The European Committee of the Regions (CoR)
discussed with
Janusz Wojciechowski
, European Commissioner for Agriculture, how to
boost recovery in Europe's rural areas. Regions and
cities demand a 'Rural Deal' to set targets and
coordinate Common Agricultural Policy, structural
funds and the Recovery and Resilience Facility to
overcome the crisis in rural areas, strengthen
cohesion, make the agro-food industry greener,
support local producers and diversify growth
opportunities in rural communities. The Rural Deal
should also provide for an inclusive governance
mobilising EU, national, regional and local actors
to deliver a sustainable recovery in Europe's rural
areas. These points were reinforced in an opinion
on the EU Strategy for Rural Revival (a real call
for Rural Agenda) backed by CoR members.
The COVID-19 pandemic has added an additional dimension
and urgency to the quest for rural revival in regions
across the European Union. Rural areas, towns and
villages have been decimated by the reduction of demand
for agricultural products with the closure of bars and
restaurants as well as the demise of tourism across the
EU. They have also been more vulnerable as they have
limited access to medical centres, hospitals, transport
and poor or non-existent access to internet. The
digital divide has especially impacted education and
business.
And a hard Brexit risks being a tremendous knock out
for many rural regions and will be devastating for
rural counties such as Leitrim the home of the CoR
rapporteur on Rural Revival, Cllr Enda Stenson.
"
This crisis requires the EU to transform its
forthcoming long-term vision for rural areas in a
real 'Rural Deal'. We must deliver on our
objectives to improve transport, connectivity,
health and education services but also to diversify
rural economies and promote sustainable local
agri-food production
", said the President of the European Committee of the
Regions, Apostolos Tzitzikostas.
Janusz Wojciechowski
European Commissioner for agriculture said:
"All policy areas and all EU funds must work
together to achieve the goals of the rural Vision,
optimizing the cooperation and coherence of EU and
national funding. Finding better and more effective
ways to use existing support mechanisms to address
the needs of rural areas is indeed one of important
objectives of the Vision."
During the debate CoR members highlighted the need for
a systematic approach, through the adoption of a real
and tangible "Rural Agenda". As the new Multi Annual
Financial Framework allocations for the CAP are
significantly lower than in the current programming
period, it is even more important to ensure coherence
and harmonisation between the European Agricultural
Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and other European
funds, such as the European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF), the European Social Fund, and Horizon Europe.
Increasing investment is possible thanks to the
unprecedented efforts to be deployed by the EU over the
next decade and by making sure that all relevant EU
policies pay attention to rural development. These
synergies would enable rural actors to better tackle
cross-cutting issues, improve cooperation, and improve
the quality of life in rural areas.
Cllr Enda Stenson
(IE/EA), Member of Leitrim County Council and
rapporteur of the
EU Strategy for Rural Revival
, underlined: "
The current pandemic crisis has exposed and
exacerbated the consequences of long-standing
threats faced by rural areas, and made rural
revival even more urgent. We need to make our rural
communities the best place to live, work and raise
a family. To achieve this, we need a Rural Deal to
invest in services, connectivity and people. I call
on all EU institutions to work together to find
solutions that guarantees an economic, social and
environmental sustainability of our CAP sector and
with the benefit to our rural areas. Our
communities are ready so let's not miss the
opportunity to revive rural areas
."
Ulrika Landergren
(SE/Renew Europe), Member of
Kungsbacka Municipal Council and Chair
of the Commission for Natural Resources (NAT) of the
European Committee of the Regions, concluded by saying
that:
"The polarisation of society always leads to
serious problems and threats to democracy. On the
one hand, there is growing inequality in wealth,
and on the other, a growing divide between rural
and urban Europe. This is not healthy and we must
find ways to make rural communities more
attractive. A Rural Deal would be a first step in
that direction."
Franc Bogovič
, Member of the European Parliament and co-chair of the
RUMRA & smart villages intergroup
, mentioned that:
"No fork without farm. Trust between consumers and
farmers needs to be rebuilt. Rural areas are much
more than forestry and agriculture. We need
resilient rural areas in which young people can
have modern jobs and old people can continue their
previous quality life. Quality broad band
connection is the basis for this.
When you speak of smart villages we speak about
health, mobility, social care, tourism, digital
platforms, regenerative energy solutions and many
other things. It is important to understand smart
villages horizontally and start breaking down
silos. We need a strategy for smart villages
integrated into our cohesion fund. I have been
working for this in the European Parliament
tirelessly."
The present pandemic situation may also present a
unique opportunity to develop and build rural areas
resilience, boosting local sustainable production, by
placing the emphasis on short supply chains and by
aiming to promoting local and regional forms of
production. Regions and cities and their local
producers are key players in the transition to more
sustainable and equitable food system, as described in
the opinion
From farm to fork – the local and regional
dimension
, drafted by
Guido Milana
(IT/PES), Member of Olevano Romano Municipal Council
(Rome).
The rural and intermediate areas account for 88% of the
EU's territory, are home to 55% of its population,
generate 43% of its added gross value and are host to
56% of jobs.
Further information:
Contact:
Wioletta Wojewodzka
Tel. +32 (0)2 282 2289
Mobile: +32 (0)473 843 986
wioletta.wojewodzka@cor.europa.eu