The decline of rural areas and the growing disparities between them and urban/metropolitan regions is an undeniable fact. Unemployment, poverty and social exclusion, demographic change (ageing population, gender disparities and brain drain), less opportunities for education and employment, create huge inequalities between rural areas and the big urban centers. In this workshop we shall examine how the provision of better basic services can help alleviate these inequalities, and ensure sustainable development and growth for everyone, everywhere in the European Union.