Brussels, 02/06/2008 (Agence Europe) - The European Union needs a clearer vision of the future of agriculture and the countryside and should take greater account of the challenges facing peri-urban areas: this is one of the conclusions of the conference held at the Committee of the Regions (CoR) in Brussels on 22 May by the Peri Urban Regions Platform Europe (“Purple”).
The president of this network and member of the CoR, Ms Lenie Dwarshuis-van de Beek (Liberal Group, Netherlands), stressed the role played by these regions, which are an “essential interface between the urban and rural worlds”, but voiced regret at the budgetary cuts inflicted upon rural development policy in the EU. At the adoption of the financial perspectives 2007-2013, the member states “stole €20 billion from us”, admitted Mariann Fischer Boel, European Commissioner for Agriculture, adding that these “must be serious about giving EU policies the funding they need”.
The “Purple” network, which was created in 2004, consists of 13 peri-urban regions: Catalonia, Dublin, Flanders, Frankfurt-Rhine-Main, Ile-de-France, Mazovia, MHAL (Maastricht, Hasselt, Aachen and Liège, Province of Limburg), Nord-Pas de Calais, Randstad (North and South Holland, Utrecht and Flevoland), Rhône-Alpes, Stockholm, South-East England, West Midlands. (L.C.)