European practices of supporting the sustainable rural development in terms of land relations improving

The purpose of the article is to analyze the legislative acts and practices of the European Union and its individual countries regarding the sustainable rural development in terms of land relations improving and the possibility of their adaptation to the Ukrainian conditions, taking into account the becoming valid of the Association Agreement with the EU. Research methodology. In the research process there have been used such scientific methods as: the empirical method for support of sustainable rural development and organic production in the European Union; the comparative analysis for the use of EU rural development support funds; the method of dynamics series and graphical visualization for the analysis of trends of the organic sector development. Research results. The analysis of the policy of sustainable rural development in the EU in terms of land relations improving has been made. The amounts of financing of the EU member states for the period of 2014-2020 from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development have been presented. The example of France, Germany and Poland shows the responsible coordinating authorities, the priorities and objectives of the programs aimed at solving the economic, social and environmental problems of balanced rural development. The status and prospects of organic production in the EU as a component of land relations, the process of ecologization and the spread of good practices by farmers have been highlighted. Sectoral commitments of Ukraine as an associate member of the EU on approximation of policies and legislation in the field of agriculture and rural development have been described. Elements of scientific novelty. Scientific novelty of the research lies in improvement of the forms and methods of state influence on the rural development. Unlike existing in Ukraine theoretical and methodological positions and applied organizational and economic mechanisms in the field of regional management, there has been proposed to move away from the narrow-sector approach to multifunctional development. According to the European model, rural areas, as an object of management, are recognized as a spatial base for integrated life support and development of rural residents, households and the realization of the comprehensive potential of local communities. Practical significance. There has been justified a possibility of implementing the EU experience in domestic practice of sustainable rural development and organic production to ensure convergence of policies and legislation in the field of agriculture and rural development. Tabl.: 2. Figs.: 1. Refs.: 19.