91997E1287

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1287/97 by Anne McIntosh (PPE) to the Commission (11 April 1997)

Subject: Developments since the Cork Declaration on Rural Development

With reference to the European Conference on Rural Development in November 1996, what progress has been made towards formulating a programme that places emphasis on sustainable rural development and meets the objectives as laid down at Cork?

It will be necessary to adjust the common agricultural policy (CAP) and the agricultural sector accordingly to implement this rural development programme. Will the Commission therefore confirm that the development programme will be introduced as part of its reform of the CAP, and that the principle of subsidiarity and the need to preserve and improve the quality of the rural environment will be observed?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (6 June 1997)

As stated at the Cork conference, rural development policy must be integrated, substainable, coherent and efficient. It must be simple and transparent and cater for the wide range of landscapes and activities in rural areas. Moreover, the Commission is convinced that rural development policy must help promote socio-economic cohesion within the Community and facilitate the necessary adjustments of the common agricultural policy (CAP) which will have implications on agricultural production at large.

It is a declared objective of the Commission to proceed with rural development policies in the context of a further reform of the CAP. As a general orientation, the Commission favours an approach which strengthens the coherence between rural development policies and market policies and which reinforces the role of agri-environmental policies.

Currently, the Commission is carrying out a thorough analysis of certain key market organisations, i.e. dairy, beef, cereals, oilseeds and protein crops, and of rural development. As a result of these analyses, the Commission will publish in due course a document which will give a factual background for proposals concerning a further reform of the CAP and rural development policies.

As an important document, the Commission adopted in November 1996 the first report on economic and social cohesion. This deals in particular with the effects of structural and sectorial policies - such as the CAP - on cohesion during 1989-1999. These questions were raised during the European forum on cohesion which was held at the end of April in Brussels.

In any case, the Commission will be presenting its guidelines and its first proposals - including financial perspectives - within the 'Santer package', following the conclusions of the Amsterdam European Council concerning the intergovernmental conference.