Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the "Regional impact of European agricultural and rural policy (a policy assessment)"
Date: 2001-06-13
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: agricultural policy, data collection, development policy, living conditions, regional policy, rural population

14.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 357/27

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the ‘Regional impact of European agricultural and
rural policy (a policy assessment)’

(2001/C 357/07)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to its decision of 13 June 2000 in accordance with the fifth paragraph of Article 265 of
the EC Treaty to draw up an own-initiative Opinion on The regional impact of European agricultural and
rural policy (a policy assessment) and to instruct Commission 2 to carry out the preparatory work;

having regard to the draft opinion (CdR 253/2000 rev. 4) adopted by Commission 2 on 20 April 2001
(rapporteurs: Mr Endlein, Landrat, Chairman of the German Association of District Councils, Northeim
District Council, D/PSE, and Mr van Gelder, Queen’s Commissioner for the Province of Zeeland, NL/PPE);

having regard to the questionnaire (CdR 253/2000 rev. 4 Appendix) on which this opinion is based, to
which the members of the Commission 2 working party, consisting of representatives of the 15 Member
States, replied,

at its 39th plenary session of 13 and 14 June 2001 (meeting of 13 June) unanimously adopted the
following opinion.

Recommendations of the Committee of the Regions

In formulating policy, attention needs to be paid from
1.
the outset and at every level to assessment, by establishing not
only where and how monitoring is to be carried out but also
which indicators are to be used.

2.
To avoid creating an inaccurate impression of policy,
preference should be given on methodological grounds to an
integrated approach to assessment. This means an approach
by which the overall impact of all policies relevant to the
development of the countryside is the subject of monitoring
by all the competent authorities, so that a picture can be built
up not only of the impact on the economy and environment,
but also on the social and ecological infrastructure and cultural
landscape. This requires the compilation of quantitative infor-
mation using more variables than is currently the case.

In accordance with the subsidiarity principle, a major
3.
part of the information could or should be gathered by the
Member States, the lower-level authorities and local research
institutes on the basis of a limited, integrated questionnaire.

carried out at European level. It is essential that the Member
States and other authorities responsible for the countryside
participate unreservedly in the establishment of a (permanent)
monitoring system of this kind. The Committee well under-
stands the scale of the task of establishing such a system, but
feels that proper assessment of policy requires this to be done.

5.
To establish a system of assessment of this kind based
on complementarity between the institutions involved, consul-
tation and coordination will be required between the players
under the central management of the European Union, in
addition to the very welcome initiatives of the European
Union’s own services. It is recommended that the European
Union involve all the players in the establishment of a system
of assessment by means of symposia, conferences, etc.

As it would not be possible to set up on a short time
6.
scale a system of this kind capable of generating usable data,
the Committee intends to follow up this study, using the same
working methods, three years after publication of this opinion.
The follow-up will include the impact of the regional develop-
ment programme instrument which has not yet been in
existence long enough to make any impact assessment poss-
ible.

4.
To make it possible to aggregate the information thus
gathered, the information needs to be clear, which requires
efficient central management of the methodology for infor-
mation gathering. This management must necessarily be

7.
The Committee recommends all the authorities con-
cerned to attach priority in their policies over the coming
years to: maintenance of the cultural landscape, as an integral
part of muntifunctional agriculture in keeping with the

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Official Journal of the European Communities

14.12.2001

European agricultural model; the additional difficulties faced
by island regions; use of telematics in the countryside; and,
quality of life for the people living in rural areas including
farming families, particularly lasting improvements in econ-
omic and social conditions, so that young farmers see in their
farms a long-term source of livelihood.

8.
Further to recommendations 1 to 4 above, the Com-
mittee notes the desirability of consistently including assess-
ment arrangements in the framing or revision of rural develop-
ment programmes and plans. The Committee also supports
drawing up a classification of rural areas throughout the EU in
order to ensure that greater objectivity is brought to bear and,
consequently, that assessment is carried out in a discriminating
way.

9.
Furthermore, in the framing, implementation and assess-
ment of plans and programmes, the Committee would rec-
ommend that more and/or better use be made of non-
governmental organisations’ specialised expertise. This exper-

tise should include research abilities, and the assessment
should be carried out scientifically.

10.
Finally, the Committee notes the survey’s warm and
virtually unanimous endorsement of the Leader programmes.
Following on from that, the Committee recommends that
consideration be given to the possibility of extending the
programmes both in duration and, above all, applicability.
Consideration should also be given, in the Committee’s view,
to the extent to which the favourable experiences gained from
the methodology of these programmes can be transposed to
other schemes.

11.
The enlargement of the EU calls for precautionary
policies for the mainly rural regions in the areas bordering on
the applicant countries. Above all, the current possibilities
available under EU policies must be used in a targeted manner.
A separate aid programme for border regions, in line with EU
Council initiatives, should thus for a limited period of time
provide a necessary complement to measures designed to give
a sustained economic and social boost to border regions.

Brussels, 13 June 2001.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Jos CHABERT