EUREAU contribution to the Core Group focused on RDR Article 38
EUREAU participates in the core group work on Article 38 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 of 20 September 2005 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and would like to comment on its future application.
Article 38 of the Regulation is of particular interest to the water sector as it will assist in delivering the objectives of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). It will assist in protecting our raw material, i.e. water resources intended for drinking water supply purposes. From national experiences, rural development funds have demonstrated that they can support better management of water resources. Therefore it will be important to build on these experiences and consider how these funds can even better contribute to triggering environmentally -friendly practices.
The following comments deliver the EUREAU's view on 3 issues :
- Voluntary versus compulsory measures;
- Types of measures eligible to Article 38 payments;
- Scope of the measures eligible to Article 38 payments.
