30 Amendments of Michela GIUFFRIDA related to 2015/2279(INI)
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas these regions are structurally disadvantaged, owing to the extreme conditions and remoteness, to the extent that many mountainous regions face depopulation and ageing populations, owing to the extreme conditions and remoteness, which can upsets the natural cycle of generations and, leads ing to a lowering of social standards and the quality of life; whereas this often leads to a rise in unemployment, social exclusion and urban migration;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the additional costs associated with climatic and topographical conditions, remoteness from economic centres, lack of sufficient infrastructure, and isolation hinder the economic and social development of mountainous regions; whereas also efforts to maintain agricultural economic production in EU regions must be accompanied by physical and digital accessibility as well as access to public services for the inhabitants of such regions; whereas the broadband connection gives opportunities for economic, educational, social and cultural activities; whereas the mountainous regions are generally lacking sufficient digital infrastructure and broadband coverage;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas agriculture, together with tourism, is a main sources of incomes for mountain communities; whereas mountain farming represents 18% of all agricultural enterprises in Europe, utilising 15% of agricultural land and 18% of the agricultural workforce; whereas animal production is the dominant output in EU mountain areas with diary production and the grazing livestock meat sector having the highest share; whereas in addition to animal breeding and crop-growing mountainous regions have other agricultural potential and resources such as forests and products thereof;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas mountainous regions face serious challenges – as regards social and economic development, climate change, transport and demographic issues – that can onlymust be addressed through the establishment of adequate connections with urban areas and by guaranteeing access to digital services;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas it is essential to secure agricultural and food production and maintain added value in these regions; whereas mountainous regions preserve unique conditions and traditional know- how; whereas quality products contribute to the sustainable development of mountain areas;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas farming and agricultural activities in mountainous regions are small scale and/or family-run; whereas Producers' organisations from mountainous regions have the potential to strengthen the negotiating power of producers from these regions, while at the same time combat unfair trading practices towards them;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas a response must be found to the challenges posed by desertification, depopulation, gender stratification and lack of generational renewal in mountain areas;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas mountain areas make a positive contribution to sustainable development and the preservation of regional ecosystems and have the chance to contribute to the fight against climate change;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas mountainous regions depend largely upon mountain agriculturebase their economy on specific sectors, such as mountain agriculture, forest resources and tourism;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the Commission to start the process of creating a working definition for functional mountainous regions in the context of the Cohesion Policy; considers that such a definition must be wide and inclusive, taking into account different factors such as altitude, accessibility and slope; calls on the Commission also to take into consideration areas that, while not mountainous, depend heavily onare greatly integrated with mountain areas; points out, in this context, the idea reflected in the EU Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP) of including non-mountainous areas in the strategy as a good initiative;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers that EU policies should have a specific approach to mountainous regions, as they have clear structural disadvantages; these regions, indeed, need additional support to overcome the challenges of climate change, be able to provide employment, economic development and protection of the environment, and help reach the EU renewable energy targets; considers, as a result of this, that mountainous regions should be mainstreamed in all aspects of EU policies, including the Cohesion Policy;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Regrets that despite the sector-specific measures that have been taken and specific support instruments have been developed by the EU, there does not yet exist a fully- fledged EU approach to mountain regions; proposes in this regard that efforts be made to adopt a common definition of mountain regions, taking into account that these regions are characterised by a considerable limitation of the possibility for using the land, difficult climatic conditions and the use of very expensive special equipment among others;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls for a substantialthe managing authorities to consider increase ing allocations of ESI Funds at national level for undeveloped mountainous areas, using a multi-sectoral policy approach, where possible;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission and Member States to develop strategies between local authorities, civil society and economic players in mountain ranges in order to determine joint action plans for the promotion, development and protection of the mountain ranges in question; welcomes and supports in this regard the Alpine macro-regional strategy initiativestresses the importance of programmes and initiatives aiming at stable and quality job-creation in the mountainous regions; welcomes and supports in this regard the Alpine macro-regional strategy initiative; urges the Commission, the Member States, and candidate-countries to look for a similar approach in their respective mountainous