WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1168/97 by Gerardo FERNÁNDEZ-ALBOR to the Commission. Publishing rural development guides
Date: 1997-04-03
Institutions: European Parliament, FERNANDEZ ALBOR
Subjects: EU action, EU initiative, EU policy, dissemination of information, information network, information policy, rural development, user guide













EUR-Lex - 91997E1168 - EN






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91997E1168

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1168/97 by Gerardo FERNÁNDEZ-ALBOR to the Commission. Publishing rural development guides  


Official Journal C 367 , 04/12/1997 P. 0091 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1168/97 by Gerardo Fernández-Albor (PPE) to the Commission (3 April 1997)Subject: Publishing rural development guidesIn certain Community regions, rural developments guides have been drawn up and disseminated in response to the fact that there is widespread ignorance in the rural and farming world of the opportunities and instruments available at national or Community level to encourage economic initiatives of all kinds.These guides are a useful, effective and productive tool for tackling the problems which arise with regard to implementing any development programme designed to guarantee and indeed increase rural income levels by encouraging diversification of economic activity in the countryside and enabling modern agricultural structures to be developed as key factors in the rural economy.In view of the success of the guides in question, has the Commission considered encouraging their production and publication at regional and local level and thus actively incorporating them in a new Community policy to provide the rural sector with practical information, so as to help prevent the further emptying of the countryside?Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (25 April 1997)The Commission is aware of the existence of various guides to the different Community instruments for financing initiatives which contribute to the development of rural areas. It also shares the opinion of the Honourable Member as to the usefulness of disseminating this information and, more generally, on the importance of improved information in the rural environment.The Commission is in fact in the process of setting up an information policy on rural development. As one of the various planned initiatives, the Commission intends to publish basic documentation on the Community's projects in rural development, ensure that distribution is very broad and use the most appropriate media (booklets, video, Internet, etc). The guides cited by the Honourable Member may well be publicised within the framework of this information policy.It should also be mentioned that, within the framework of the Community rural development initiative Leader, detailed, specific information is widely disseminated by the company European Association for Information on Local Development (AEIDL), who have now signed a contract to manage the Leader European Observatory. This information, taken from various publications and bulletins and compiled by an internet service called Rural Europe, is made available to several tens of thousands of rural development players throughout the Community.Finally, the Commission has its own rural environment information network: the network of Information and Rural Promotion Carrefours, which serve to bring European information right to the heart of the various sectors in rural society. Today nearly 90 Carrefours are spread out across the rural regions of Europe and established within pre-existing bodies which have recognized information experience in the field of rural development. A list forwarded directly to the Honourable Member and Parliament's Secretariat provides details of all these Carrefours.