María Gafo, Deputy Head of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, took part last week in the Dialogues on the Future of Depopulated Spain promoted by La Moncloa in Teruel, and highlighted the commitment of the European institutions to the phenomenon of depopulation, which has led them to launch an Action Plan and to promote a Rural Pact for next year.​

- What has led the European Commission to become decisively involved in the issue of depopulation?

- What the Commission has done is to recognise the issue of demography, which is fundamental not only for Spain but for all the countries of the European Union, and for the first time we have a vice-president who is in charge of the Demography and Democracy portfolio, and it is within this portfolio that the long-term vision for the EU's rural areas has been drawn up, where special attention is paid to the most remote areas, which are often affected by the challenge of depopulation.

- You started from a public consultation where 40% expressed their unease about the abandonment they felt, didn't you?

- Yes, indeed, that was quite a shocking result because 40% said they felt neglected by society and policy makers, but if you look at the people who responded from remote rural areas, it went up to 56%. The reasons they gave for this feeling related firstly to the deterioration of infrastructure and services, but they also attached great importance to the fact that they did not feel that their needs were taken into account by policy and political decision-makers. This is a sentiment that is very important to address at European, national and also regional level.

- Following that consultation this year the European Commission launched a Communication on these rural areas, what does it propose?

- It sets out a Rural Action Plan and we include nine flagship initiatives and fifteen accompanying actions with the aim of making rural areas stronger, more resilient and more prosperous by 2040. Of course, rural areas need to be more connected, and here we are looking in particular at transport and digital connectivity. We also propose a Rural Pact, which is about trying to put all levels of governance together at the level of countries, regions, stakeholders and European institutions. We are going to hold an event during the French presidency next year and we are going to try to see all together how we can row in the same direction.

- Will the Rural Pact be launched at that event?

- We are trying to define it and what is very important for us is that all these actors that I have mentioned participate and commit themselves to put on the table measures to make our rural areas get better and better.

- What will this Rural Pact achieve?

- This Rural Pact will serve first of all to make rural areas feel that they are not alone, that we are supporting them and that we want them to be stronger, more resilient, more prosperous and better connected in 2040, and then also to try to harmonise efforts and that we are all rowing in the same direction, because otherwise we are losing a lot of efficiency. And then also to point out that this is just the beginning, it is setting in motion a process to continue to work together in the coming years, which manifests itself in improving opportunities for rural areas. It is also important that in a few years we are going to review all these actions, and the result of this review will be considered in the next programming framework, in the next programmes and legislation for the period 2028-2034, which seems far away, but it is not so far away because we have to start preparing it soon.

- Is Spain somehow leading this trend in Europe?

- Yes, Spain is clearly one of the countries where it has come to the political and media fore. It also happens in other countries but it is true that Spain is leading the way, and in the public consultation that we used as a basis for the Vision, the country that contributed the most people was Spain. We also set up a citizens' workshop initiative in which we provided material for groups across the European Union to develop debates and then send the results back to Brussels. And also the country where there were more debates organised by the local groups themselves was Spain.

- Was it taken into account in the elaboration of the long-term vision?

- Yes, they sent it to us and there were also groups from Aragon that contributed, and then we have taken it all into account for this Vision that we adopted in June and for the Action Plan.

- Do the prescriptions have to be the same for everyone or do specific and different measures have to be taken for each specific case?

- The problems are very different. While in Spain and Portugal the phenomenon of depopulation has been going on for many decades, in other countries it has been happening at full speed in recent years. In Lithuania, for example, in the last seven years rural areas have lost 12% of their population, which is a barbaric figure. No two rural areas are the same, neither here in Spain, where an area in Teruel is different from one in Almeria, but it is true that there are common challenges and opportunities. The issue of job opportunities and access to service infrastructures I think are fundamental; we have the new economy, the circular economy, which is where we want to go; the world of teleworking has meant that even now, during the pandemic, people are looking at rural areas with renewed eyes, and I think that a huge field of opportunities is opening up. This digital world means that, for example, someone from a village in Teruel can sell ceramics anywhere.

- As long as they have the right Internet connection, of course.

- As long as they have connectivity, and this has improved a lot since 2011, but there is still a digital divide. Right now there are 40% of rural areas that do not have access to high-speed internet. There are many possibilities and support is being provided. For example, in the Recovery and Resilience Fund to improve this situation, and it is not enough because there is also digital training.