Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on ‘Villages and small towns as catalysts for rural development — challenges and opportunities’ (own-initiative opinion)

15. Stresses that territorial cohesion also applies to cohesion within territories i.e. ensuring that the whole area makes an economic contribution, not just the large cities, and emphasises that the potential of small and medium-sized towns in rural areas to make a significant contribution to the region should not be overlooked;

14. Stresses that towns and cities can make a key contribution, as growth centres and growth drivers, to a given region; points, at the same time, to the need for it to be made possible for rural settlements to participate in integrated solutions for a given functional geographical entity by means of the fostering of partnerships and networks; stresses that larger urban centres face specific challenges because of the complexity of their social, economic and environmental tasks; sees, in this context, the endogenous potential of rural and peri-urban areas as offering an opportunity for development, although not only around agglomeratio ...[+++]ns and big cities; notes, furthermore, the opportunity for the economic development of particularly disadvantaged regions through appropriate exploitation of, and support for, the endogenous potential of rural areas, including their environmental and cultural assets; considers also, in the context of structural and cohesion policy, urban-rural partnerships more in terms of providing rural areas with the same conditions for development and quality of life with regard to social and economic factors; calls on the Member States, given the dynamic influence of towns and cities on economic development in the regions and in stimulating the economy in surrounding rural areas, to guarantee the resources needed to implement the urban and sub-urban projects required;

– Mr President, I want to draw your attention to the plight of one of my constituents, Alan Jones, from Knighton, a rural town in the West Midlands, who is a striking example of an entrepreneur in Europe who has been let down by the absence of high-speed broadband connection in rural areas.

– Mr President, I want to draw your attention to the plight of one of my constituents, Alan Jones, from Knighton, a rural town in the West Midlands, who is a striking example of an entrepreneur in Europe who has been let down by the absence of high-speed broadband connection in rural areas.

However, for rail workers, passengers, public service and the train stations in our small rural towns, this is not a ‘gift package’.