A4-0301/96

Resolution on European rural policy and on the creation of a European Rural Charter

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mr Hyland on European rural policy and on the creation of a European Rural Charter (B4-0019/94),

- having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mr Happart on the introduction of an integrated policy for development of rural society (B4- 0055/95),

- having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report by the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the opinions of the Committee on Social Affairs and Employment, the Committee on Regional Policy, the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media and the Committee on Women's Rights (A4- 0301/96),

A. whereas the European Union's task is to promote the sustainable and harmonious rural development of economic and social activities throughout the Community,

B. whereas Article 130a of the EC Treaty includes specific mention of the need to reduce disparities between the levels of development of the various regions and the backwardness of the least favoured regions, including rural areas; whereas rural policy is thus part of the policy of economic and social cohesion,

C. whereas, although agriculture remains the main activity in rural areas, it must be stressed that all sectors of the rural economy are interdependent and require harmonious development,

D. whereas job insecurity has become worse in recent years,

E. whereas Parliament's resolutions on the Intergovernmental Conference point to the need for an integrated rural policy,

F. whereas Parliament's role is to lay down general policy guidelines and that of the Commission is to propose the measures necessary for the implementation of an effective and democratic European rural policy,

G. whereas many women participate in the development of rural society; whereas they play an active role in that society and give impetus to new dynamics; whereas they are generally disadvantaged because of inadequate job opportunities,

H. whereas agriculture will remain the core activity of most rural areas, but the growth of other activities in rural areas must be encouraged in order to create employment, while taking account of the sustainability of economic processes,

I. whereas, in order to conduct an integrated development policy in the European Union, it is necessary to ensure that rural development is focused both on agricultural and non-agricultural activities in a spirit of pluriactivity,

J. whereas the European Union needs to develop the various aspects of its policy on rural matters to become an integrated rural policy which should be of a framework character which encompasses national, regional and Union policy in a complementary way; whereas this integrated development policy must be consistent with a Union approach to town and country planning and cannot in any circumstances merely accompany the policies followed at the level of each of the Member States or regions; whereas the European Union must provide the driving force and define policies capable of taking account both of the diversity of rural areas and of all Community sectoral policies which have an impact on rural development,

K. whereas this rural development policy should define Community priorities both within specific areas (mountainous regions, urban hinterlands, humid regions, coastal regions, arid regions, island regions, etc) and through issues common to all the regions (eg education, problems of economic adaptation, etc),

L. whereas in accordance with those priorities, States or regions would present programmes prepared by all local partners and structures, which should all be done in a framework of partnership, according to clear ground rules, allowing the various interests to put their point of view and decide democratically,

M. whereas the accession to the European Union of the three new Member States has increased the importance of rural areas, with approximately one quarter of the Union population living in rural communities which account for almost 85% of the surface area of the Union and this proportion will increase with enlargement of the EU to include the countries of central and eastern Europe; whereas the EU rural policy should serve as a model for the CEECs in the pre-accession period,

N. whereas Parliament recognizes that EU policies on growth, competitiveness and employment, if implemented, would offer significant benefits to people in rural areas,

O. whereas the European Union must review the list of measures eligible under Objective 5b; whereas those measures, because they are restricted to part of a territory, are not consistent with the idea of planning the integrated rural development of the entire European Union and do not permit the implementation of certain Community initiatives,

P. having regard to its resolution of 9 July 1987 on the contribution of cooperatives to regional development ((OJ C 246, 14.9.1987, p. 94.)); having regard to the Economic and Social Committee's opinion on the same subject ((OJ C 298, 27.11.1989, p. 59.)); having regard to the Commission's working paper entitled 'Local development and employment initiatives' (SEC(95)0564), which seeks to clarify and explore the idea that European economies contain hidden seams of new employment stemming from as yet unfulfilled needs in the services sector,

Q. whereas integrated rural development must go hand in hand with a policy of planning, research and popularization,

R. whereas the integration of rural and social tourism is a not inconsiderable instrument for the economic, social and cultural development of rural regions,

