EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 33/229

(2004/C 33 E/234)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2172/03

by Johanna Boogerd-Quaak (ELDR) to the Commission

(30 June 2003)

Subject: Support for rural development

With reference to the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on 5 June 2003 on the proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2826/2000, and bearing in mind the opinion of the European Parliament set out in paragraph 1 thereof, can the Commission answer the following questions:

1. Is it planning to introduce new objective criteria for rural areas?

2. If so, does it agree with me that, to date, little attention has been paid to a category of rural areas in the vicinity of conurbations as a specific category?

3. Does it acknowledge the very specific problems which have to be solved in order to strike a balance between the requirements of the urban population and the changes to the countryside required for that purpose, such as more land for leisure activities, short-stay tourism and nature development?

4. Does it agree with me that, when new criteria are being drawn up, a specific type of rural area needs to be developed in the vicinity of major conurbations?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(5 August 2003)

The Commission has taken careful note of the Parliament resolution of 5 June 2003 on the proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 on support for rural development (1), in the context of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform.

1. and 4. There is no single commonly agreed and internationally recognised definition of rural areas, given their great diversity. The Commission itself has no current plans to propose new objective criteria for the definition of a typology of rural areas, and particularly not within the time frame of 1 January 2004 requested by the Parliament, which it considers unrealistic.

Preparation of any such typology could only be considered for the preparation of rural development policy post-2006. However, even with this longer-term perspective, the Commission is not convinced that a common typology defined at Community level is necessary for the implementation of Community rural development policy, nor that a single common typology could take account of the wide diversity of rural situations which will exist in an enlarged Union. Under Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repealing certain Regulations (2), it is currently the responsibility of the Member States when preparing their rural development programmes to define what they consider to be rural areas, within their specific national and/or regional contexts.

2. The Commission considers that the current flexible framework under which Community rural development policy is implemented, which gives a high degree of subsidiarity to Member States, already provides sufficient scope for those Member States or regions who so wish to target the measures within their programmes on the specific needs of rural areas in the vicinity of urban conurbations.

3. The Commission agrees with the Honourable Member that rural areas on the urban fringe often face specific problems different from those in remote rural areas. They may for example experience difficulties caused by population inflow with consequent pressure on the natural environment, service facilities and land and property prices. The Commission agrees that it is important to strike the right balance between urban and rural needs in order to permit the sustainable development of rural areas close to urban centres.

To find out more about the difficulties facing ‘suburban’ rural areas, in September 2002 the Commission launched a special study entitled ‘Urban-rural relations in Europe’ under the ESPON programme (European Spatial Planning Observatory Network).

(1) COM(2003) 23 final.

(2) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999.