ABSTRACT
The concept of rural development is a complex aspect that takes into account the economic, political, social, cultural, technological and psychological framework of society. Rural development in Slovakia is managed at the national level through the Rural Development Program financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, which sets priority approaches and activities to meet the needs of the specific geographical area it covers. From the point of view of the European Union, the Prešov self-governing region belongs to regions with special geographical characteristics. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to evaluate the development of payments from the Rural Development Program to enterprises in the Prešov self-governing region.