S. whereas rural areas today constitute an opportunity to tackle the growing difficulties of conurbations, the acceleration of the mobility of Man and information, the reduction in working hours, increased life expectancy and the new aspirations of society both in terms of quality and identity,

1. Invites the Commission to promote a coherent framework creating jobs inside and outside agriculture in areas such as the conservation of the environment's natural resources;

2. Believes that it is important to establish a single definition of 'rural¨, based on population density and preponderance of rural sources of income as well as peripherality, in order to allow for the special characteristics of rural areas close to towns, rural areas occupying a central position, and outlying rural areas, and taking into account regional economic strength, land use, and settlement patterns, and calls on the Commission to make proposals which are acceptable on a Europe-wide basis;

3. Stresses the diversity of rural areas, which have a wide variety of strengths such as natural resources, self-sufficiency and cultural and architectural heritage. Believes that the concept of integrated rural development should combat unemployment and rural exodus by creating incentives to improve rural living conditions and involving in this all local economic and social agents capable of producing novel organizational models of integration;

4. Draws particular attention to the 'deep countryside', which is characterized by a very low population density, a long distance from urban centres, an ageing population, agriculture in heavy decline and a lack of production rights;

5. Believes that the rural development process must capitalize on strengths by means of a voluntarist policy based on appropriate Community instruments (reservation of special production rights for farmers, Community co- financing of investment in land through revision of Article 7 of Regulation (EEC) No 2328/91 ((OJ L 218, 6.8.1991, p. 1.)));

6. Stresses that the overall objective of rural policy is to develop and maintain rural communities which are viable in the long term; believes that policies must be aimed at the regeneration of communities affected by the problems of depopulation, ageing (due either to the flight from the land of the young or the establishment of retirement communities), or the rise of second home ownership;

7. Points to the essential importance of mountainous rural areas, a vital resting, recreation, and transit place for Europe as a whole, which have the largest drinking-water reserves but are especially sensitive in ecological terms; believes that, if this unique living space, economic area, and natural environment is to be preserved and existing resources (in particular mountain forests and water) protected, mountain areas require special treatment under the EU's Structural Funds;

8. Underlines the seriousness of the problem of unemployment and low pay and social isolation in many rural areas, affecting in particular young people and women, families in difficulty, the part-time employed and more generally, isolated and disabled people;

9. Draws attention to the social cost of not developing rural areas and the continuing unplanned over-concentration of cities which leads both to an increase in environmental problems (accumulation of sewage, motor traffic, etc) and an upsurge in crime and other problems in urban areas and to isolation and feelings of exclusion in rural areas; accordingly, it is necessary to develop new support for families (creches, etc) for which a special initiative could be taken, particularly the provision of accommodation for young people between the ages of 18 and 25, the development of reception and accommodation structures for old people losing their independence, and the creation of public and private multi-service centres (post-office, insurance, banks, etc);

10. Believes that the development and economic diversification of rural areas requires efforts to decentralize economic activities and that a key feature of this strategy will be support for medium-sized urban centres capable of boosting the economic fabric of surrounding areas and taking up new economic activities;

11. Considers that country towns must be supported as a matter of priority in any future urban policy of the Union; believes that the Structural Funds must consider funding projects for cooperation between municipal authorities close to such urban centres so that they can provide joint services and infrastructure; recalls, in this connection, that Parliament has called for more flexible implementation of the eligibility criteria for the Community initiative programme URBAN, arguing for it to be applied to towns of more modest dimensions than initially envisaged;

12. Stresses the value of Community initiatives which can have a very positive impact, although their resources are grossly inadequate; believes that the approach which involves the participation of local people, in particular social and professional agents and their representation and community agents in a genuine partnership with participation in the decision-making process, is an effective way of achieving rural development;

