(by Alessandra Briganti)
The policies adopted up to now
to reverse the trend of depopulation of rural areas has not
delivered tangible results and the phenomenon will continue in
the coming decades unless there are new ad hoc interventions,
according to the 'Escape', research project conducted as part of
the ESPON programme specializing in the analysis of regional
policies.
The study said that three rural regions out of five in Europe -
or 40% of the territory with 30% of the population - have been
hit by demographic decline or will be in the coming decades.
Although long considered a fundamental challenge for many EU
member States, the depopulation of rural areas has not been
addressed in a specific way, except for a few operations seeking
to limit its scale.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the cohesion policy are
the main tools Europe has created to address issues linked to
rural depopulation, the researchers explained.
On the one hand, the CAP provides funding that aims to diversify
employment and improve basic services, giving support to farmers
and rural communities in planning and implementing initiatives
that respond to a series of economic, environmental and social
challenges.
On the other, the cohesion policy aims to reduce the disparity
of less developed areas, in particular regions affected by
industrial and agricultural decline, via national, regional and
cross-border projects.
In both cases, these policies seek to mitigate rural decline by
stimulating demographic and economic growth.
The growth-support measures, however, have not put the brakes on
rural depopulation which, on the contrary, is an increasingly
common phenomenon.
The belief that this trend cannot be reversed in some regions is
gaining sway.
The researchers said that the policies used up to now at the
European and national level have not taken into account a
fundamental aspect of the issue: the non-uniform nature of the
phenomenon.
Indeed, there are "substantial differences" not just between
regions, but also within the regions themselves, that should not
be ignored.
These differences can be explained in the light of elements
ranging from long-term changes in the size and structure of the
economy, to the outcome of political events such as joining the
EU or the return of a conflict.
Not taking account of these elements is a sign of the failure to
consider the profound causes of depopulation and its effects,
the researchers concluded.
Therefore, the EU's intervention should, on the one hand, seek
to combat the differences that exist in the decline of the rural
regions and, on the other, adopt the necessary measures to
increase the quality of life and well-being of the populations
living in areas affected by the phenomenon.
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