Policy Interactions

Reflection and action on rural and agricultural policies

From its beginnings Forum Synergies has been involved in the political debate - from the local to the EU level.

Our intention is not to lobby but to bridge the gap between local practical life - the concrete needs and elaborated solutions deriving from that reality - and the often abstract political reality. But also to understand how does policy work and how can it be influenced?


Supporting ARC 2020

“The Agricultural and Rural Convention 2020 (ARC2020) is an innovative process and a multi-stakeholder platform, open to all those interested or engaged in a profound reform of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) of the European Union. It aims to give civil society a strong voice and prepare powerful common actions pushing for a new European agricultural and rural policy. It aims to gather and mobilise people and their organisations beyond traditional stakeholder interests.”

Forum Synergies co-initiated the ARC process in 2010. Through our members we actively participated in the debates. In November 2010 ARC presented its call for a paradigm shift in agriculture and a rural renaissance to the EU Institutions.
We will continue to support and follow the ARC process and motivate our members to contribute their experiences and ideas.

www.arc2020.eu


Rural Reality Check - Policy workshop

The idea of Forum Synergies’ policy workshops is to create an open space for common experience and reflection between policy makers and local people. Forum Synergies policy workshops also highlight good practices in governance and decision making between the various levels of responsibility. Our workshops aim to support local people and enable them to get involved in local projects and policies to discover how the European values of cohesion, solidarity and cooperation can be realised and linked to the local and territorial level.

As regards 2014-2020 period, the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy has transferred responsibility for a wide range of rural developments programs and implementation of measures back to the national and regional level. Forum Synergies envisages cooperating with other European networks on checking implementation of rural development measures in selected member states and regions, bringing together local stakeholders and politicians and drawing recommendations from these exchanges.


Here are some proposals elaborated during our gatherings or by Forum Synergies members in the past years.