The Community readily understands that solidarity with mountain areas is in its overall interest. Now that water has become an increasingly vital consumer good for man, the growing awareness of the new and strategic role of mountain areas leads naturally to the provision of assistance. Thanks to the foresight of those in local administration and to the dynamism of the local populations, mountain regions have been able to turn their handicaps in many areas into genuine assets and take up a frontline position in the economy. The development of winter sports is a typical example of this trend. In several mountain ranges in the Community winter sports have very promising prospects ahead of them which must be actively but cautiously exploited because of the fragile nature of the mountain environment.
Tourism offers mountain areas a wide range of ways in which to exploit potential of their workforce.
The introduction of craft activities which make increasing use of high technology creates another market niche. By making increased cohesion one of the primary objectives of its structural policies, the Community is contributing to the development of its areas handicapped by difficult natural conditions. In this regard the Community encourages, for example, groupings which enable those active in the development of mountain areas to act and work together across any internal administrative boundaries or indeed across national frontiers. For those responsible for rural development, such groups or associations are appropriate structures for studying the real problems facing a given moutain region and for proposing adequate solutions. It shows the benefits which certain moutain areas that straddle frontiers can now derive from Community assistance.