Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-10-23-Speech-3-297"
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"en.20021023.7.3-297"2
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". – Mr President, the Commission would first like to thank Mr Khanbhai – and Mr Corrie as his stand-in – for their work in bringing an issue as important as sustainable rural development to this debate.
Rural development is also primarily about decentralisation and local governance. Resources will only reach the rural poor if they can be managed effectively and planned in a participatory way, with the active involvement of local communities. The most disadvantaged sections of societies – particularly women – must be effectively represented and participate in these processes. Reinforcing and democratising local institutions is a key challenge for governments and donors alike. The report rightly emphasises the importance of good governance for the sustainability of all development efforts.
Once again I thank the rapporteur, Mr Khanbhai, and Mr Corrie.
Poverty and food insecurity in developing countries will not be eradicated without substantial investment in rural areas. The Commission fully shares the main thrust of the report on the importance of rural and agricultural development for poor people in developing countries.
Beyond rural development, the report also addresses issues related to EU trade and agricultural policy. It underlines the importance of improving trade opportunities for the rural poor, which we fully share. In this respect, the World Summit on Sustainable Development reconfirmed the commitments made in the WTO Ministerial Declaration in Doha – the so-called Doha Development Agenda. These include taking into account the specificity of developing countries in the trade negotiations and putting in place flanking measures such as capacity building and trade-related technical assistance. The Commission has recently sent to the Council and Parliament a communication that will provide the policy framework for this type of assistance.
The Commission wants to highlight the positive trade agenda promoted by the European Union and adopted in Johannesburg to complement the WTO process. It is also worth recalling that the Union is committed to providing to least-developed countries, through the 'Everything but Arms' initiative, full duty-free and quota-free access to the European market. We hope to see similar initiatives adopted by other developed countries.
As regards agriculture, the Commission supports the emphasis on the multifunctionality of agriculture, a concept of particular relevance for developing countries. However, I would like to draw your attention to the reference made in the report to the dumping of European agricultural production. The Community provides an export refund, which reduces the difference between the higher Community price and the world price. Technically that cannot be called dumping. Ceilings on export subsidies, in quantity and value, are regulated by the WTO, and these ceilings have been reduced between 1995 and 2000. The Community has constantly reduced its use of export refunds, beyond WTO obligations. These positive efforts should be recognised.
But rural development is the main focus of the report. For many donors, including the European Commission, rural poverty is a multidimensional issue. To address it, it is necessary to combine interventions at different levels. At national level, we need to improve incomes, reduce inequality in access to productive assets and services, combat the degradation of natural resources and reduce vulnerability to risk. At an international level, we need to improve the coherence between developed countries' domestic policies – in particular trade and agriculture – and their development objectives.
In developing countries, addressing such a complex set of issues requires coherent and balanced national strategies tailored to local needs, resources and institutional settings. Although there is no 'one size fits all' solution, the Commission, in its recent communication, 'Fighting Rural Poverty', has identified some key principles to be applied in all rural development interventions. They include the importance of promoting gender equality, maximising the impact on poverty, supporting national strategies and the participation of stakeholders, as well as mainstreaming environmental protection.
Support for pro-poor land reforms, capacity-building, improved access to financial services, agricultural research, infrastructure and services are all areas whose importance is underlined in the Commission strategy and in which the Community's development programme is heavily involved.
Similarly, the Commission also broadly shares other, more specific recommendations, such as the importance of supporting the development of arts and crafts, rural training centres and domestication of wildlife. However, the level of priority of such interventions depends on local circumstances and on their relevance for poverty reduction. Support for such activities will therefore have to be addressed on a case—by-case basis and in line with the priorities defined in national strategies."@en1
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