On Thursday 23 November in Strasbourg, the European Parliament welcomed the European Commission’s communication entitled ‘Harnessing Talent in Europe’s Regions’ as the first key result of the European Year of Skills.
In adopting (401 votes in favour, 39 against and 109 abstentions) the report by Cristina Maestre Martín De Almagro (S&D, Spanish) on this communication dating from January 2023 (see EUROPE 13101/15), the European Parliament welcomed the objectives of promoting, retaining and attracting talent with a view to transforming all regions into dynamic places. MEPs welcome the strategies presented as a mechanism for preventing economic, social, territorial and gender disparities between citizens affected by the green and digital transitions (see EUROPE 13152/7).
The European Parliament calls for new budgetary resources to be allocated to cohesion policy in order to meet the challenges ahead, and believes that it is essential to implement the concept of the ‘rural test’, which must include an assessment of the demographic impact, the proximity and accessibility of public services, the issue of quality job creation, the impact on education and training and the impact in terms of gender on rural areas when drawing up EU policies.
The creation of a rural observatory is also supported by MEPs. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)