Dear participants of this conference. I am very happy to virtually join you for the European conference on Rural and Territorial repopulation in Spain.
I understand the importance of this event, and I am sorry that I am unable to be with you today in Sierra de Gredos (Avila, Castilla-León, Spain).
As the European Commission's Vice-President responsible for Democracy and Demography, I am currently working on the Report on the Impact of demographic change, which I Intend to present at the end of March. The report will take stock of the demographic trends in the EU and explore the various Impacts, Including at the regional level.
In this context, I am particularly interested to hear how you are promoting connectivity, entrepreneurship and innovation across rural territories. You can Inspire other regions In the EU that are facing similar challenges, so that we can together enable rural areas fulfil their socioeconomic potential and retain or attract entrepreneurs. I look forward to receiving feedback from your event.
As you know, an increasing number of citizens across the EU tend to move to apparently more attractive, often urban areas. Although mobility actually helps improve people's lives, we need to carefully address demographic challenges, in order not to further increase divergence between regions.
People move for many different reasons. Some move for professional reasons, others move to get married and start a family and others to study. All this means that most of these people are of working-age. This creates a challenge, as the key drivers of the economy leave In pursuit of a better life elsewhere.
For this very reason I intend to follow up very soon with a long term vision on rural areas that are most affected by rapid depopulation. To reverse this growing trend, we need to make rural regions more attractive. This can be done by Improving regional Infrastructure and access to services, strengthening digital connectivity and creating employment opportunities. These measures can help improve the quality of life and here your support and ideas are key.
I will be travelling to Spain in the first half of February to visit some of your regions facing the challenge of rapid depopulation. On that occasion, I will be delighted to meet with some of you.
For now, I wish you a very successful event. I look forward to meeting all of you throughout my mandate, including in the framework of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
Thank you for this wonderful opportunity and see you soon.