"The EU must adopt a holistic view acknowledging that the development of rural areas is vital for all EU citizens." Radim Sršeň Mayor of the Municipality of Dolní Studénky made these remarks when presenting his opinion on 'Targets and tools for a Smart Rural Europe' during a CoR NAT Commission meeting.
The opinion of the 1st Vice-Chair of the CoR NAT Commission calls for more support of rural areas in order to fully embrace of smart villages. He called for better conditions to be created for diversified small and medium-sized businesses and for start-ups to become a natural part of the development of smart municipalities in rural areas.
With respect to connectivity, the opinion highlights the fundamental contribution of autonomous clean mobility for the smart villages concept. Sršeň who also serves as Deputy Minister of Regional Development, Czech Republic, stressed that road and rail transport infrastructure is as important as the development of 5G networks and related digital infrastructure. In this regard he requested support to strengthen digital skills and education, ensure secure and sustainable digital infrastructures and facilitate the digital transformation of businesses and digitalisation of public services.
Sršeň highlighted the need for it to be accessible both physically on-site and through remote access. He also requested that all realistically available renewable energy sources potentially existing in the territory should be used and the localisation of energy production and consumption be supported massively.
With respect to health Sršeň said that it is useful to develop the possibilities of telemedicine. He also called for an integrated rescue system to function not only within individual Member States, but also through mutual cooperation across borders, especially in border areas, thus enabling a quick response to emergencies.
Sršeň's opinion welcomed the creation of the Rural Observatory for the creation of indicators for monitoring the development of rural areas but highlighted the importance for Member States to provide this data annually in an open data format, available to the public, including the scientific community.