6 Employment in rural areas: closing
the jobs gap
| (28218)
5051/07
COM(06) 857
+ ADD 1
| Commission Communication: Employment in rural areas: closing the jobs gap
|
| Legal base | — |
| Document originated | 21 December 2006
|
| Deposited in Parliament | 9 January 2007
|
| Department | Work and Pensions
|
| Basis of consideration | EM of 22 January 2007
|
| Previous Committee Report | None
|
| To be discussed in Council | No date set
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | Cleared
|
Background
6.1 As part of the Lisbon Strategy, the Agriculture Council agreed
in July 2003 a set of conclusions on employment in rural areas.
These identified the challenges arising — such as an ageing
farming population, enlargement, and the switch from product to
producer support under the reformed Common Agricultural Policy
(CAP) — and called upon the Commission to carry out an in-depth
assessment of employment prospects in rural areas. Subsequently,
the European Council confirmed that, under the revised Lisbon
Strategy, the guiding principles behind the CAP should be a strong
economic performance going hand-in-hand with the sustainable use
of natural resources.
The current document
6.2 In this Communication, the Commission first analyses what
it describes as the "jobs gap". It draws attention to
the diversity of the rural areas within the Community, in terms
of population, demography, economic and social structures, and
labour markets, but suggests that they face a common problem —
that their capacity to create high quality, sustainable jobs is
falling behind that in urban areas.
6.3 More specifically, it points out:
· that
the per capita income of predominantly urban areas is almost double
that of predominantly rural areas;
· that,
although the proportion of the total Community population has
remained fairly constant in recent decades, this masks significant
variations between and within individual Member States;
· that
there has been a growth in "accessible" rural areas,
due on the one hand on to a movement out of the more remote areas,
and on the other hand to a movement out of the cities by those
seeking a more rural lifestyle;
· that
there is a widening gap between urban and rural employment rates;
· that,
although the services sector is the largest employer in the rural
areas, it is smaller than in the urban areas, and tends to be
dominated by the public sector;
· that
skill levels and human capital are generally lower in the rural
areas, which can increase population losses; and
· that
there is a lack of opportunities for women and young people.
6.4 In particular, the Communication deals with the
place of agriculture, pointing out that, in most rural areas,
the primary sector now accounts for less than 10% of total employment,
but is above 25% in the south and east of the Community (where
productivity is lower); that, although the integration of the
new Member States has generally been smooth, particularly as regards
incomes, successful adjustment in this sector will be key to improving
its competitiveness and economic sustainability; that at present
fewer than 10% of farm holders in the Community are below 35 years
old, and 24% are over 65; and that farmers' training levels are
highly variable. As to the impact of the recent CAP reforms, it
says that, without the introduction of direct aids, many rural
areas would have faced major economic, social and environmental
problems, and that rural development has helped to prevent depopulation
and land abandonment in many areas. It also suggests that the
decoupling of support from production has had a broadly neutral
impact on employment, and that there has at the same time been
a creation of new opportunities through combining part-time farm
employment with off-farm work. Nevertheless, the Commission points
out that measures aimed at job creation and diversification into
non-agricultural activities remain a relatively small part of
rural development programmes.
6.5 As to ways of overcoming these problems, the
Commission says that there are a range of instruments at Community
and national level which can be used to close the jobs divide
between rural and urban areas. These include:
· the
maintenance and consolidation of CAP reform, with increased market
orientation and income stabilisation through direct aids;
· Member
States using existing opportunities to encourage and support the
cultivation of energy crops and the development of renewable energy
enterprises;
· giving
priority over the coming years to the integration of the new Member
States and the restructuring of their agriculture;
· Member
States using their rural development programmes, in line with
the Community Strategic Guidelines, to deliver knowledge transfer,
modernisation, innovation and quality in the food chain, investment
in human capital and, above all, the creation of employment opportunities
and conditions for growth;
· using
the full range of Community rural development instruments, with
Member States ensuring that the synergy between structural, employment
and rural development policies is maximised;
· ensuring
that actions in these fields comply with the objectives of the
European Employment Strategy;
· the
Rural Development Network establishing, as its central work theme
in 2008, job creation in rural areas.
The Government's view
6.6 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 22 January 2007,
the Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department of Work and
Pensions (Mr James Plaskitt) comments as follows on the various
policy implications arising on the Communication. He says;
· that,
whilst the UK agrees that there should be a shift towards a more
market-oriented CAP, its clear view is that direct aids should
be phased out, and that it is opposed to any moves to "maintain
and consolidate" them, there being no evidence that this
is needed to support long-term rural employment;
· that
the UK hopes in the Rural Development Programme 2007-13 to continue
to offer support for renewable energy enterprises, though he adds
that it has called for support for energy crops to be phased out
(and that it is not clear how such support might help to tackle
rural under-development);
· that
the UK agrees that, in view of the special challenges confronting
the rural areas of the new Member States, restructuring their
agricultural industries will remain a priority over the coming
years;
· that
the Commission's view of the scope of Rural Development Programmes
is very restricted, and that the Community' Strategic Guidelines
place considerable emphasis, not just on socio-economic considerations,
but on environmental objectives, with the latter providing the
main emphasis of the UK National Strategy Plan for the next Rural
Development Programme, which it submitted to the Commission on
21 December 2006;
· that,
in order to achieve better synergy, the Structural Funds Programmes
and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)
will provide for coordination between them, but will need to demonstrate
how each will provide added value;[19]
· that
the European Employment Strategy is now subsumed within the revised
Lisbon Strategy, and that the latter's focus on jobs and growth
does not exclude sustainable development, it being recognised
that economic, social and environmental objectives can reinforce
each other, and that they should advance together;
· that
the Rural Development Network should contribute to the effectiveness
of the policy priorities of rural development programmes (which
may include job creation), but it should not decide or develop
its own policy priorities.
Conclusion
6.7 Although this document deals with an important
subject, it does little more than outline a framework for further
action, and any recommendations are in general terms. Consequently,
although we think it right to draw it to the attention of the
House, we are clearing it.
19 The UK believes that the EAFRD should support diversification
of rural economies at a local level, whereas the Structural Funds
should primarily address rural issues as part of wider regional
activity or as part of national employment and skills programmes. Back
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