News

The dates of the launch meeting of the Horizon Europe project PLUS Change (Planning Land Use Strategies: Meeting biodiversity, climate and social objectives in a Changing world), have been announced. The three day meeting wil take place in Prague on June 12-14 2023, hosted by the Horizon programme National Contact Point (NCP) for the Czech Republic at their presmises at the Technology Centre in Prague.

The meeting will be an opportunity for all 23 project partners to meet face to face and start work on a four-year project looking at the ways in which land use planning can be better used as part of meeting the challenges around combatting the impacts of climate change.

As part of the preparations for the Kick off Meeting, PURPLE's Secretary General, Vincent O'Connell will meet with project leaders from Czech Globe on 09 May to discuss a detailed agenda for the event.

PURPLE has been pleased and proud to be a member of both the General Assembly and Steering Group of the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD) since its inception at the beginning of the 2014-20 programming period.

The ENRD has now been superseded by the EU CAP Network, launched in October 2022 and which holds its first Assembly meeting in Brussels on Monday March 6th 2023. As an Assembly member PURPLE intends to continue to make the case for better recognition of the distinct nature of peri-urban areas, at the same time advocating for the mutual benefits of synergy and cooperation between rural and peri-urban actors and interests.

The meeting agenda for March 6^th includes an update session from DG AGRI on CAP Strategic Plans as well as a report on implementation of the Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas alongside a number of governance related matters.

PURPLE is delighted to announce that its 36th General Assembly will take place in Frankfurt on Monday and Tuesday July 3 and July 4, with further details and formal invitations for members and guests in due course.

The Do No Harm to Cohesion principle was first mooted in the 8th Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion Report, and is now the subject of a CoR Opinion for which the rapporteur is former PURPLE Executive Board member Michiel Rijsberman from Flevoland.

PURPLE was one of five organisations to submit a paper to Mr Rijsberman in advance on a public consultation event organised by the CoR on February 7th. PURPLE Secretary General, Vincent O'Connell attended the event and took the opportunity to reiterate a number of points from the written submission, including the need to be clear about terminology and to argue that cohesion is not synonymous wih homogeneity - territories differ one from the other, and should be supported to build upon distinct strengths and tackle particular challenges.

PURPLE has stated its intention to follow this dossier as it evolves as part of a broader conversation about the purpose and form of EU cohesion policy post 2027.