20.12.2013 Official Journal of the European Union L 347/487 REGULATION (EU) No 1305/2013 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 17 december 2013 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 42 and Article 43(2) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Auditors, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee, Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions, Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, Whereas: The Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions entitled "The CAP towards 2020: Meeting the food, natural resources and territorial challenges of the future" set out the potential challenges, objectives and orientations for the common agricultural policy (“the CAP") after 2013. In the light of the debate on that Communication, the CAP should be reformed with effect from 1 January 2014. That reform should cover all the main instruments of the CAP, including Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (!). In view of the scope of the reform, it is appropriate to repeal Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 and to replace it with a new text. A rural development policy should be established to accompany and complement direct payments and market measures of the CAP and thereby to contribute () Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 of 20 September 2005 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) (O] L 277, 21.10.2005, p. 1). to that policy’s objectives as laid down in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ("TFEU"). Such rural development policy should also integrate the major policy objectives set out in the Communication from the Commission of 3 March 2010 entitled "Europe 2020 - A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth" (“the Europe 2020 Strategy") and should be coherent with the general objectives for the economic and social cohesion policy, as set out in the TFEU. Since the objective of this Regulation, namely rural devel- opment, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, given the links between rural development and the other instruments of the CAP, the extent of the disparities that exist between the various rural areas and the limits on the financial resources of the Member States in an enlarged Union but can rather, by reason of the multi-annual guarantee of Union finance and by concentrating on its priorities, be better achieved at Union level. the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union ("TEU"). In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective. To ensure the sustainable development of rural areas, it is necessary to focus on a limited number of core priorities relating to knowledge transfer and innovation in agri- culture, forestry and rural areas, to farm viability, to the competitiveness of all types of agriculture in all regions and promoting innovative farm technologies and the sustainable management of forests, to the organi- sation of the food chain, including the processing and marketing of agricultural products, to animal welfare, to risk management in agriculture, restoring, preserving and enhancing ecosystems that are related to agriculture and forestry, to the promotion of resource efficiency and the shift towards a low carbon economy in the agricultural, food and forestry sectors, and to promoting social inclusion, poverty reduction in and the economic devel- opment of rural areas. In doing so, account should be taken of the diversity of the situations that affect rural areas with different characteristics or different categories of potential beneficiaries and of the cross-cutting objectives of innovation, environment and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation action should relate both to limiting emissions in agriculture and forestry from key activities such as livestock production, fertilizer use and to preserving carbon sinks and enhancing carbon sequestration with regard to land use, land use change and the forestry sector. The Union priority for rural development relating to knowledge transfer and innovation in agriculture,