07.09.2016

Twenty years after the 1st European Conference on Rural Development was held in Cork, Ireland, whose conclusions are known as the Cork Declaration , the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture organized the 2nd edition of this event, which took place on 5 and 6 September 2016 at the same venue. The 2nd European Conference on Rural Development brought together more than 300 participants, who discussed the current and future challenges facing European rural areas and the potential responses that the European Rural Development Policy can provide.

The Cork 2.0 Declaration contains ten guiding principles for European rural development policy:

1. Promote the prosperity of rural areas
2. Strengthen value chains in rural areas
3. Invest in the viability and vitality of rural areas
4. Preserve the rural environment
5. Manage natural resources
6. Stimulate action against climate change
7. Promote knowledge and innovation
8. Improve rural governance
9. Advance the implementation of policies and simplification of administrative processes
10. Improve performance and accountability

The conference program: CORK 2.0 Program

The sessions were streamed at the following link: CORK 2.0 LiveStream

More information on the European Commission's DG AGRI website: CORK 2.0 Information

Conclusions of the 2nd European Conference on Rural Development : CORK 2.0 Declaration