LEADER-CLLD post 2027: redefining the place of the EU in local development, AEIDL Discussion Paper

The discussion paper examines how the proposed 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) could redefine the future of LEADER and Community-Led Local Development (CLLD). It warns that the shift to a Single Fund and to National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs) represents the most significant governance overhaul in three decades, with far-reaching implications for rural development. Under the Commission’s proposal, the EAFRD would formally disappear as a standalone fund, becoming fully integrated into the new structure. While the Commission has since suggested an earmarked 10% rural objective, the paper highlights that no dedicated LEADER budget is foreseen, breaking with a long-standing guarantee that has protected the method’s visibility and autonomy. Without such safeguards, AEIDL warns that Local Action Groups (LAGs) risk being reduced to administrative intermediaries, losing their role as catalysts for local innovation, participation, and territorial transformation. The analysis also notes that many core LEADER principles—bottom-up participation, multisectoral strategies, and local innovation—have become mainstreamed across public governance. While this reflects the success of the approach, it also risks diluting LEADER’s identity unless its unique delivery model is explicitly protected. The paper stresses that key functions—community animation, delegated project selection, cooperation, and networking—remain exclusive to LAGs and are indispensable to maintaining LEADER’s added value. Looking ahead, the paper outlines five strategic avenues to revitalise the approach in the next programming period, including stronger territorial cooperation, a more strategic concentration of resources through “umbrella projects”, renewed investment in social capital, and monitoring systems capable of capturing LEADER’s intangible yet essential contributions to local democracy and community resilience. The discussion paper concludes that the coming months will be decisive. The post-2027 framework could either erode LEADER as a distinctive tool for place-based development or reactivate its original ambition, but only if EU institutions, Member States, and LAGs jointly safeguard its core features and ensure that it remains embedded in Europe’s Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas.