The LEADER pilot programme has generated new economic activity and job opportunities in the rural areas which benefited from this programme.

I believe that the success of LEADER I demonstrates clearly that a relatively small investment of European funds can generate a disproportionately large return in rural areas when it is used to encourage the development of local and community projects.

The LEADER II programme should now be extended to include all rural areas and should form a major element of a comprehensive European Union rural development policy.

The economic and social fabric of rural areas in all twelve EU countries is under threat because of factors such as the population drift to urban areas, the absence of job opportunities for young people and the decline in numbers employed in agriculture.

Programmes such as LEADER can play a major role in developing new sectors of economic activity and revitalizing local economies in our rural areas.

While the extension and expansion of LEADER will require additional money to fund Europe's share of the cost of operating LEADER groups, the total cost to the annual Structural Fund budget will be small. It is worth remembering that the existing level of contribution from Brussels to a medium-sized road improvement project would fund up to a dozen LEADER groups for four or five years.