13. Recognizes that the cultures of many countries have rural roots and that the existence of rural areas is a sine qua non for Europe's food independence, regional planning policies, environmental protection policies, and policies to diversify the landscape;

14. Considers that agriculture in the European Union should no longer be seen solely as a means of production but in association with the rural context characterized by its regions and that rural policy must combine elements of agricultural, social, regional, transport, energy, and environmental policies, based on the principles of concentration of effort, clear and democratic partnership, programming and additionality, while respecting subsidiarity; insists that the people, where they are concerned, must be actively consulted and involved in the formulation of new policies; the CAP, and the other sectoral policies, should be compatible with a rural development policy that can close the gaps between regions; in this regard, a more balanced CAP should permit the redeployment of budgetary resources, through a better allocation of production rights, or by limiting concentrations, to distribute more harmoniously the maximum number of men and activities in the territory and thus participate more actively in the town-country balance, employment, conserving the environment, the quality of life and town and country planning;

15. Believes that further reform of the common agricultural policy is a sine qua non for a forward-looking rural policy; considers accordingly that the share-out of resources to finance the EAGGF must be reorganized so as to ensure that increasingly fewer market regulation measures receive funding and that the resources thus released are used to promote the economic development of rural areas and environment-friendly farming;

16. Believes that a fresh reform of the common agricultural policy should have the following objectives:

(a) adoption of a model of agriculture based on production subject to quality control and the protection of public health, animal health and welfare and the environment;

(b) continuation of the process of adapting agriculture to the needs of the marketplace, with particular emphasis on improving quality, while investing in developments such as planned forestry and biomass or non- food crops for industrial or energy-producing purposes;

(c) an increase in the rural population, by means of a financial support system based on direct income aids and compensatory payments;

(d) distribution of such financial aid on the basis of quality control, production, animal health and welfare, environmental protection and holding size;

(e) preservation of the social fabric by special help to communities:

- in less-favoured, mountain and hill land, and land that is frozen during cold winters, as well as remoter and lightly populated regions and islands;

- facing special problems due to scale and type of enterprise, in particular by encouraging inter-business cooperation and cooperatives;

- which are diversifying into other sources of revenue permitting a rural community to be preserved, which is essential to ensure the harmonious development of the region;

- creating durable employment;

- utilizing environmentally sustainable methods,

(f) restoration of the role of farmers as the custodians of natural resources, with financial recognition of these activities, which serve the interests of future generations, and support for environmentally sound farming methods with special programmes funded by the EU and the Member States to encourage environmentally-friendly farming; and recognition of the importance of smaller-scale farming so that they can develop in a positive way and contribute to sound conservation and management of the environment;

17. Points to the need to establish better communication between farmers and consumers, providing the former with the wherewithal to produce and the latter with the means of checking the quality of the products they consume;

18. Points to the need to make imported produce subject to inspection under the rules applying to European farmers;

19. Believes that the food chain should be diversified by supporting high- quality regional products under specific programmes;

20. Is concerned about the growing number of farmers who are going to stop work and strongly advises facilitating the restoration of existing agricultural buildings, both from the habitation point of view and from the professional and functional point of view;

21. Notes the importance of minimum wage structures to protect vulnerable employees in isolated rural communities and stresses the need for the development of new, alternative enterprise in order to improve agriculture or agricultural processing and create employment outside that sector; believes that these industries, including tourism, teleworking, and new, high technology industry have to be encouraged by special incentives at EU and Member State level, including special tax treatment and special status under the Structural Funds;

22. Stresses the need to develop resources and initiatives for the rural population concerned, both from the point of view of human resources and for the future development of planning and to curb rural depopulation, particularly as regards infrastructures and services, and in order to safeguard regional and environmental balances;

23. Stresses the traditional role of the cooperative movement in rural and regional development and in job creation; emphasises, in particular, the new forms of social cooperation relating to the provision of social services (eg home help for senior citizens and persons with disabilities, etc) and productive activities aimed at the integration of disadvantaged persons into the world of work, which are potential instruments of progress in the social, educational and employment fields in the countryside;

