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Verbatim report of proceedings
Tuesday, 11 March 2008 - Strasbourg OJ edition

The situation of women in rural areas of the EU (debate)
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  Danutė Budreikaitė (ALDE). – (LT) Today’s discussion is extremely important, as it covers the subject of the situation of women in rural areas, which continues to be rather worrying.

One of the key issues remains that of low employment levels among females in rural areas, especially in the new accession countries, resulting in women from rural areas finding themselves in social isolation more often than city females.

First of all, in order to increase employment levels among women from rural areas, they should be encouraged to start their own businesses. To achieve this, governments must supply relevant information on how to start a business, as well as improve women’s ability to use modern information technologies, thus building their self-confidence.

Moreover, statistics show that women in rural areas have much lower education and professional skills levels compared with city women. This often means that they find it more difficult to adapt to the challenges presented by the market, to find new methods and forms of agricultural work and alternative agricultural activities. I would like to urge the Member States to present a framework of action to encourage women in rural areas to seek knowledge and education.

The LEADER project should deliver more efficient aid in order to overcome the problem.

Thank you.

 
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