RURAGRI aims to improve coordination between on-going and future European, national and regional research programmes dealing with the new relationships between rural areas and agriculture in Europe and the challenge of sustainability. While the challenges and issues are mostly common, and despite of the historical coordination at the EU level for agricultural and rural development policies, research on agriculture and rural development is mostly carried out at a national level and remains fragmented. Research funding bodies from 19 European member states and associated countries have decided to set up an ERA-Net in order to develop a lasting focused network that will identify and open new research fields. They will work towards a common research agenda and coordinated research funding to enhance coordination of research in the field of agriculture and rural development. Throughout Europe, the strong urban movement leads to increased requirement for improved connectivity between urban and rural areas. The geographic, economic and human dynamics of all European rural areas is increasingly influenced by urban development, i.e. urban or semi-urban economic activities, infrastructures and habitat, patterns of human and material flows, etc. Observing, analysing and characterising how spatial dynamics triggered by urban development are changing agriculture is crucial to understanding the spatial dimension of sustainable development, within the diverse EU regions and between them at the European scale. The multiple functions expected from a sustainable European agriculture have to cope with these changes. A European approach will enhance understanding the institutional and governance approaches that will allow addressing these new challenges. In a context of deep modification of agricultural and rural development policies at a European scale, research on such topical issues is crucial to support decision-making processes.