Part of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget which deals with rural development. Each member state or region chooses from a menu of EU rural development measures to include in their Rural Development Programme (RDP). Pillar 2 expenditure is co-financed from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), with the beneficiary member state or region sharing the cost of its RDP.

Following the departure from the EU, the UK has ceased to participate in the CAP.