Bottom-Up Policy for Rural Development. Some Considerations regarding the Leader Approach

Rural development represents a major component of the financial support allocated to the Member States through the Common Agricultural Policy. The analysis undertaken in this article aims to assess the benefits of these bottom-up policies for financing rural development through the central element of the local communities (most specific, through local action groups - LAG). In order to achieve this objective, our analysis will base its assumptions on a series of case studies taking into account the LEADER experience during 2007-2013 and the available European statistics regarding LEADER. In the final part of our research we will highlight some conclusions that might be helpful for designing the rural development strategies of the Member States during the current financial framework (2014-2020)