The European Commission is currently finalising the Leader+ draft guidelines document, having regard to the observations of the European Parliament which have been accepted by the member states. It is expected that the commission will shortly publish the definitive guidelines. Based on these guidelines, member states will draw up operational programmes for Leader+ for forwarding to the commission for approval. The commission over a period of some months will subject the programmes to detailed examination to ensure in particular that they show evidence of significant innovation to the requisite standard for approval.
Under the national development plan, funding of the order of £110 million will be available to support Leader+ type activity in the period 2000-6. Some £35.4 million of this is to be provided by the EU in respect of the Leader+ programme. The balance will come from the National Exchequer and will comprise national co-funding of £20 million for Leader+ as well as support for a mainstream Leader type measure. As with other measures provided for in the national development plan, approval by the European Commission is necessary to enable commencement of arrangements for the establishment of Leader mainstream activity.
Pending EU clearance for Leader+ activity and Leader mainstream activity under the national development plan, it is not possible to define the precise arrangements for delivery. It is clear, however, that the commission's intention is that Leader+ funding will be confined to a limited number of rural areas and that the essential aim of the Leader+ measure will be to encourage the emergence and testing of new approaches to integrated and sustainable development.
The indication is that the requisite Leader+ activity should be innovative and novel and should focus principally on integrated territorial rural development strategies of a pilot nature while maintaining the bottom up strategy and seeking to forge horizontal partnerships; support for inter-territorial and transnational co-operation and networking of all areas of the European Union.