The Council for the Rural Area

general

composition council

contact

The Council for the Rural Area advises the Dutch Government and both Chambers of Parliament on strategic policy questions concerning agriculture, nature, forest, landscape, outdoor recreation and fisheries in the rural areas, as well as on strategic questions that are related to or have influence on those functions, whether they are interrelated or not.

Considering this advisory task, the Council intend to take the concept of rural area broadly. Their advice is therefore also focused on nature, recreation and businesses connected with agriculture in and around urban areas. In their advice, the Council wish to let people figure largely as designers, managers, users and visitors of the countryside.

Europe

In its advisory activities the council is not only oriented towards the national and regional level, but also towards international policy. In this the council is mainly oriented towards the European Union. The European Union sets through its regulations and directives the frame for most of the policy areas that the council advices on. The EU steers through subsidies and standards. These standards are partly set on an international arena, like the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The EU is also the trend setter as well as trend follower on developments as to public administration and policy concepts. The council follows these developments in an active way by integrating new concepts and findings in its advisory activities.

The council and the EEAC-network

The council is a member of the EEAC-network (European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils). Through this network the council has direct contact to a wide network of European and international institutions organizations. The work is done within working groups. The council is active within the working groups agriculture, governance and sustainable development. The council is member of the Steering Committee as office supervisor and treasurer.