Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-02-15-Speech-3-274"
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"en.20060215.17.3-274"2
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".
Mr President, I would like to start by expressing my thanks to Parliament for the support it has provided over recent months in our common goal of further establishing rural development as the second pillar of the common agricultural policy. I am convinced, as I am sure you are, that it is a policy that really adds value to the European area.
Thanks to the excellent cooperation between Parliament, the Council and the Commission, our rural development regulation was adopted last autumn. The strategic guidelines which are before you today are an essential element in taking further the process of developing national strategies and rural development programmes in the different Member States.
I would like to thank Parliament, and in particular, the rapporteur, Mrs McGuinness, for their help in bringing the opinion forward in a very timely manner. We are still well on the way to delivering our rural development programmes on time.
Our strategic guidelines for rural development for the period 2007 to 2013 are meant to guide Member States in the development of their own national strategies and programmes. I am convinced that our policy will offer many opportunities to make the rural development policy a success, but we will have to use it in the right way. We must use it to help unlock the innovative capacity of our agri-food and forestry sectors and the economic, environmental and social potential of our rural areas and the people who live in them. It is an extraordinary potential and it is our responsibility to do everything we can to mobilise it.
The Community strategic guidelines will be a first step towards achieving this, firstly by identifying and agreeing the areas where the use of European Union support for rural development will create good added value. Secondly, by making the link with both the reform of the common agricultural policy and the necessary restructuring, the strengthening of the second pillar provides opportunities both for farmers and for jobs and growth. I have made it very clear that rural development should contribute to the Lisbon and Göteborg strategies, and I think we are doing just that. Thirdly, consistency with other European Union policies will be ensured, in particular in the field of cohesion and environment.
Let me now say a few words about the amendments. The report proposes many helpful suggestions and I am very grateful for this. In my view, many of the amendments tabled by Members reflect important issues that are not reflected adequately in the Commission proposal. These can be taken either wholly or partially into account. On the other hand, there are a number of proposed amendments which we feel are already dealt with adequately in the current text. I see this as a clear indication of the very broad consensus between the Commission and Parliament about the aims of our rural development policy.
Let me conclude this introduction, therefore, by expressing my agreement with the issues raised by the rapporteur in her report: the role of modernisation measures, the need for measures to help to encourage young farmers and farming families to stay in rural areas, and the importance of putting the heart back into our villages, sustainable farming and preservation of the rural heritage. Above all, a vibrant, commercial and sustainable agriculture is essential for the development or our rural regions, in which we have a huge common interest."@en1
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