European Policy Analysis

The EU Action for Smart Villages (2017) set that ‘several EU policy areas and funds are actively promoting aspects of the development of Smart Villages’. The EU working definition of Smart Villages developed by the Smart Eco-social Villages Pilot Project (2019) also stated that ‘the initiation and the implementation of Smart Village strategies […] can be funded by a variety of public and private sources’.

The European Commission is committed to support Smart Villages through various policy instruments. The Smart Rural 27 project is carrying out analysis on how Smart Villages has been supported by various policies and funds – Smart Village-proofing of policies – and how support can be improved in the future.