# Council Decision of 20 February 2006 on Community strategic guidelines for rural development (programming period 2007 to 2013) (2006/144/EC), Division 2.5: Meeting the new challenges

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

As part of the review of the reforms introduced in 2003, the balance between expenditure for direct payments under the first pillar of the CAP and funding of rural development policy has also been assessed. With the overall CAP budget fixed until 2013, additional funding for rural development can only be realised through an increase in compulsory modulation. The additional funding is needed to reinforce the efforts with regard to the Community priorities in the field of climate change, renewable energy, water management, biodiversity (including related support for innovation) and dairy restructuring:
(i) Climate and energy have become priorities, as the EU is taking the lead in building a global low carbon economy. In March 2007, the European Council adopted conclusions on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 % by 2020 compared to 1990 (30 % as part of an international agreement on global targets) and to set a binding 20 % target for the use of renewable energy sources by 2020, including a 10 % share of biofuels in transport petrol and diesel consumption. Agriculture and forestry can make an important contribution in providing the feed stocks for bio-energy, in carbon sequestration and in further reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
(ii) The objectives of the EU with regard to water policy are laid down in Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy , which will start to reach full implementation in the period 2010-2012. As main users of water and water resources, agriculture and forestry have a major role to play in sustainable water management both in terms of quantity and of quality. Water management will be an increasingly important part of the adaptation strategy to deal with already unavoidable climate change.
(iii) Member States have committed themselves to halting biodiversity decline by 2010, a target which seems increasingly unlikely to be met. A large part of Europe's biological diversity is dependent on agriculture and forestry and the efforts to protect biodiversity will have to be increased, particularly in the light of the expected adverse effects of climate change and increasing water demand.
(iv) Dairy producers make a substantial contribution to maintaining the countryside through sustainable farming activity, especially in disadvantaged regions. In view of their high production costs and the structural changes they have to face as a result of the phasing-out of the milk quota system, accompanying support measures should be made available to dairy producers, in order to allow them to better adapt to new market conditions.
(v) Rural development measures can be used in particular to encourage innovation in water management, in production and use of renewable energies, in protection of biodiversity and in dealing with climate change mitigation and adaptation and to promote win-win solutions for competitiveness and the environment. In order to promote full use of innovation, specific support for innovative operations related to the new challenges should be made available.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudn/2006/144/annex/division/2/division/2.5 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2006-144/annex/division-2/division-2.5
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.