Supporting young European farmers

 considers that the shortage of young people pursuing careers in farming is jeopardising the economic and social sustainability of rural areas. Supporting young farmers is a prerequisite for preserving agriculture across the EU and for keeping rural areas alive, in order to meet the territorial cohesion objective enshrined in the Treaty of Lisbon;

 considers that support should be provided first and foremost to family farms on the grounds that they create added value and jobs, and help make it possible for new generations of farmers to enter the sector as it is easier to pass on farms that are viable and reasonably sized;

 recalls that the European Commission's Report on the Needs of Young Farmers shows that availability of land to buy and to rent are the biggest problems facing young farmers and new entrants into farming;

 calls on the Commission to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of European policy on land concentration and grabbing in Europe; for example, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the subsidies granted under it explicitly favour large farms and marginalise small farms, and may impact on different sectors in different ways;

 recalls that, in its opinion on innovation and the modernisation of the rural economy, the Committee of the Regions recommends modernising the vocational training provided in rural regions and adapting it to global competitive conditions and the needs of local businesses, and increasing the ESF funding allocated to vocational training in rural areas.