Involving regions in decision-making processes at the European level is essential to ensure that policy measures are adapted to their unique particularities, Ciudadano’s spokesperson at La Rioja regional parliament, Pablo Baena, told EURACTIV’s partner EFE in an interview.
Local citizens’ panels at the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) indicate an appetite for ambitious EU reforms and demonstrate many policies could also benefit from a bottom-up, regional approach. One example of regions that can benefit from such an approach is Ciudadano and the broader area of La Rioja.
“Talking about the development of Europe or its future” inevitably implies “talking about the future of the regions of Europe”, Baena explains.
Baena commented that the demographic situation in many rural areas is one of the most pressing and significant problems in Europe’s regions.
Rural areas account for almost 30% of the EU’s population, equating to 137 million people. But this number is decreasing, leading to shrinking communities, ageing populations, and a lack of investment in these areas. This is driven primarily by citizens looking for better economic opportunities and access to services, education, and professional facilities not adequately provided locally.
Preventing a “mass exodus” to cities, tackling the progressive ageing of farmers in rural areas and strengthening all economic sectors pose significant challenges, Baena added.
In his view, one primary goal for the future should be guaranteeing the availability of services to citizens living in rural areas. For example, fast internet connections are essential, enabling citizens to “choose the option they want”.
According to the Spanish National Geographic Institute, in La Rioja – the second smallest region in Spain after the Balearic Islands – almost half of its 319,796 population live in the capital, Logroño. The rest are distributed among 174 municipalities.
“Apart from its capital, La Rioja is a rural region,” Baena said.
While La Rioja does not have the lowest population density in Spain, it is well below the national average: 62.6 inhabitants per square kilometre, compared to Spain’s 84. In the EU, the number of inhabitants per square kilometre is 109.
Rural gap
“(…) Despite being a very small region, we have a problem of depopulation”, says Baena, adding that “distances are small” within the territory, but “there are big differences between the capital and the municipalities.”
A large part of La Rioja’s GDP comes from producing and exporting high-quality wines, particularly the internationally renowned and well-consolidated trademark “Rioja”.
The “red miracle” of La Rioja is possible thanks to the “efforts of farmers and wine producers”, an element directly linked to La Rioja’s own “rural” tradition, which should be preserved, Baena stressed. But one of the problems facing the region is young people and families are not attracted to this kind of job and are keen to move to the city.
Future political strategies should “facilitate” and create adequate conditions so that people living there “are not forced to leave”.
Also, ensuring fast internet access for all and good transport infrastructures is essential, Baena said, adding it facilitates “the creation of new business models, Tele training, telemedicine” and new services provided by public and private sectors separately or together.
Correcting the deficit in transport infrastructures is also key as it “makes life easier for citizens” and contributes “to the industrial development” of the region, where several factories have closed in recent years.
Railway corridors
According to Baena, Europe “betting on the development of railway corridors” is very positive. Trains can be considered “green” and sustainable not only for passenger transport but to boost “logistics and industrial competitiveness” as well.
“It would be essential for La Rioja, to boost the modernisation of the Cantabrian-Mediterranean railway corridor (…)”, Baena stressed.
The representative added that the EU’s Next Generation recovery plan is an opportunity to sustain the population in rural areas and contribute to developing La Rioja for the future.
However, Baena considers that the EU should continue its “gigantic effort” to ensure that citizens in the regions “are aware of and close to the institutions”, an issue for which both the Committee of the Regions and the Conference on the Future of Europe can be an essential tool.
“If the future of Europe depends on the future of its regions, we are talking about the future of the citizens of La Rioja, Spain and Europe,” he said.
[Edited by Alice Taylor]
Source: euractiv.com
