Christa Klaß, rapporteur. − (DE) Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your contributions to the discussion. We had a really good discussion here in this round. Commissioner, thank you, too, for your statement that the review of Directive 86/613/EEC on the principle of equal treatment is still taking place this year, in 2008. We have sent a reminder on this and we think it is time to review it.

We are unable this evening to adopt any European regulation for improving the situation of women in rural areas. Mrs Doyle, I know that the situation of women is not the same everywhere. It would also be dull and we do not want that at all. However, women in rural regions do, of course, have the same conditions and they have to struggle with the same disadvantages as women living in towns and cities. We have pointed this out here.

We are initiating the discussion process and we are asking the Commission and the Member States to ultimately bring about changes as well. The report should raise awareness of this.

There are good examples in Europe and according to the principle of best practice we also want to highlight these examples for emulation. We can also introduce a lot that is good here. We want to broaden the view. Women in rural areas are not only farmers; women in rural areas are also on their way to becoming employed, and they have to combine family and work.

In the end, being personally affected is the best testimony. We need the contribution of women in our organisations. Mrs McGuinness has just been speaking about contented mothers who are also able to bestow contentment on their children. We shall also have contented women when we do something towards their equal treatment, towards their fair participation. Our concern here is that young people will also then stay in the villages again.

It would be exciting, Commissioner, to have a list of all the many opportunities that ultimately present themselves for women in the European Union. We are constantly asserting that these are concealed in many cases under the cover of other programmes. Perhaps we could manage to say just once that women are involved in one programme or another, in this way or that. This constantly creates problems, even when it should be sorted out locally. Perhaps we should schedule this as a start in order to be able eventually to say to those responsible in the regions: we can achieve improvements for women here.