Sustainable Rural Development in support of a sustained cohesion policy

Transcription

1 SPEECH/97/99 Dr Franz Fischler European Commissioner for agriculture and rural development Sustainable Rural Development in support of a sustained cohesion policy Check Against Delivery Seul le texte prononcé fait foi Es gilt das gesprochene wort Cohesion Forum Brussels, April 1997

2 Ladies and gentlemen - The Union s rich tapestry Europe s strength lies in its diversity. We see towns here and countryside there, industrial centres which give way to agricultural land, the rich variety of the natural landscape. This is what gives Europe its character, and how we would like the future of Europe to look. In these times of accelerated development and structural change, however, problems can arise where the scope for such development is unevenly spread: some regions can end up being cut off more and more from taking an expanding economic and social path. Not only is this in contradiction with the principle of solidarity, it is a waste of valuable potential as well. The European Union is not prepared to accept such a future. With its policy of economic and social cohesion, it has declared itself willing and ready to seek out the opportunities for development and to help them to lasting growth. The Union s rural areas: benefits and challenges As the Commissioner for rural development, I would like to draw your attention to one particular type of region which - because of their often low population density and fragile environment, but also their essential contribution to society at large - are regions that react particularly sensitively to structural change: I mean of course our rural areas. Over a quarter of the Union s people live and work in these areas. Agriculture still plays a leading role there, but their function has for a long time now been more than just producing food. Our rural areas today have many contributions to make: they have become multifunctional. The Union s rural areas form part of the European social model we are dedicated to promoting and developing. What is so special about these rural areas in terms of the Europe we aspire to? 1. They contribute to the economy as a location for agriculture and forestry, for crafts, commerce and industry, for tourism and other services, and as a source of raw materials. 2. They contribute to society as a whole by supplying us with fresh and healthy food and, increasingly, with renewable resources, as well as - just as importantly - by providing us with somewhere attractive to live or refresh ourselves, a place which is economically and socially in harmony and where cultural heritage and traditions are kept alive. 3. They contribute to the environment, by ensuring the upkeep of the countryside, protecting vital resources, maintaining biodiversity and ensuring a balanced ecology. 2

3 All these contributions which we have come to expect from the countryside are not automatically safeguarded, however: on the contrary. Agriculture, for instance, is under constant pressure to adjust itself structurally. The age pyramid among farmers is not balanced, and often it is not clear who will be taking over a farm in the next generation. Agricultural markets are becoming more and more open, with greater competitive pressures: deepening and rounding out the CAP reform of 1992 is becoming increasingly urgent. Additionally, many rural areas are already under intense need of adjustment, with gaps in their infrastructure and provision of services, insufficient numbers of jobs outside farming, a lack of education and training facilities, all of which threatens the social and environmental balance and the Community s own cohesion process. The consequences - a drift away of population, lack of attractiveness to businesses, a worsening jobs market and, in places, the abandonment of whole areas with the inevitable long-term impact on the ecology - can be seen in many rural districts. The recent Cohesion Report shows that the regions which most depend on agriculture also suffer the highest unemployment rates, the slowest growth in jobs, and the lowest per capita GDP. It can come as no surprise, then, if the Commission stresses again and again the need for rural development, or that this view is supported by the European Parliament (in the Hyland Report), the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions (in the Van Gelder Report). Rural development policy The Union has to come up with a policy of sustainable rural development as its own special contribution to achieving cohesion, promoting a balanced settlement structure, opening up new opportunities for those living in the countryside, and safeguarding and developing the wide range of functions fulfilled by our rural areas. The Cohesion Forum is a good opportunity to discuss the form and direction this policy should take alongside the other cohesion policies. The particular problems facing rural areas have convinced us of the need to begin this process of discussing rural development policy early on. And now, over the next few days, there will be a series of discussions and working parties dealing with cohesion policy in rural areas. I hope this process will be critically analysed and discussed in greater detail in the working parties. In our opinion, the focus should be on one aspect in particular: sustainable rural development. The benefits that the Union brings to its citizens must cease to be perceived as remote and abstract to those affected by them - they should be able to feel the effects in their daily lives. 3

4 Programmes for rural areas must therefore be simple and readily understandable. Given the diversity of the countryside, rural development policy needs to be based on the principle of subsidiarity. In my view, involving ordinary citizens in development schemes - the bottom-up approach - is one of the most important conditions for a successful development process. Just how important this approach can be is evidenced by the success of two of the Community Initiatives: Leader in rural areas and Urban in towns and cities. For rural development policy this means even greater emphasis on an integrated approach than in the past. Economic, social, educational, agricultural and environmental policy - combined in a multidisciplinary approach - will help open up new prospects for rural areas and activate local potential. We do not have to reinvent the wheel. Where we have been successful in the past, we should continue in the same vein. Examples that spring to mind are the programming approach in Objective 1 and 5(b) areas and the Leader Community Initiative, which has been extremely successful. However, we must also capitalise on strengths and eliminate weaknesses where they exist. To achieve this, the ties between rural development and the common agricultural policy must be strengthened, so that the new policy can cater for the wide range of functions fulfilled by the countryside and by agriculture. In future, it will no longer be possible for the development of rural areas to be seen and conducted in isolation from changes in the agricultural structure. Without agriculture there would be no villages and rural communities, but without attractive villages and communities performing essential social and cultural functions there would be no farmers. Therefore I think it is only logical for the links between the content of rural development and our market and pricing policies to be reflected in the programmes as well. Rural development and agricultural policy are often still two separate entities. What we need is for them to be intertwined more effectively. This would enable us to carry out our work in rural areas effectively but at the same time provide sufficient scope for new tasks made necessary by Community cohesion policy. To achieve the objective of sustainable rural development, we need an integrated approach enabling us to take advantage of synergy effects and to radically simplify the current rules and regulations. Our maxim should be to think globally but act locally. The increased pressure of competition, the need to make structural adjustments and the threat to essential environmental functions call for an effective and allembracing policy, a policy designed to increase competitiveness and diversify economic activity but one which at the same time helps to keep our farming landscape in good shape and ensure environmentally sound land management. Such a policy cannot be restricted to particular problem regions - in future it will be needed for all rural areas in the Union. 4

5 Of course structural funding must be concentrated in order to make a targeted contribution to cohesion. Yet in rural development, interpreting concentration in purely geographical terms does not do justice to the wide range of functions performed by the countryside. Concentration on particular topics, on the more pressing problems and specific obstacles to development, is more likely to achieve the goal of sustainable rural development effectively. And, by regionally varying the rates of part-financing according to the economic and social situation in the regions concerned, the necessary cohesion can also be secured. In the interplay of different structural policies, the role of rural development policy is to prevent economic and social decline and the depopulation of the countryside. It must ensure sustainable use of all available resources, and in particular strengthen agriculture s contribution to protecting the environment. It should help in diversifying economic activities and employment opportunities, and support structural change in agriculture and so attain a lasting increase in its competitiveness. This European Cohesion Forum provides the opportunity for a more in-depth discussion of our future policy. I am looking forward to hearing your ideas and suggestions and hope we will be able to tackle the special problems of agriculture and rural areas adequately as part of a comprehensive cohesion policy. 5