Toespraak bij het in ontvangst nemen van het OESO rapport over het plattelandsbeleid (Engelstalig)

Toespraak | 04-06-2008

Ladies and gentlemen,

Thanks to Nicola Crosta and Olaf Merk of the OECD for their report on living and sustainable rural areas in the Netherlands.

You address a number of important issues in your report. The first is whether or not our countryside is in fact robust and sustainable. Also, can we implement our policies by collaborating with the provinces? And above all, how do we compare with other countries?

These are exciting questions, as they are about a unique type of countryside. A countryside with a high agricultural production. With a characteristic and varied landscape. With pressure of population. With great biodiversity. The Netherlands is a pressure cooker of competing interests in which we have to juggle the three Ps: people, planet, and profit.

I have not yet had the opportunity to read the whole report but during a quick read, however, two points caught my eye.

First there is the aspect of the social component. If I understand correctly, you say our main focus lies on biodiversity and agriculture which I interpret as Planet and Profit. This would mean that in implementing our integrated rural development policies, our focus on the People factor could be intensified.

But I see this differently. Government policies are inspired by people. Always. Take for instance the landscape agenda I am developing. It refers very specifically to the countryside in terms of happiness and health. How does the countryside impact on our welfare? These are values that I do not simply wish to preserve, but that have in fact become my focus. We have to allow the countryside to further develop it's qualities. What's more, we will earn EUR 17.8 thousand million by investing in rural landscapes, as calculated in our rural quality cost-benefit analysis. I have recently installed a taskforce to advise me on financing these landscape investments through public-private partnerships. Provinces and municipalities can use our expertise (as well as the expertise of the Ministry of Economic Affairs) to design their social rural development policies. Our recently developed kansenkaart, for instance, is a website brimming with ideas.

My second point concerns decentralisation. You argue in favour of enabling lower authorities to formulate their own rural development policies. I agree with you. It is an approach we have also adopted under the government programme 'devolve as much as possible and centralise only where necessary'. Nevertheless, you express concern about the scope provinces are given to make their own choices. You doubt that the provinces have the necessary capacities.

I share some of your concerns. The provinces have been given a leading role in formulating rural development policies. They are better equipped than before, but this is all still new to them. Our lines of communication are open, however, and together we will keep each other focused on the challenges the countryside offers. We will discuss the Rural Investment Budget and its first results soon. At that time we will also discuss how we will be able to promote the provincial policy scope under existing agreements. I am curious to learn what Mr Rüpp has to say about.

The Netherlands is a pressure cooker of the three Ps, as the report clearly shows. The country is unique, and this makes an international comparison difficult. There seems to be no other country on whose experiences we can draw. Yet the number of regions in Europe under severe urban pressure is growing all the time. Yet our biodiversity does not stop at our national borders. Yet people value the countryside. This means we will need to lead by example. We will be organising an international conference at the end of October to establish how we can collaborate with other urbanised regions at national level.

So we stand at the heart of policy development. We play a pivotal role in the policies that are being implemented in cooperation with municipalities and provinces. I have many plans and am really looking forward to implementing them. I am sure that I will be able to make good use of your views and findings. We will use them and share them to promote strong city-country relations.

Because both sides stand to gain from a good relation. Obviously, the farmer needs the city-dweller. At the same time, the city cannot function without open green space. When children can never visit a real farm. Rural policy is of strategic importance for our society. It can create a mutual gain situation for both farmer and city-dweller. Quality food benefits everyone. A healthy, green environment improves everyone's quality of life. And innovation in our agricultural sector can help developing agriculture all over the world.

Thank you very much.