CoR's Opinion on 'A Long-term vision for the EU's rural areas' adopted by the NAT Commission
"The ultimate goal of the long-term vision for the EU's rural areas must be to ensure that projects in rural areas respond to the real needs of each territory." JuanMa Moreno Bonilla, President of Andalusia made these remarks when presenting his opinion on the European Commission's communication on 'A Long-term vision for the EU's rural areas'.
Addressing the NAT Commission, Moreno Bonilla called for a territorial approach to address specific needs on the ground and mitigate rural-areas disparities. "Given the close and positive links between rural and urban areas, we recommend to the European Commission a territorial approach that seeks an equitable rural-urban balance. It must incorporate compensation mechanisms according to the characteristics of the different rural areas."
The CoR Rapporteur also spoke on the need to address demographic changes in rural areas. "If we want to prevent the exodus of young people and alleviate the effects of aging, it is urgent to develop an economy of essential services." In this regard, his opinion suggests that given their potential to curb depopulation and create social and economic opportunities linked to the Green Deal, the most strategic areas in which local and regional cooperation should be developed under the Rural Pact are: agriculture, mobility, digital connectivity and renewable energy.
Moreno Bonilla opinion calls on the Member States and regions to apply the rural proofing approach to their strategies and investments under the current programming period 2021-2027, for the CAP and cohesion funds. Furthermore, it urges the Commission to make it easier for public funding for rural areas to supplement private initiatives where the provision of public goods is not commercially viable, and to consider state aid and tax credits where appropriate.
His opinion also expressed regret that the drawing up the national recovery plans was a missed opportunity to ensure future investment projects in rural areas are genuinely anchored in the needs of each local area. In this regard, Moreno Bonilla stressed that the long-term vision for rural areas should strengthen the regions' role in identifying their priorities.
Moreno Bonilla highlighted the need for the Conference on the Future of Europe to take people in rural areas into account in order to reflect their ideas, needs and potential and ensure their ownership of the European project. Reacting to the presentation of the Opinion, Samuel Azzopardi, President of the Region of Gozo and EPP-CoR Nat Coordinator said that the Conference on the Future of Europe provides the ideal platform for such a vision to be formed, particularly with the impacts of the pandemic showing the need for upgraded infrastructure in rural areas, but also the enormous potential for rural areas all across the EU.
The opinion was adopted by the NAT Commission during a hybrid meeting and will now be presented at the CoR Plenary Session taking place in February 2022.