Professor John Bachtler and Dr Sara Davies participated in a 'Sub Rosa' Seminar in Brussels on 29 February : 1 March 2008, where they presented a paper on the future of EU regional and rural development policies, sponsored by the Scottish Government EU Office, Highlands & Island Enterprise and Scottish Europa.
The paper was based on a study, led by Sara Davies and John Bachtler, examining the added value of EU Cohesion policy and EU Common Agricultural Policy Pillar II, as well as the need for enhanced coordination structures between the two policy fields in 2007-13. Professor Charlie Woods of EPRC also participated in the plenary discussion panel at the seminar.
The study drew lessons from area-based policies in the Member States, focusing on experiences in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany), Krajna & Paluki (Poland), Algarve (Portugal), Pohjois Suomi (Finland) and the Highlands & Islands (UK). Lastly, the project identified a range of questions for discussion, under the two main themes of the form of rural development policy needed, and how EU policies should support rural development. The paper is expected to be published on the Scottish Government website. Available here