State financial support for sustainable development of rural areas in the European Union

The most important area of the common agricultural policy of the European Union (EU) is the sustainable development of rural territories. The priority of this issue for EU countries due to the emergence of a number of factors (migration of rural population, low incomes in rural areas, the deterioration of the quality of soils and waters, loss of biodiversity, etc.) that negatively affect the development of rural areas. The article describes the experience of the EU to implement the policy of supporting rural development, as well as changing goals and priorities of this policy within the different programme periods. In 2007-2013, around 50% of the funds supplied by the European agricultural Fund for rural development were aimed at the implementation of agri-ecological measures. Moreover, the largest part in the distribution of funds for the development of rural areas in the programme period 2014-2020 are to France (11.5%), Italy (10.5%), Germany (9.5%), Poland (8.8%), Spain (8.4%), Romania (8.2%). It is emphasized that the policy of development of rural territories in the EU for a long period was aimed at providing sufficient quantities of available food and appropriate living standards of farmers, the development and modernization of rural areas and creation of conditions for agriculture in all regions of the EU. Today the most important priorities of rural development policy in the EU are the protection of the environment and the conservation of biodiversity, combating climate change and increase rural employment. EU experience should be considered the government of the Russian Federation in the development and implementation of policies for sustainable development of rural areas