17 Amendments of Stéphane BIJOUX related to 2021/2254(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission’s presentation of its long-term vision for rural areas; emphasises that the development of rural areas must be kept high on the EU agenda, as rural areas are active actors in the EU’s green and digital transition;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Stresses the multidimensional nature of rural development, which goes beyond agriculture, and insists on the need to implement a rural proofing mechanism to assess the impact of EU legislative initiatives on rural areas;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Highlights the importance to strengthen the bottom-up approach to rural and local development, which is a vehicle for social innovation and capacity building, empowering rural citizens to take ownership of their area's development through the design and implementation of strategy and projects;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls for a strong rural dimension in future cohesion policy regulations, which should include dedicated funding to that end; suggests that 30 % of the European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund should be earmarkthe distribution of funding within member states needs to be considered fmor rural areas, in addition to other beneficial investments for rural areas, particularly those encompassing more than one regione closely so as to ensure even development of regions also within the Member States, as well as across the Member States; considers it important to coordinate the work of the various EU funds at EU, national, regional and local level;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Stresses the importance of synergies between different funding tools, such as EARDF, ERDF, ESF+ and EMFAF, to channel an adequate level of funding towards rural areas through a multi-fund approach; underlines the crucial role played by the Community-Led Local Development (CLLD) approach and regrets that, during the 2014-2020 programming period, only a quarter of local development projects carried out by local actors integrated more than a funding tool;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6 b. Highlights the valuable contribution to rural development delivered by actions under the Leader programme, co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, which aims to engage local actors in the design and delivery of strategies, decision-making and resource allocation for the development of their rural areas; calls on the Commission and the Member States to reinforce the Leader programme by guaranteeing a high level of autonomy of the Local Action Groups regarding their constitution (no top-down design of areas and villages to be regrouped in a LAG but complete autonomy to the villages to gather and join forces in a LAG) and their decision making, reducing the administrative burden on local authorities and simplifying the access, promoting the local ownership of community-led development projects, and encouraging participation in local action groups;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Underlines the fact that the main objective of the long-term vision should be to fight depopulation, ageing and rural abandonment, including through investment in infrastructure, ensuring efficient connectivity, including broadband connections, and the provision of services, including digital, as well as economic diversification, job creation and innovative mobility solutions; underlines the role of SMEs in achieving these objectives;
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Stresses the crucial role of cultural initiatives in rural areas in terms of social cohesion, territorial attractiveness and economic dynamism; regrets the lack of specific support for these initiatives in the various regional funds; calls for these cultural projects to be supported, in particular via the EAFRD, the ERDF and specific calls for projects, in co- construction with rural actors;
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Highlights the opportunities that the green transition and green economy can provide in increasing rural resilience to natural disasters, climate change and economic crises; stresses the importance of rural areas in ensuring food and energy self-sufficiency and renewable raw materials in Europe; points to the potential of the bio- and circular economy and nature services brought by rural areas;
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Highlights the opportunities that the green transition and green economy can provide in terms of job opportunities, in increasing rural resilience to natural disasters, climate change and economic crises and in bringing renewed attention to rural areas;
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Highlights, furthermore, the potential of the ecological transition and the green economy to create a link between the economy and ecology by creating new jobs in rural areas particularly affected by unemployment, especially in the outermost regions;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Believes that connections between rural and urban areas must be addressed in a complementary manner in order to implement rural strategies and action plans accordingly; underlines the importance of partnerships across rural areas and remote areas in particular as well as cooperation between rural areas across national borders; emphasises the importance of fighting the digital divide between urban and rural areas, especially as regards high- speed broadband connectivity and the promotion of digital skills;
Amendment 90 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Underlines the importance of quality, affordable and safe public transports connecting rural areas; stresses the need for EU cohesion funds to support the improvement of connectivity and mobility solutions in rural areas;
Amendment 93 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Stresses the importance of entrepreneurship, social economy and social innovation including the silver economy, especially when it comes to implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights in rural areas; calls on Member States and the Commission to boost awareness and to facilitate easier access to finance for entrepreneurs and self- employed in rural areas; encourages Member States and regional and local authorities to make use of the existing European Structural Funds to especially target and promote women entrepreneurs and self-employed women;
Amendment 96 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Underlines the need to strongly improve access to healthcare in rural areas through appropriate and, where necessary, itinerant medicine solutions and services, such as equipped buses offering citizens living in rural areas the possibility to undergo preventive screening tests or consultations;
Amendment 97 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11 b. Highlights the potential of rural areas as spaces to foster inclusion and integration of the most vulnerable groups with specific needs, such as persons with disabilities, migrants, including seasonal migrants, refugees and minorities; encourages Members States to design and implement specific measures to promote their training and employment and safeguard their fundamental rights; insists especially on the necessity to prepare an immediate response to the arrival of Ukrainian refugees in rural areas in order to ensure their quick and easy integration;
Amendment 100 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Highlights the diversity of rural areas and the crucial importance of tailor- made territorial approaches in implementing the long-term vision, primarily in less developed, remote, sparsely populated areas and outermost regions.