At the request of the RUMRA (Rural, Mountainous and Remote Areas) intergroup that Euromontana is officially supporting, the European Parliament adopted on 3rd October 2018 a resolution on addressing the specific needs of rural, mountainous and remote areas.
The motion calls for coordination of EU policies to ensure the development of rural territories in order to tackle the economic, environmental and social challenges facing every part of Europe and rural areas in particular. To foster cohesion and prevent the risk of territorial fragmentation in the future, the motion suggests the establishment of a Smart Villages Pact, with a view to ensuring a more effective, integrated and coordinated approach to EU policies with an impact on rural areas.
According to MEP Mercedes Bresso, chair of the RUMRA intergroup, “Rural, mountainous and remote areas represents almost 80% of the EU and over half of the population, with this Resolution the European Parliament asks very clearly to the Commission for a new approach through a dedicated Agenda for growth and sustainable development in these areas. Europe needs them and they can be an opportunity, but we need to give them the support they deserve.
For years now the RUMRA Intergroup in the EP has been fighting this battle, we think that rural, mountainous and remote areas should be brought back at the centre of EU economic and social policies, starting from the next programming period of the Cohesion Policy. Similar to the initiatives taken for urban areas, which we appreciate and value, there must be similar opportunities for rural areas, mountains and all the areas in the EU suffering from, natural or geographical disadvantages”.
The text of the resolution is available here.
23 October 2018
