European functions of the Alpine regions
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 3 July 1974.See Doc. 3447, report of the Committee on Regional Planning and Local Authorities.
The Assembly,
1. Having considered, on the basis of a report presented by its Committee on Regional Planning and Local Authorities (
Doc. 3447), the European function of the Alpine regions and some of their most urgent problems ;
2. Noting with interest Resolution (74) 7 of the Committee of Ministers on the economic and social problems of mountain regions ;
3. Being aware of the need for further analysis of the situation, especially that of mountain regions outside the Alpine range, and for solutions adequate to their serious problems,
4. Invites all competent authorities to join in this study, and in particular expresses the hope that the Conference of Ministers responsible for Regional Planning in Alpine states may take place as scheduled in the autumn of 1974 ;
5. Expresses the hope that the said conference will lead rapidly to concrete decisions along the lines of the proposals made on various occasions by the competent bodies of the Council of Europe ;
6. Asks, in this connection, that the conference should make a detailed study of the various aspects of the European function of the Alpine regions, in particular :
their place in the overall pattern of European regional planning ;
their role as outstanding recreational areas for millions of Europeans ;
their function as a centre of European communications and trade ;
their importance as an essential feature of Europe's natural heritage ;
7. Hopes that the conference will give a further impetus to all forms of transfrontier cooperation in the Alpine regions, which is a prerequisite for the success of any coherent policy for their conservation and development ;
8. Asks that national governments should give their support to the bilateral and multilateral discussions that have been going forward for many years between regional and local authorities on the lines suggested by the Assembly and the European Conference of Ministers responsible for Regional Planning ;
9. Considers that the Conference of Ministers responsible for Regional Planning in Alpine states could effectively enlarge the scope of schemes worked out in cooperation between regional authorities, including those concerning transalpine communications network ;
10. Draws the attention of the ministerial conference of Alpine states to problems requiring international cooperation, and in some cases international agreements, in fields such as :
Alpine cartography, including the homogeneous classification and cartographic inventory of areas threatened by avalanches ;
Alpine research, glaciology, Alpine meteorology, forecasting of avalanches and defence against them ;
civil defence and disaster relief, which often requires action across a frontier (mountain rescue by helicopter or aircraft) ;
11. Submits for the Ministers' particular consideration :
the problem of hill farmers, prevention of depopulation and the farmer's function in protecting the mountain ecosystem ;
the problem of a land-use policy that will pay proper regard to hill farming while adapting a stringent attitude to land speculation and uncontrolled urban development ;
12. Having taken note with satisfaction of Resolution (74) 8 of the Committee of Ministers on cooperation between local communities in frontier areas, and recalling its own proposals, particularly those set out in its Recommendations 470 and 693.
13. Reiterates its conviction that a binding legal instrument is the only solution to the difficulties of transfrentier cooperation, especially in the Alpine regions ;
14. Invites its Committee on Regional Planning and Local Authorities to pursue its study in consultation with the authorities competent for mountain regions, of the Conference of Ministers responsible for Regional Planning and of the Council of Europe (the Committee on Cooperation in Municipal and Regional Matters and the European Committee for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources), and to submit in due course a final report on the planning and conservation of mountain regions.
