The importance of agriculture and rural areas for the future in the European Union: An exploration of public opinion Rodríguez Molina, Mercedes Camacho Ballesta, José Antonio Citizens Common Agricultural Policy Development Primary sector Survey Supported by the project ‘Andalusian rural territories facing depopulation and aging: challenges and opportunities’ (B-HUM-460-UGR20) funded by the Operative Program of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 2020. The content is solely responsibility of the authors. The last years have seen a momentous transformation in Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The focus of interventions has shifted from production toward rural development but recognising the role of farmers. Although the attitudes of farmers to CAP have long been previously studied, little attention has been focused on the views of citizens. Using data from the ‘Special Eurobarometer 520: Europeans, Agriculture and the CAP’, we sought to provide a clearer understanding of citizens’ opinions about the future of agriculture and rural areas in the European Union. In particular, we assessed rural-urban differences and examined disparities across countries, paying attention to the importance of rural development in the planned expenditure under CAP 2023–2027. The results showed that the perceived importance is higher for respondents living in rural areas and that there are disparities across countries. From a policy perspective, targeted efforts should be made in each country to address the specific challenges each country faces. 2023-11-14T07:43:59Z 2023-11-14T07:43:59Z 2023-10-30 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Rodríguez M., Camacho J.A. (2023): The importance of agriculture and rural areas for the future in the European Union: An exploration of public opinion. Agric. Econ. – Czech, 69: 394–403. [https://doi.org/10.17221/115/2023-AGRICECON] https://hdl.handle.net/10481/85645 10.17221/115/2023-AGRICECON eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Atribución-NoComercial 4.0 Internacional Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences