Europe

60. There can be no doubt that Europe has become a steadily increasing influence in many aspects of rural life. Three years ago many of the relationships between Europe and rural Scotland that are important now were already in place, but the scale of this involvement has increased enormously since "Rural Framework" was written. Access to funding has grown substantially, but so have information networks, the sharing of good practice through exchanges and joint research initiatives. More individuals and organisations are becoming familiar with the institutions of the European Community and of other member states, and this is giving rural Scotland a range of experience which is much wider than was the case three years ago. For example, local authorities in Scotland have a strong involvement at the European level in terms of exchange of information, networking and links with Community institutions.

61. As already mentioned, the Highlands and Islands have secured Objective 1 status and a funding package of £240m agreed for the period up to 1999. There are two Objective 2 Areas in the West and East of Scotland, which together will receive £315m, and four Objective 5b areas in the Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, Rural Stirling and Upland Tayside, and North and West Grampian eligible to receive a total of £110m. Almost 600 projects have already been given funding under the programmes for these areas and a sample of these indicates the wide diversity of action that the programmes will support, for example construction of a new woollen mill at Brora, a village development programme in Argyll, harbour improvements at Ullapool, the establishment of 5 community radio groups and a children's facility in Nairn.

62. Special programmes known as Community Initiatives are also funded, using up to 9% of the Structural Funds. There are 2 which are specially significant in rural Scotland: LEADER and PESCA. The initial LEADER programme ran from 1992 to 1994, since then it has been reviewed and a successor, LEADER II, developed. This initiative will bring over £15.5 million of Structural Funds to Scotland and will be delivered through two separate programmes, one for the Highlands and Islands and one for rural lowland Scotland. These programmes will be co-ordinated by the Enterprise Networks who have set up Local Action Groups in the Objective 1 and 5b areas. These groups will focus directly on rural development and in particular encourage new innovative measures to develop locally generated potential. Co-ordinated by the relevant Local Enterprise Company, these local partnerships are responsible for preparing business plans, setting out proposals for the use of LEADER resources, deciding on local priorities, articulating local needs and taking local responsibility for delivery of the programme. LEADER groups are encouraged to exchange information, good practice and experience both locally and Community-wide in the expectation that lessons learned elsewhere can be constructively applied closer to home. PESCA is a new Community Initiative which will address the social and economic consequences of the structural difficulties affecting the fishing industry. It will contribute to economic diversification by the development of other activities and job creation whilst also being able to strengthen existing industry activities. EC funding of some £14m for the period up to the end of 1999 has been approved for Scotland, aimed principally at projects in fishery-dependent areas with Objective 1, 2 or 5b status.

The other European funding programme which is significant for rural areas in Scotland is the LIFE programme. LIFE is the funding instrument of the European Commission for the environment and is about to begin its second phase. Competition for this funding is fierce but Scotland has been successful in securing funding for four projects since 1992. These are the Scottish Raised Bog Conservation Project; Promoting Sustainable Development in the Highlands; Restoration of Caledonian Forests; and Conservation of Active Blanket Bog, a joint project between Scotland and Northern Ireland. In addition, Scotland is involved with the Republic of Ireland and France in a fifth project entitled Action for Corncrakes. Although these projects focus mainly on nature conservation they have also brought wider benefits to rural areas, in particular the Highlands Sustainable Development project aims to promote small rural enterprises. Under Phase II, the nature element of LIFE is set to continue to focus on Natura 2000: the network of sites designated to protect species, habitats and birds under the Habitats and Birds Directives. We look forward to further successful applications from Scotland to LIFE Phase II. The Common Fisheries Policy (the "CFP"), in all its facets, continues to have a major influence on the fishing scene. European Community structural aid for the period 1994-1999 is now available under the new Financial Instrument of Fisheries Guidance ( the "FIFG"). A particular feature of the latter is the prominance of decommissioning aid as the UK's fleet adjusts in size to meet Multi Annual Guidance Programme targets.

63. Funding is not the only benefit that Europe offers rural Scotland. The sharing of information and good practice has done a great deal to expand our horizons and make us aware of new opportunities. Scottish Homes has helped to establish the European Network for Housing Research Commissioners which shares and exchanges information and enables collaboration on housing research. SAC has also been active in setting up joint research programmes with institutions in other parts of Europe and has arranged a range of student exchange schemes and joint courses with rural institutions in other member states. Rural Forum is active in 3 European information and policy networks: The Trans European Rural Network; VIRGIL, the European Rural Network which takes a particular interest in policy integration and community empowerment and the European Network for Economic Development, for which it is the UK link. Support for Eastern Europe also continues, for example through SAC work with training and consultancy schemes and Rural Forum's information exchanges with local rural development organisations in Slovenia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Lithuania. As part of the LEADER II programme the European Commission has established a European Rural Observatory. The purpose of the observatory is to act as a networking mechanism for the exchange of good practice in rural development not only within the LEADER project areas but also in other rural areas in the European Union. The Arkleton Trust is involved at the European level and plans are being formulated to establish a direct link in Scotland and other parts of the UK.

64. In considering Scotland's success in obtaining funding support from the EC it is important to remember that these funding programmes are time limited. The local partnerships will be mindful of that fact and will be selecting projects which will secure lasting and sustainable benefits for the rural communities in which they are based. Rural Scotland is also gaining much through the sharing of information and experience and this should continue to be encouraged. The increased importance of European level policy-making has both benefits and difficulties for rural areas. The benefits lie in the funding and information opportunities set out above, and also in the greater access to European markets for rural businesses. The imposition of greater control in terms of meeting environmental and health regulations, while welcome in terms of setting unequivocal standards for all goods, can sometimes place a disproportionately heavy burden on small businesses. An example of how European standards can be applied sensibly to rural areas comes from Article 6 of the Stage 1 Petrol Vapour Recovery Directive. This allows Member States to apply a derogation from the requirement for provision of a vapour tight connection line for small service stations in areas where vapour emissions are unlikely to contribute significantly to environmental or health problems. In response to a consultation exercise in February 1995, the Government decided to apply this in the UK and consulted recently on the extent of the derogation area. With the exception of the Central Belt and the area around the City of Aberdeen, most of Scotland will be covered.