European Projects

Ireland: Taking advantage of digital opportunities in rural Ireland

A digital facilitator was employed to provide various types of social media and internet training in order to improve local digital skills and enable businesses, organisations and individuals to take better advantage of digital opportunities.
This created new connections, new business opportunities and also created and promoted online networking possibilities aimed at all sectors of the local community. MORE

Luxembourg: Supporting viticulture on steep slopes and terraces

In many areas of Luxembourg, winemaking is carried out on hills and steep terraces with slopes greater than 30%. With EAFRD support, a reduction in the use of synthetic products, herbicides and insecticides was enabled, even in such difficult terrain. MORE

UK: Farm Yard Ales Microbrewery

EU funds can help to turn passion into a professional business! Support from the rural development programme enabled an entrepreneur to upgrade his ales brewing business through installation of a brew plant and the purchase of casks in which to store and distribute the product. MORE

Denmark: Unique, high-quality spirits produced from potatoes that are not of marketable quality

With LEADER support a resource-efficient micro company was established in order tο exploit the waste/by-products of the local potato production industry. The company only use potatoes that are not of marketable quality; which would otherwise end up as feed or compost. They refine these potatoes, through fermentation, into unique, high-quality vodka and brandy. MORE

Ljubljana: A training programme on work safety for non professional forest users

After a series of ice-break damage, the number of fatal accidents among small-scale private forest owners has increased. It was therefore necessary to address the need to improve skills of non-professional workers to perform forestry operations safely. Training courses were organized and work safety in forests for non-professional workers was increased significantly. MORE

Sweden: Nature and outdoor tourism – cooperation and networking for local businesses

The area of Skaraborg wants take advantage of the enormous potential of nature and outdoor tourism, fostering cooperation and networking among the local actors is essential.
Along with LAG’s, the Leader Skaraborg wants to develop outdoor tourism in the area by helping entrepreneurs and other actors to cooperate and create new products. This is done by organising networking and educational meetings, and by offering help on developing new products and packaging for already existing tourism products. MORE

Finland: Smart Village competition - villages look to the future and develop smart services

Finland's Smartest Village competition is looking for villages that develop their services in the fields of healthcare, education, energy, mobility, locally produced food, retail sale, hobbies and culture in the most active and smart way.
Smart Villages is a European Union-wide theme and the competition will show how services in villages can be improved and innovation and cooperation be increased. MORE

Sweden: Business Development for Women - tailored support for female rural entrepreneurs

To unlock the full potential of female entrepreneurship in rural areas, the project provided a business training programme to 60 women, giving them the knowledge and skills necessary to create a business plan for developing their rural business.
Participating women benefited from networking opportunities, theoretical courses and participated in practical exercises based on real cases. In addition, a Facebook group was created to facilitate networking and peer support amongst the female entrepreneurs. MORE

Belgium: ALTIBIOTIQUE – campaign to decrease the use of antibiotics on animal livestock

Antimicrobial resistance among livestock is a rather complex problem requiring concerted efforts of microbiologists, ecologists, policymakers, farmers and advisors.
The ALTIBIOTIQUE campaign promotes alternative methods to maintain healthy livestock and decrease the use of antibiotics. Through training sessions, preventive solutions to better manage animal health are being promoted. Since 2011, a cumulative reduction of antibiotics by 20% was achieved. MORE

Lithuania: Development of broadband connection infrastructure

For rural areas, a reliable, high-speed internet connection is a precondition for stimulating growth, job creation and investments. By combining EAFRD and ERDF funding, the PRIP project laid 485 km of fibre-optic cable and established 426 broadband internet access points, making it one of the first winners of the European Broadband Awards in 2015. MORE