Debate: A long-term vision for the EU's rural areas
Date: MONDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2022
Speaker: Dubravka Šuica
Language: EN

Without forgetting that there is another crucial transition underway, the demographic transition, that perhaps is more gradual but no less significant in the long run. The purpose of this vision is to make rural areas more prosperous, better connected, more dynamic, more attractive places for people to live and work in, while preserving their essential character.  Food security is a key concern right now. Linked to this is the issue of food waste. It is the first topic for deliberation in the new generation of European citizens panels inspired by the Conference on the Future of Europe. The climate and biodiversity crisis and our food security objectives all remind us how vital rural areas and farmers are to our food security. Essentially, they help guarantee an economically, ecologically and socially sustainable production.  I welcome your clear messages on the need to improve the basic services and to address the growing discontent among rural populations. This is key to our economy, our society and our democracy. We must continue the dialogue within the Rural Pact framework on how to improve the representation of rural people at all levels of governance. I understand your concerns when it comes to ensuring European Union funds and policies complement one another in their bid to support rural areas in the years to come.  I welcome the points on Article 174 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. We will thoroughly study the rapporteur’s proposal on the synergies and multi-fund approach. There is a common understanding on the need for improvement. We will also carefully analyse your proposal for the future beyond 2027. Around EUR 100 billion from the European Agricultural Fund for the rural development budget were made available to fund the rural development programmes in the 2014-2020 period. In cohesion policy, EUR 33 billion for plans for investments in rural areas.  The Commission works to ensure positive outcomes for rural areas in both the cohesion policy operational programmes and the common agricultural policy strategic plans in the programming exercise for 2021-2027. By mid-2023 we will take stock of how they have been programmed for this new period, and in early 2024 we will issue a report on enhanced support to rural areas in the future based on the implementation of the European Union Rural Action Plan. Over the last year and a half we have made significant progress on the 30 actions in the plan. These cover many aspects highlighted in your report. We will propose a set of indicators to follow up the plan and envision implementation by mid-2023. Then we will also take stock of what actions have been carried out and programmed, as I already mentioned. On rural proofing, we started to pilot our rural proofing mechanism with some promising results. I give you the example of the European Care Strategy and the new urban mobility framework. We are also on track to deliver the first products of the toolkit for European Union funds for rural areas. This tool will inspire local authorities and stakeholders to make use of the European Union funding and capacity building opportunities. We also welcome your support for the EU Rural Observatory, which went live on 8 December. This is a major milestone. I want to mention the rural package because European Parliament is a key partner in this process.  Indeed, our shared goals of the vision can only be achieved together. You call on the Commission to maintain a direct and structured dialogue with the various levels of governance. This is the very objective of the Rural Pact and it has the ambition to gather all actors playing a role for the rural areas. Since last year, 1200 people have joined the rural pact community and close to 80 have submitted commitments to act.  To conclude, I look forward to the exchange this evening and to the plenary vote on the report that Member of Parliament Isabel Carvalhais has championed and to continuing the fruitful collaboration with the honourable Members of this House on making the rural vision a reality, leaving no one and nowhere behind.