24. Stresses the value of SMEs in creating rural employment and welcomes the Commission's proposal to encourage different sizes of SME;

25. Points out that the encouragement of private enterprise in rural areas will require investment in infrastructure and community facilities, together with better access to public services and support for the maintenance of shops and other rural services threatened with closure;

26. Invites the Commission to promote European networks of rural associations and action committees working for rural development; considers that small social action groups should also be able to take part in invitations to tender;

27. Stresses the need for better access in rural areas to public services such as health prevention and care, water supplies, telecommunications and related facilities, and cultural services; points out the important role of the town/village relationship in the rural hinterland in this respect and the need for investment in public transport;

28. Underlines the extremely positive role of the rural tourism sector, but considers that initiatives have concentrated essentially on infrastructures, neglecting the creation of economic and productive activities that create jobs; recognizes in particular the social and economic importance of women's participation in the creation and organization of this activity and stresses that they should be fully involved in it;

29. Considers it necessary to promote an improvement in women's participation in political, economic and social life, to set about eliminating all kinds of legal discrimination in society and in the family, and to guarantee the legal equality of women, by recognizing that they have rights of their own and not merely derived rights;

30. Considers that the incorporation of equal opportunities for women in the rural environment must be taken into account in rural development projects, both from the point of view of their participation in the preparation of projects and in decision-making;

31. Points out that the lack of alternative employment in rural communities constitutes a particular problem for women especially as comprehensive support facilities like care for children and the elderly and the lack of schooling and convenient transport, renders living in a rural society extremely difficult;

32. Believes that education, training and retraining of the workforce is central to rural policy, and demands that the Commission and Member States implement effective measures urgently;

33. Considers it essential to establish training programmes in certain areas with a view to adapting to changes, ie which prepare for tourist village management, training in environmentally-friendly methods, product marketing and quality, engineering in the area of rural development and the economic development of ecosystems;

34. Stresses that appropriate environmental measures must be an integral part of the development process and points out the valuable purpose served by rural areas in providing protection against landslides, mudflows and floods;

35. Wishes to link social and environmental adaptation of products and services supported by 'social marketing' and providing a 'code of good conduct' both from the point of view of the producer and the consumer;

36. Notes the importance of the preservation and development of opportunities for cultural expression and the creation and maintenance of local identity through, eg, the development of community arts;

37. Is convinced that the social and cultural functions are linked and that they can become a source of activity; the rich rural heritage is part of a cultural and regional identity which should be economically developed, for instance through specific measures to preserve and promote the use of minority languages and indigenous cultural and artistic traditions;

38. Points to the need for Member States to have housing policies which also take account of rural needs; believes that an increased supply of housing must be achieved by a combination of public and private enterprise, with grants and incentives to modernise and upgrade the housing stock and provide low-cost housing to meet local needs; points out that the European Union can contribute to the regeneration of villages;

39. Re-affirms that in development of EU policies the Commission should take into account the proper integration of the uses of land for agriculture, forestry, leisure, tourism, industrial use and housing;

40. Underlines the contradiction in the Commission's measures, which on the one hand seek to conduct a dynamic and resolute policy in rural areas and on the other hand do not contain any significant budgetary expression;

41. Stresses that the structural fund resources which have hitherto been allocated to rural areas should be better coordinated by the establishment of a fund for the stablisation of rural areas within the budget from which to support farming in less favoured areas; calls on the Commission to take charge of a programme for the internal market and a research programme with a view to turning rural areas more effectively to account; calls on the Inter-governmental conference to adopt this proposal with a view to implementation in 1999 at the latest;

42. Invites the Commission to present a comprehensive innovatory document on rural development, based on proposals, intended to establish an economic, social and local model, integrated in the long term and autonomous, avoiding excessively rigid rules of application, and to ensure that bureaucracy is simplified;

43. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and Council.