European Landowners Organisation Regional Conference AgriBusiness Institute, Qormi - Malta Saturday, 25 March 2006 Rural Development In A Small Country Within The EU Context Joseph Muscat, Member of the European Parliament Ladies and Gentlemen, First of all, I wish to thank you for inviting me over to address you. 1 do not think I stand on any vantage point to lecture you on Rural Development. Actually, I think the situation is the other way round. You are the experts on the subject and I look forward to be briefed by my colleagues on the result of these meetings. I would rather tackle the issue from another perspective, namely that of kid who grew up on his grandfather's small farm in a tiny village of just over 500 hundred inhabitants - mostly farmers - and who is currently representing the people of the smallest Member State of the European Union in the European Parliament. That kid is me. Like many of you, I have read and re-read the various policy documents the Commission has come out with in regards to Rural Development, For all my sins, I have also read through the amendments and suggestions that my colleagues in the European Parliament have come up with. They are all very positive contributions in a well-balanced long-term strategy. Nevertheless, as John Keynes once said, "In the long term, we are all dead!" As I think you have come to appreciate during the past couple of days, the dimensions of this archipelago of islands are such that it can be somewhat tricky to differentiate and draw lines between rural and urban areas. We are one of the countries with the highest population density in the world, and the highest in the European Union, Nevertheless, we cannot end up being punished for this constraint given to us by nature and further aggravated by demographics. We face a situation where everyone pays lip service to the protection of the rural environment. Nevertheless, authorities are tempted to turn a blind eye - or two - to certain developments which spoil the little we have left. People who protest against such developments are ofien labelled as trouble-makers and suffering from the Not- In-My-Backyard syndrome. On the other hand, developers argue that given the bleak economic outlook in our country as in a number of other European countries, building new sites and structures is a way of helping to turn the economic wheel. Objectors are thus restraining economic progress. It is a difficult argument to counter, especially with people whosepresent or future job could depend on that particular development, and with people who might be looking forward to having their own place to live in, ‘That is why we need a total change in attitude, I am glad to say that the EU Strategic Guidelines for Rural Development do help in heralding this change. Defenders of the rural environment must not see themselves - and must not be seen - as some sort of curators of the status quo where economic value-added is negligible. The argument should not be simply in favour of open spaces. The argument must be that open spaces and sustainable rural development can help create better jobs. These jobs do not need to be directly connected with traditional agriculture. I submit that agri-tourism, gastronomic travel, ornithological projects, _ water-conservation initiatives - just to mention a few - all fit within the wider objectives of our Member States and the European Union as a whole. This is yet another example how proactive vision can make the Lisbon Strategy a reality. Unfortunately, until now we have heard too many words and had very little action Of course, there will be problems, especially for a small country such as ours where land can be described as the scarcest resource of them all - maybe with the exception of water and money! ‘Thus, there is a need for a proactive rural development vision to be accompanied by other initiatives that alleviate pressure to turn rural into urban areas, Two solutions come into mind. ‘A medium-term solution is the reform in the rent market, making it attractive for landlords to put their property back on the market with realistic prices. Secondly, sea reclamation must be pursued actively as a realistic vision. ‘The technology is there even though the costs must be too high if these projects are not well planned. But then, the cost of staying put is much higher.