regions, which would help reaching social cohesion;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Welcomes the current initiatives for the Carpathian Mountains in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region and the progress made on the EU macro-regional strategy for the Alps; notes that the latter is a good example of an integrated approach to territorial development, taking into account mountainous areas and regions dependent onintegrated with them;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Believes that the European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) instrument offers an excellent opportunity to share best practices and knowledge among mountainous regions, which in many cases are located on national borders, and calls for a specific mountain dimension in the future ETC; welcomes initiatives, such as ‘Policies against depopulation in mountainous areas’ (PADIMA), that are aimed to address the specific problems faced by mountainous regions; stresses the importance of other cooperation initiatives, such as EGTC and EEIG, to develop these areas;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Considers that measures under the second pillar of the CAP must ensure the sustainability and diversification of agricultural production in mountain areas by supporting the emergence of projects that create added value, innovation projects, agricultural investment projects and farm development projects and projects to maintain processing enterprises and closed production cycles, in sector such as, but not limited to, the dairy sector, meat-processing and honey production ; stresses that these funds should be used as tools to boost the competitiveness of the regional agricultural sector and / or as a means of allowing the economic diversification of farms; stresses the importance of RDPs in stimulation of preserving of autochthonous breeds in mountainous regions;
Amendment 87 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Urges the Commission and member states to allocate investments via cohesion and investment funds in broadband connection infrastructure in the mountainous regions as to combat low digitalisation and economic and social hindering of mountainous regions as compared to lowland regions;
Amendment 102 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Highlights the role of scientific institutes and other educational establishments dealing with mountain agriculture and calls on the regional and national authorities to strengthen their role and financial support to advance innovation and sustainable use of resources in those regions; stresses the importance of women's role in fostering innovation and cooperation processes in mountain areas;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Encourages the support of local action groups (LAGs) for community-led local development;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Highlights the potential of dual education in mountainous regions; points at the encouraging results achieved in Austria, Germany and other Member States; welcomes as well projects for dual education within the macro-regional EU Strategy for the Danube Region;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29a. Calls on the Commission to promote pilot projects with a view to recovering traditional economic activities, including farming and handicrafts, in mountain areas that are subject to depopulation, to increase the resilience of the local people and make them more welcoming;
Amendment 119 #
Draft opinion
Subheading 3
Subheading 3
Structuring the food chain and other production activities
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Calls for the improvement of healthcare facilities in mountainous regions, where necessary, also through cross-border cooperation initiatives, should they be helpful;
Amendment 124 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses the importance of establishing producer groups or organisations to strengthen the bargaining power of farmers in the food chain; calls on the Commission and the Member States to consider simplification of the rules governing the Producer's Organisations for producers from mountainous regions due to economic specificities of these regions;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. Stresses the importance of integrated territorial initiatives with a view to integrating migrants, in connection with processes relating to demographic and socio-economic renewal and recovery in mountain areas, including those undergoing depopulation; calls on the Commission to facilitate and promote the dissemination of such initiatives;
Amendment 137 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission to strengthen the legislation, the promotion and information initiatives concerning the ‘'mountain products’' label and, more generally, the PDO, PGI and TSG labels.;
Amendment 141 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Stresses the importance of investment towards more efficient use of agricultural and agroforestry resources in the mountainous regions; recalls the importance which forests have in providing primary and secondary materials, including wood chips, bark, sawdust, branches, etc., but also herbs, mushrooms, honey and forest fruits which could be used in pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries and thus help create jobs and combat depopulation in mountainous regions.
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Notes that mountainous regions are especially vulnerable to climate change, which can have an environmental impact also on surrounding areas and negative repercussions on economic development and tourism; believes, in this regard, that safeguarding the environment, combatting climate change and taking appropriate climate change adaptation measures must be at the heart of a future ‘Agenda for EU Mountainous Regions’;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
40. Calls on the Commission, when developing policies for broadband access, to take into account the lack of infrastructure and interest of investors owing to the sparse population and remoteness of mountainous regions; calls on the Commission to develop specific policies for overcoming the digital divide in these regions, also through the necessary public investments;