On 19 February, EPRC hosted a seminar by Dr Małgorzata Michalewska-Pawlak, Chair of European Studies at the University of Wrocław, Poland. The aim of the seminar was to establish if and how Europeanisation has influenced rural development governance in Poland.
Based on a framework of three research hypotheses, it is evident that there is a diversity of governance mechanisms and competing interests which shape the balance between centralised and territorial rural governance. Notable, the sectoral model of rural development governance is underpinned by the Common Agricultural Policy and EU Cohesion Policy.
Other (unintended) influences of Europeanisation include support to NGOs and the social economy sector in rural areas, and a positive shift in public opinion towards rural areas in Poland.