European Commission
Vice-President Dubravka Suica has said that the "long-term
vision for rural areas" that the Commission will present at the
end of the month will give more opportunities and targetted
solutions to these areas because it is necessary to "avoid
asymmetric recoveries and ensure all European territories have
the instruments to come back from the pandemic".
Suica was speaking at an event on the transition and
transformation of rural areas in Lisbon organized in
collaboration with the Portuguese duty presidency of the EU as
part of the ESPON week devoted to the EU cooperation programme
specialized in the analysis of regional policies.
The vice-president stressed the need to exploit the
opportunities of the EU's green and digital transition and learn
the lessons of the pandemic.
"This will help us to identify the instruments to have better
quality of life in rural areas, achieve balanced territorial
development and stimulate the economic growth of these areas,"
Suica added.
According to the vice-president, the use of new technologies
will be particularly important in contributing to elaborating a
"new outlook of growth" in rural areas that "goes beyond
agriculture, animal farming and silviculture" in favour of the
manufacturing and service sectors.
Portuguese Environment Minister Joao Pedro Matos Fernandes took
part in the event, which was moderated by ESPON Director Wiktor
Szydarowski.
Matos Fernandes said that the territorial dimension was the
connection between the Portuguese National Recovery and
Resilience Plan (NRRP) and the national programme for
territorial planning because "the issue of territory must be at
the centre of public policies".
Vasco Cordeiro, the vice-president of the European Committee of
the Regions (CoR), then outlined the elements he sees as crucial
in order to ensure a just, Green recovery for rural areas:
awareness at the sub-national level, empowerment at all levels
of governance and lawmakers who are aware of the issues and
implement "the right decisions".
ESPON carries out, and will continue to carry out, a decisive
role in these three areas, Cordeiro observed, providing data at
the European, national and sub-national levels, without which
"there are no political decisions".
The vice-president complained about the lack of participation of
the regions in the decision-making process in relation to the
reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP) and the structure
of the multi-year financial frameworks.
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