TY - JOUR T1 - EU’s Future Rural Development Policy: Addressing Economic, Environmental and Social Challenges in Rural Areas A1 - Josefine Loriz-Hoffmann, A1 - Kerstin Rosenow, PY - 2014 N2 - The rural development support of the EU has come a long way from dealing with structural problems of the farming sector in the 1960s to transforming into an integrated policy approach addressing the development of rural areas in economic, environmental and social terms today. The main four elements which should shape the policy and make it even more efficient in the future are: Increasing the effectiveness, efficiency and performance of the rural development policy through strengthening the strategic approach; ensuring better coordination and complementarity with the other European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) by establishing a common regulatory framework; enhancing the rural development policy potential through a reformed set of instruments to better address specific development needs of rural areas and finally to make rural development policy more user-friendly and supportive for beneficiaries through simplified and harmonised rules. The reformed rural development policy provides a toolbox for policy-makers, administrations and beneficiaries which is at the same time reliable, innovative, flexible and targeted to address the needs as well as the existing and upcoming challenges for rural areas. JF - European Structural and Investment Funds Journal JA - European Structural and Investment Funds Journal VL - 2 IS - 1 UR - ER -