Doc. 8011
10 February 1998

Situation and prospects of young people in rural areas in Europe

Motion for a recommendation

presented by Mrs Johansson and others

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only the members who have signed it

1.       The process of urbanisation and industrialisation which has marked - and is still marking - the European economy has combined with falling farm incomes to cause a reduction in rural populations and a sharp decline in agriculture.

2.       Moreover, structural changes have led to the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of farming jobs in the European Union, and millions of other posts are set to disappear in the primary sector in central and east European countries as they join the European Union.

3.       However, despite the rural exodus, a significant proportion of the farming population has continued to live in rural areas in recent decades.

4.       The Assembly wishes to express its concern about the difficulties and living conditions of present and future rural populations, in particular those of young people in rural areas:

a.       lack of prospects in the sector, although the individuals concerned have often received specific vocational training, sometimes supported by European funding;

b.       lack of appropriate forms of credit for buying or expanding farms, unfavourable tax measures, quota policies, outdated inheritance laws, etc;

c.       deterioration or inadequacy of public services (schools, social and health services, transport, recreational facilities, aid for the elderly, etc);

d.       weakening of the role of farmers and youth associations in rural areas, often resulting in the disappearance of the latter in certain central and east European countries;

e.       insecure position of women in the primary sector, in terms both of the status of farmers’ wives and of equality of pay for female employees (cf Recommendation 1321 (1997));

f.       lack of a comprehensive policy to promote both the new role of farmers as nature’s husbanders and protectors of the environment and that of modern businessmen working with appropriate tools to make their farms productive in modern economic terms.

5.       In this respect, the Round Table between the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and representatives of European rural youth organisations (Budapest, 31 October 1997), should be borne in mind.

6.       The Assembly thus intends examining the problems raised above in co-operation with representative youth organisations.

7.       The Assembly also recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

i.       include the issues of the situation and prospects of young people in rural areas in Europe in the Council of Europe’s work programme;

ii.       consider the possibility of setting out the various measures recommended for rural populations in Council of Europe legal instruments in a single text that covers the economic aspects, education, social and health services, environmental protection, etc, and promotes equality and quality of life for all citizens and the younger generations in particular (cf. Recommendation 1296 (1996)).

Signed : ¹

Johansson I-B., Sweden, SOC

Briane, France, EPP/CD

Carvalho, Portugal, UEL

Ciupaila, Lithuania, LDR

Etherington, United Kingdom, SOC

Hadjidemetriou, Cyprus, SOC

Korakas, Greece, UEL

Korkeaoja, Finland, LDR

Onaindia, Spain, SOC

Penz, Austria, EPP/CD

Ruffy, Switzerland, SOC

Staes, Belgium, EPP/CD

Taylor J.D., United Kingdom, EPP/CD

Telgmaa, Estonia, EDG

Tripunovski, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, SOC

Varela, Spain, LDR