At the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday 5 October, the European Commissioner for Cohesion Policy, Elisa Ferreira, answered MEPs’ questions on the depopulation of European regions. This phenomenon particularly affects rural areas and is linked to the ageing of the population and the difficulty of attracting young people and qualified workers.
Rebalancing growth
The key to combating depopulation, the Commissioner argues, is to rebalance growth at the territorial level. “Some countries are moving very quickly towards the European average, but at the cost of significant internal imbalances which, in the medium term, generate [...] a middle-income trap”, she warned (see EUROPE 12887/2).
This requires not only the provision of quality public services in rural areas, but also strategies that focus on small and intermediate centres. In essence, the growth of large urban centres is not enough to drive the surrounding areas. “Also, these big, big centres are starting not to deliver what they could deliver in terms of contribution to development because they are somehow cornered by the amount of problems that agglomeration creates, from environmental problems to inefficiency in the management of the whole city”. She advocates for these intermediate poles having defined functions and becoming real territorial anchors.
Cohesion policy alone is not enough
Asked about the Commission’s intentions to develop a strategy to combat depopulation, Elisa Ferreira drew attention to the fact that cohesion policy is co-managed by the Member States. “In this sense, it is important that the countries themselves realise the strategic importance of rebalancing the territory [...], it is necessary to define and adopt strategies at national level, to include regional and local stakeholders, and then to articulate all the instruments available in the framework of the cohesion policy in order to tackle the root of these problems”, she said.
Similarly, when asked about the possibility of setting up a mirror initiative of the European Urban Initiative, which allocates a percentage of ERDF funds to cities, for rural areas, Elisa Ferreira recalled the role of national authorities: “There is so much diversity [between regions and between Member States] that it is difficult to manage a ‘one size fits all’”.
Finally, regarding the partnership agreements under the 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy, the Commissioner was optimistic. “We therefore have positive expectations that, in the implementation phase, this objective will also be placed high enough on the internal agenda of each Member State”. (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)