'The Development of Rural Areas should be at the Centre of Our Priorities': Debate with Commissioner for Agriculture

Greens member Guillaume Cros argued for the inclusion of the rural perspective in all EU policies during the CoR Plenary debate on Recovery and Resilience in Rural Areas with Janusz Wojciechowski, Commissioner for Agriculture, and Franc Bogovič, Co-Chair of the Intergroup on Rural, Mountainous and Remote Areas of the European Parliament.

The debate focused on the rural recovery after the COVID-19 crisis, emphasising the opportunities for the green and digital transitions, especially in rural areas. The investments and financial mechanisms that will become available to carry such transitions, with the goal to develop smart villages that cover the basic needs of both young and elderly population, were also discussed. During his intervention, Cros highlighted that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) currently proposed goes against the Green Deal and scientific knowledge and advice. Moreover, it will ‘destroy biodiversity and it will not allow for the Green transition that we need’. He called for a change of the CAP in the upcoming weeks in order to be consistent with the Green Deal, arguing that ‘if that does not happen, the rural world will suffer even more than today’. Rural areas have been degrading slowly for years, and some EU policies have been strengthening this decline. Therefore, he calls for the development of rural areas to be put at the centre of the European priorities. 

Cros argued for a rural agenda that allows reinforcement of the territories’ dynamics and encourages territorial cooperation to fight against the climate crisis. Beyond the CAP, the rural world should be included in all EU policies, as an integrated approach is the only way to ‘tackle climate change and the economic and social challenges, and to guarantee the principle of equality between rural and urban areas’.

On that note, Greens co-president Satu Haapanen adds that national governments and the European Commissioner must take determined action to coordinate agricultural policy with the fight against climate change and in reversing the decline of biodiversity, while supporting farmers’ resilience and ensuring a just transition. Moreover, she states that efforts must be made to reduce meat consumption and to combat food waste, which is also crucial to reducing CO2 emissions in rural activities.