AUTHOR: Francesco Mantino (INEA)

Promoting territorial cohesion is one of the objectives of EU policy under the Lisbon Treaty (Article 174). What does this mean in practice? This timely paper, by Francesco Mantino of INEA, a leading European expert on rural development, explores the concept and how it might be applied in practice. He argues that the wide range of socio-economic and environmental challenges that exist in rural areas could be addressed better in a more territorially focused CAP, particularly but not exclusively in “Pillar 2”, covering rural development policy and other aspects of the CAP.

Providing a number of examples from Italy and elsewhere, this paper demonstrates the relevance of a more territorially based approach in the CAP to the current reform discussions.