"Rural revival and the implementation of policies to address rural-urban divide will be a key priority for me throughout my work." Radim Sršeň Mayor of the Municipality of Dolní Studénky made these remarks when reacting to his election as 1st Vice-Chair of the CoR NAT Commission.
During the NAT Commission meeting held at the CoR in Brussels, Sršeň held an exchange of views on his opinion 'Targets and tools for a Smart Rural Europe'. He said that the long-term vision for the EU's rural areas, the Green Deal and recent crises in Europe bring a new strategic approach to rural development where innovations and new approaches play a crucial role.
Sršeň who also serves as Deputy Minister of Regional Development, Czech Republic said that rural areas are still being left behind and that cohesion does not work in most rural regions, as shown in the 8th Cohesion Report. He pointed out that rural areas are still facing depopulation and brain drain. Furthermore, while rural areas are home to 30% of the population and cover 80% of EU territory, only 25% of the 2014-2020 cohesion funds helped keep rural areas strong. In this regard, he said that EU, Member States and local and regional authorities urgently need to increase the use of all possible current funding opportunities and prepare the ground for future EU funding for rural areas.
The Rapporteur also spoke about the 'Smart Villages' concept describing it as an innovative EU policy and a rural development tool which could help to bring about rural revival, a crucial goal of the long-term vision for the EU's rural areas. "Smart villages should become an integral part of regional development policy and create synergies with existing tools."
Sršeň highlighted the need of a more systematic, evidence-based and holistic approach to the new challenges faced by rural areas, using all possible instruments and including all territories and citizens in providing solutions. He also called for higher participation of citizens from rural areas to focus on their needs.