1.

rural policies need to be adequately resourced, and technological communication, transport infrastructure (especially public transport, which is absolutely necessary for everyday life and employment), and quality and efficient education and healthcare delivery systems must be provided. These should be fully aligned with the relevant urban services (‘equal health’);

2.

the supply of jobs, training and housing should reflect and harness rural natural resources, while also creating innovative business opportunities;

3.

rural parliaments and Community-led Local Development (CLLD), as models of participatory democracy, should be supported by political leaders and should involve all rural citizens, including the social partners, women, older people, people with disabilities, minorities and, especially, young people;

4.

cultural heritage assets should be protected and promoted (1).

1.

governments must be transparent and fair when providing services to citizens in all areas;

2.

civil society organisations, including LEADER and local action groups, should develop local rural and urban partnerships to create economic, social and environmental opportunities and foster a better understanding of interdependencies;

3.

the governance model of Food Policy Councils could serve as an inspiration for effective cooperation between all stakeholders at the local level. Opportunities for home working, the need for rural housing and access to land use have all been disrupted by new environmental impacts and challenges and by the pandemic;

4.

encouraging and supporting the exchange of good practices and risk cases between regions is to be welcomed;

5.

access to high-quality education in rural areas can be one of the contributing factors to local economic development and can help rural communities adapt to a fast-changing environment.

1.

the Commission's recently adopted long-term vision for rural areas (2) needs to be further developed to ensure a rural and urban commitment to a fair approach. It is important to show the added value of rural and urban organisations working together, as in the Farm to Fork Initiative and a socially inclusive Green Deal;

2.

the European Commission should commit itself to creating a group of rural and urban stakeholders, building on the Smart Villages Initiative, to develop good practices in partnership models;

3.

to support engagement, there should be investment for local pilot projects and pan-European incentives/conditionalities and prizes for progressive examples that demonstrate inclusive agreements.

i)

identifying the correct scale of intervention;

ii)

establishing a clear leadership role in policy coordination;

iii)

strengthening cooperation agreements between regions or municipalities;

iv)

promoting partnerships between rural and urban areas to make use of functional links;

v)

improving vertical coordination between levels of government.

i)

the COVID-19 pandemic has speeded up digitalisation and greening processes that require efforts to sustain them over time;

ii)

new employment opportunities must be created and maintained in rural areas, including those related to the provision of rural services, home working, new technologies or renewable energies;

iii)

strengthening the multifunctional aspects of agriculture, promoting non-agricultural activities and establishing businesses in the clean energy services and industries sector in rural areas can create many job opportunities;

iv)

promoting entrepreneurship, ensuring fair competition rules for SMEs and paying attention to the needs of younger generations (e.g. remote working);

v)

keeping jobs and shops close to people. The rural-urban vision offers opportunities to develop a circular economy;

vi)

promoting decent work and improving working conditions in rural areas, while ensuring that everyone involved has a say in this improvement process;

vii)

linking consumer demand with regional and rural markets through the marketing of local products and quality labels;

viii)

the creation of cultural opportunities in rural areas should be widely promoted, including the promotion of cultural events and the protection of rural historical and religious buildings (churches, castles, etc.);

ix)

digitalisation processes open up new opportunities that could create expectations and appeal for citizens — especially young people — and bring about a change in depopulation trends and the quality of life in rural areas. To this end, the rural environment must have adequate infrastructure to ensure connectivity. Connectivity strategies and digital platforms offer solutions here while a rural digital act would facilitate the development of digital technologies in agriculture and rural areas;

x)

sustainable agriculture and aquaculture (17) in rural and peri-urban areas should be supported, along with eco-tourism, leisure and educational activities on sustainability, and these activities should be compatible with the protection of biodiversity in order to ensure people's quality of life;

xi)

Quality and accessible rural education, starting from children's early years, can help improve outcomes in education, while access to public services, such as childcare and schools, is a location-based factor shaping the attractiveness of rural areas, including for highly skilled workers.

i)

integrated service provision (co-working by several services in one space; collaboration between service providers; cooperation between teams of professionals; co-production between public, private and community organisations);

ii)

an approach based on the provision of alternative and more flexible services (such as mobile services delivering the service to people; radial system models, where services are provided regularly from a central hub; services better adapted to local needs);

iii)

technological and digital solutions, including in the education and health sectors.