The Commission lays out the plans before the budget battle Serafín Pazos-Vidal analyses the new EU budget proposal for 2028-2034 presented by the Von der Leyen Commission. Although it is billed as a “radical restructuring,” the author warns that it is actually “doing much more with the same,” which foreshadows a tough political battle in […]
LDnet Articles
STRAT-Board: A major data source on how CLLD and other territorial instruments are used in 2021-27
STRAT-Board, an Interactive Tool for Integrated Urban & Territorial Strategies In October 2025, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) launched the 2021-27 version of its STRAT-Board database and map showing all Cohesion Policy-funded territorial strategies in the EU. It is an interactive mapping tool providing information on so far 1,426 integrated strategies that make use […]
CoR: Democracy and European unity at risk under current post-2027 MFF proposal
A debate on the next EU long-term budget after 2027, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), highlighted major concerns among regions and cities regarding the proposal put forward by the European Commission on 16 July. The exchange, held during the meeting of the Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER) on 7 October, brought […]
Strengthening local capacity to empower communities to innovate, making solutions more inclusive, resilient and sustainable
“Policies that respect and strengthen local capacity don’t just deliver services — they empower communities to innovate, making solutions more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.” The series ‘Expert Voices’ is expanding, sharing the latest interviews showcasing the experience and insights of AEIDL experts and ELIF members. The 6th edition, features Alexandra Yaghil, Policy Expert & Project Manager at AEIDL – […]
The European Commission’s proposals for the future EU budget: the place of CLLD/LEADER
As expected, on 16 July 2025, the European Commission published its long awaited proposals for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the 2028-2034 period. Overall, the new budget envelop is € 1 985 billion, not dissimilar to the current period 2021-2027 (€1 074 billion in 2018 prices supplemented by the Recovery and Resilience Fund of […]
Intergenerational Fairness: A Local and Regional Approach to Building Inclusive and Sustainable Societies
The European Committee of the regions (CoR) has called for young people and future generations to be better protected from the consequences of political choices that prioritise short-term interests over long-term sustainability, and for more attention to be paid to ensuring that actions today do not become a burden tomorrow. In this opinion led by […]
CoR: Programmes led by local action groups and communities must be reinforced and simplified
The Commission for Natural Resources (NAT) of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) discussed at its meeting on 27 November 2024 a draft opinion on “How post-27 LEADER and CLLD programming could contribute to better implementation of the long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas” (Rapporteur: Thibaut Guignar, Mayor of Plœuc-l’Hermitage). In this opinion […]
EU budget and place-based policies
The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) adopted an own initiative opinion in November 2024 on “EU budget and place-based policies: proposals for new design and delivery mechanisms in the MFF post-2027” (Rapporteur: Marie-Antoinette MAUPERTUIS, President of the Corsican Assembly). This opinion is part of a package of own intiative opinions aimining to define CoR’s […]
Territorial development for the green transition: Harnessing the potential of rural communities
The Rural Pact is part of the European Commission’s Action Plan to achieve the long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas by 2040. The Pact aims to mobilise all stakeholders interested in rural areas (public authorities, civil society, businesses, researchers, and individuals) to contribute to achieving the rural vision. An important function of the Rural Pact is […]
Smart Rurality: Reconciling Convergence with Growth and Wellbeing at Local Level?
Over the past decade, Smart Rurality has gained significant traction in Europe, with various declarations advocating for it as a pathway to just transition and rural revitalization. Despite its popularity, the concept remains somewhat ambiguous. A policy brief by Carla Lostrangio, Expert in Rural and Territorial Development (AEIDL), delves into the components that define a […]
Artificial Intelligence, Collective Intelligence and Local Development
The knowledge of AI in relation to governance is at its infancy but there are signs that it could be of relevance and interest to participative approaches to local development and this makes it worth exploring it. We provide below some hints drawn from a growing pool of insights and examples of specific tools and […]
Moving forward with LDnet
LDnet is entering a new phase in its work. We reconstituted ourselves in 2010 building on the success of the LEDA network which had been running for more than two decades. Since then we have been the only non-profit association committed to spreading the word that local development is the real deal. Local development is […]