Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on strengthening rural areas in the EU through cohesion policy

(2024/2105(INI))

The European Parliament,

Changed– having regard to the report from the Commission toreport theof European27 ParliamentMarch on2024 entitled ‘The long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas: key achievements and ways forward’ (COM(2024)0450) of 27 March 2024,(COM(2024)0450),

Changed– having regard to Articles 39 andits 174resolution of the15 TreatySeptember 2022 on theEU Functioningborder ofregions: theliving Europeanlabs Unionof (TFEU),European integration,

Added– having regard to its resolution of 8 May 2025 on the ninth report on economic and social cohesion,

Added– having regard to the opinion of the European Committee of the Regions of 15 March 2023 on targets and tools for a smart rural Europe,

Added– having regard to the opinion of the European Committee of the Regions of 1 December 2022 on enhancing Cohesion Policy support for regions with geographic and demographic handicaps (Article 174 TFEU),

Added– having regard to Articles 39, 174, 175 and 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

▸5 unchanged paragraphs

– having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 of 17 December 2020 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) 2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’),

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 December 2021 establishing rules on support for strategic plans to be drawn up by Member States under the common agricultural policy (CAP Strategic Plans) and financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013 and (EU) No 1307/2013,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 December 2021 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy,

Changed– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/694 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 establishing the Digital Europe Programme,Programme and repealing Decision (EU) 2015/2240,

Added– having regard to the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 240/2014 of 7 January 2014 on the European code of conduct on partnership in the framework of the European Structural and Investment Funds,

Added– having regard to Principle 20 of the European Pillar of Social Rights on access to essential services,

– having regard to its resolution of 4 April 2017 on women and their roles in rural areas,

– having regard to its resolution of 8 March 2022 on the role of cohesion policy in promoting innovative and smart transformation and regional ICT connectivity,

Changed– having regard to its resolution of 13 December 2022 on a long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas:areas – towards stronger, connected, resilient and prosperous rural areas by 2040 (2021/2254(INI)),2040,

Changed– having regard to its resolution of 23 November 2023 on harnessing talent in Europe’s regions (2023/2044(INI)),regions,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 27 March 2024 on the 9th Cohesion Report (COM(2024)0149),

Added– having regard to the Commission communication of 30 June 2021 entitled ‘A long-term Vision for the EU’s Rural Areas – Towards stronger, connected, resilient and prosperous rural areas by 2040’ (COM(2021)0345),

Added– having regard to the Commission communication of 19 February 2025 entitled ‘A Vision for Agriculture and Food – Shaping together an attractive farming and agri-food sector for future generations (COM(2025)0075),

Added– having regard to the Commission communication of 3 May 2022 entitled ‘Putting people first, securing sustainable and inclusive growth, unlocking the potential of the EU’s outermost regions’ (COM(2022)0198),

Added– having regard to the Commission communication of 25 March 2021 on an action plan for the development of organic production (COM(2021)0141),

– having regard to the Commission report of 17 June 2020 on the impact of demographic change (COM(2020)0241),

– having regard to the Commission green paper of 27 January 2021 on ageing – fostering solidarity and responsibility between generations (COM(2021)0050),

Removed– having regard to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas, adopted by the Human Rights Council on 28 September 2018,

Added– having regard to the Commission communication of 20 May 2020 entitled ‘A Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system’ (COM(2020)0381),

Added– having regard to the Commission communication of 20 May 2020 entitled ‘EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 – Bringing nature back into our lives’ (COM(2020)0380),

Added– having regard to the Commission communication of 17 November 2021 entitled ‘EU Soil Strategy for 2030 – Reaping the benefits of healthy soils for people, food, nature and climate’ (COM(2021)0699),

Added– having regard to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas, adopted by the Human Rights Council on 28 September 2018,

Added– having regard to general recommendation No 34 (2016) of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on the rights of rural women, adopted on 7 March 2016,

– having regard to its resolution of 3 May 2022 on the EU action plan for organic agriculture,

– having regard to the study commissioned by Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development entitled ‘The future of the European Farming Model: Socio-economic and territorial implications of the decline in the number of farms and farmers in the EU’, published by the Policy Department for Structural and Cohesion Policies in April 2022,

Removed– having regard to the Commission communication of 25 March 2021 on an action plan for the development of organic production (COM(2021)0141),

– having regard to its resolution of 24 March 2022 on the need for an urgent EU action plan to ensure food security inside and outside the EU in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine,

Removed– having regard to the Commission staff working document of 8 April 2021 entitled ‘Evaluation of the impact of the CAP on generational renewal, local development and jobs in rural areas’ (SWD(2021)0078),

Added– having regard to its resolution of 3 October 2018 on addressing the specific needs of rural, mountainous and remote areas,

Added– having regard to its resolution of 9 June 2021 on the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030: Bringing nature back into our lives,

Added– having regard to the Commission report of August 2019 entitled ‘Evaluation of the impact of the CAP on generational renewal, local development and jobs in rural areas’,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Committee of the Regions of 26 January 2022 entitled ‘A long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas’,

Changed– having regard to the opinion of the European EconomicCommittee andof Socialthe CommitteeRegions of 2319 MarchFebruary 20222025 entitled ‘EU‘How post-27 LEADER and CLLD programming could contribute to better implementation of the long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas’,

Added– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 23 March 2022 entitled ‘Long-term Vision for the EU’s Rural Areas’,

Added– having regard to its resolution of 19 October 2023 on generational renewal in the EU farms of the future,

Added– having regard to Enrico Letta’s report on the future of the single market, published in April 2024,

Added– having regard to the study requested by Parliament’s Committee on Regional Development, entitled ‘EU Cohesion Policy in non-urban areas’, published by the Policy Department for Structural and Cohesion Policies in September 2020,

Added– having regard to the declaration on the future of rural areas and rural development policy in the European Union, adopted by the Rural Pact Coordination Group on 12 December 2024,

– having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development,

Changed– having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Development (A10-0000/2025),(A10-0092/2025),

Change 1

RemovedA. whereas, nowadays, rural areas are home to 25 % of people in Europe and occupy around 83 % of the EU territory;

AddedA. whereas, currently, 137 million European citizens – nearly one in three – live in rural areas, which account for approximately 83 % of the EU’s territory; whereas one third of the population of rural areas lives in a border region; whereas 77 % of land used for farming (134 million hectares) and 79 % of forest (148 million hectares) are located in rural areas;

RemovedB. whereas rural areas are a cornerstone of the European economy and integral to its cultural diversity, as they are the cradle of food production and guardians of our heritage and landscapes;

AddedB. whereas according to Eurostat, average income in rural areas is 87.5 % of average income in urban areas;

RemovedC. whereas, in accordance with Article 174 TFEU, the Union aims to reduce development gaps between the different regions, with a particular focus on rural areas;

AddedC. whereas there are still disparities in cohesion policy funding between urban and rural areas, with urban areas receiving three times more cohesion funding than rural areas;

RemovedD. whereas rural areas are facing demographic challenges, such as ageing, population decline, brain drain, disparities with urban areas, structural changes in the agricultural and forestry sectors, a lack of services and infrastructure, falling employment and incomes, and a persistently large digital gap;