Plaid Cymru Euro-MP Jill Evans has won key concessions from fellow MEPs on the way European rural funding will be decided and spent in the future. The concessions are important for ensuring rural Wales gets its fair share of any future European funding.

Ms Evans won the backing of the Parliament's Regional Development Committee for a series of amendments relating to the new European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) which is intended to replace the variety of European rural funding schemes currently in force.

Crucially, Ms Evans' amendments provide for the following:

* financial support for local farmers markets and for the procurement of high quality local food;

* preventing the depopulation of rural areas should be an objective of the fund;

* the amount of money given to every Member State is not based on past performance, a measure that Wales has not benefited from in the past;

* support can be given for diversification into non-agriculture activities, including businesses based on the farm;

* National Assembly and local authorities will be given a role in deciding how and where the money is spent.

Speaking at the weekend, Ms Evans said:

"This is good news for rural Wales and Welsh agriculture. This new fund will succeed the existing variety of funds and as such it's absolutely right we make sure the interests of rural Wales are taken care of. Today's vote is an important step towards making sure Wales gets its fair share of future rural development funding.

"I'm particularly keen that we should have as much control over the money in Wales as possible. It's also important that money should be available for diversification too, including for setting up businesses based on the family farm.

"Coming just a few days after Plaid Cymru published radical plans to tackle the problems facing rural Wales, this result in the European Parliament underlines our commitment to rural development."

Former MEP and Ynys Môn Parliamentary candidate Eurig Wyn added:

"Jill Evans is doing a great job standing up for rural Wales in Europe. One of the Plaid amendments also calls for regional, local and socio-economic factors to be taken into account if Less Favoured Area status is reviewed. This is very important for large areas of rural Wales, Anglesey included, which could lose out if socio-economic criteria aren't taken into account."

Note: Members of the European Parliament's Regional Development Committee voted to back amendments by Jill Evans MEP on the Committee's opinion on the Council Regulation on support for rural development by the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). The full parliament will debate and vote on the proposals later in the year.

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