Rural Development and the “POSEI” Regime for European Islands: Between Remoteness, Subsidiarity and the “Delivery Model”

Abstract

European islands and other remote territories areas have specific features and constraints and they thus require a targeted assistance at EU level. As a result, the EU has put in place numerous provisions that have been providing an invaluable support, particularly through its rural development policy and in its dedicated programme for agriculture in EU outermost regions. Currently, discussions for a reform of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are ongoing at the EU Parliament and Council. The new system proposed by the Commission legislative proposal submitted in June 2018 is based on the two key concepts of increased subsidiarity and the so-called “delivery model.” A crucial question is therefore what the impact of this reform could be, once approved, for agricultural activities in European islands and other remote regions for the future programming period (2021–2027). Our hypothesis is that the “delivery model” and subsidiarity complement each other: the new proposed CAP aims at being more subsidiary because, thanks to the result-based approach of the “delivery model,” the carrying out of performances at local level will be enhanced. This increased autonomy presents some challenges for insular and remote territories; however, it also presents huge opportunities in terms of political discretion in the choice of the best tools for the management of their own territory, as well as in terms of voice in EU negotiations. In sum, there is reason to believe that enhanced subsidiarity, coupled with the “delivery model,” would eventually help insular and remote territories to reduce the gap between Brussels and the most far-out territories of the EU