind, are also key for overcoming the 
geography of discontent: EU scepticism and anti-EU votes in EP and national elections have increased 
over the past 10 years, particularly in regions in a development trap.  Rural areas often combine typical 
elements of a development trap: long-term economic and industrial decline, low levels of education and 
lack of local employment opportunities. Identifying rural-urban patterns in elections and involving rural 
citizens in democratic decisions at all levels of government is therefore a means to create tailor-made 
solutions for all regions. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MAIN MESSAGES TO PROMOTE (POLICY DEMANDS) 

A long-term approach to rural areas is needed and must equip these areas with investment in their green 
and digital transitions to effectively fight depopulation and attract young talent. The EU must invest 
more  in  rural  areas  as  they  are  major  contributors  to  its  green  transition  in  fields  such  as  renewable 
energy production, sustainable food and nature preservation and restoration.  

The next generation of Cohesion Policy programmes and the Recovery and Resilience Plans need to 
boost investments and reforms to reduce the talent development traps in EU regions, diversify economic 
prospects  for  youth  and  ensure  the  economic  and  social  well-being  of  rural  communities. 
A declaration adopted on 31 October 2023 at the CoR's Bureau meeting in Logroño, Spain, stresses that 
all policy proposals and new laws should be assessed regarding the impact they have on rural areas and 
the potential of rural areas to contribute to reaching policy objectives (rural proofing).  

Thriving rural areas are a prerequisite for a sustainable agriculture. The Strategic Dialogue on the future 
of agriculture should therefore take into account interdependencies between and specificities of rural 
development and agriculture. 

Improving  urban-rural  links  can  also  help  to  improve  connectivity  and  access  to  services  for  rural 
citizens. More synergies should be created between development tools such as LEADER, Community-
Led Local Development (CLLD), the smart village initiative, start-up villages and local action groups.  

Targets  and  indicators  are  needed  to  guide  and  monitor  the  implementation  of  the  European 
Commission's long-term vision for rural areas. 

Source: Rural areas © bilanol – stock.adobe.com 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ILLUSTRATION OF HOW THE POLICY WORKS IN PRACTICE 

Castilla–La Mancha 

In June 2021, the Spanish  region of Castilla–La Mancha  approved a pioneering law to combat rural 
depopulation. As a result of social consensus and in order to ensure continuity and long-term work, the 
main objective of the law is to tackle depopulation, guarantee equal opportunities and services for all, 
and to achieve territorial and social cohesion in the region. The law provides economic, social and fiscal 
measures, structured in comprehensive, multi-sectoral and integrated regional laws and strategies. So 
far,  Castilla–La  Mancha  has  attracted  9  000  people  to  its  rural  areas  with  actions  such  as  integrated 
territorial investments, support for people who left to come back, keeping schools open, mobility on 
demand, differentiated taxation, and business support. 

Energy villages: Cochem-Zell 

The State of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany is supporting the Cochem-Zeller Energiedorf (Energy 
Village)  project.  The  project  is  a  perfect  example  of  change  coming  from  civil  society  impetus.  It 
develops sustainable heating supply networks in several villages. The heat is obtained from wood that 
comes from the local forests (wood chips from residual forest wood) and solar thermal. This strengthens 
the added value in the region. At the same time, a direct optical fibre connection is provided to residents. 

Source: Solar panels © Grigory Bruev – stock.adobe.com 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© European Union, April 2024

Unless otherwise noted, the reuse of this document is authorised 
under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 
4.0)  licence  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 
This  means  that  reuse 
is  allowed  provided  appropriate 
credit is given and any changes are indicated. For any use or 
reproduction of elements that are not owned by the European 
Union,  permission  may  need  to  be  sought  directly  from  the 
respective  copyright  holders.  Accordingly,  you  are  required  to 
clear  additional  rights  if  any  specific  content  includes  third-
party  works.  Where  permission  is  obtained,  such  permission 
shall  cancel  and  replace 
the  abovementioned  general 
permission and shall clearly indicate any restrictions on use.

Picture cover: © rarrarorro - stock.adobe.com

Catalogue number: QG-03-24-056-EN-N 
ISBN: 978-92-895-3454-3 
DOI:10.2863/406658

Created  in  1994,  the  European  Committee  of  the  Regions  is  the  EU's  political 
assem regional and local representatives such as regional presidents or city mayors from 
all 27 Member States, representing over 446 million Europeans.

Edited by the Directorate for Communication of the European Committee of the Regions

Rue Belliard/Belliardstraat 101   |   1040 Bruxelles/Brussel   |   BELGIQUE/BELGIË 
Tel. +32 22822211   |   e-mail: visuals@cor.europa.eu   |   www.cor.europa.eu
/european.committee.of.the.regions  

@EU_CoR   |   
/european-committee-of-the-regions   |     @EU_regions_cities