Leader Observatory Seminar

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Leader Observatory Seminar Leader in the New
Member States13-17 November 2006 - Tihany,
Hungary
European Commission

• State of Play of Leader in the old and new Member
  States and challenges for the future
• José Manuel Sousa Uva

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Introduction

• Leader has been an incubator for three aspects
• making it possible to advance locally from
  dispersed actors and actions to the creation of a
  local partnership
• allowing the elaboration and implementation of
  long term project for a rural community and its
  territory
• and stimulating local innovation by identifying
  and developing new ideas leading to innovative
  projects creating local employment.

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EU 15/EU 10 COMPARISON DIFFERENCES

• Different levels of experience in implementing
  the approach
• EU 15 3 programming periods (1989-1993,
  1994-1999, 2000-2006)
• EU 10 one or two years in a few Member States
  only (2004-2006)
• Different political contexts for the introduction
  of the LEADER approachEU 15
• EU 15 Commissions leading role
• EU 10 Optional Member States initiative

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Experience in the EU 10

• 2004-2006 LEADER type measure implemented within
  the Objective 1 Programmes
• Option 1 sub-measure Acquisition of Skills in
  6 Member States (Czech Rep., Estonia, Hungary,
  Latvia, Lithuania, Poland)
• Option 2 sub-measure Adoption and
  implementation of integrated rural development
  strategies of a pilot nature in 3 Member States
  (Hungary, Czech Rep. and Lithuania)
• No Leader type measure in Cyprus, Malta,
  SloveniA and Slovak Republic.

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Using the past experience of the EU 15

• Twinning programmes, cooperation projects and
  networking activities
• Importance of capacity building in particular
  training of local key players

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Experience still not usedin the EU 10

• LAG without own legal statute selecting among its
  partners an administrative and financial leader
• 
  
  
  
  
• Global grant model where the LAG is making
  payments to ultimate beneficiaries

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EU 10 advantages

• Vitality of rural movements supporting the Leader
  approach
• Better definition of the Leader approach at EU
  level

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Challenges for the future five key
pre-conditions for a good implementation

• Leader axis allowing innovative approaches and
  supporting innovative projects
• clear rules for the Leader decision making
  process where the project selection is made at
  local level
• proper allocation of responsibilities between the
  different levels of government involved
• At local level legal statutes of LAGs and
  balanced public- private partnerships.
• a good management of local development strategy
  execution

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Role of national networks

• Skills acquisition (e.g. training programme for
  LAG being established)
• Support to cooperation (e.g. cooperation
  meetings)