Historical regions and rural branding
The plenary of the European Parliament (EP) voted on Tuesday, January 14th on the report of S&D MEP Eric Andrieu (France) entitled "On regional branding: towards best practice in rural economies".
Csaba Sógor handed in an explanatory statement, in which he stressed the importance of accepting the right to exist of historical regions. The statement of the RMDSZ MEP can be read below.
"The findings of the report, which encourage new development models in rural areas, are welcome and should be supported. The report states that from a regional development perspective, an area does not necessarily mean an administrative unit, but a social structure people can identify with. I agree that special resources such as social cohesion, acquired knowledge, historical heritage, as well as various forms of self-organisation and local identity should be taken into account.
However, the text is not clear regarding regional branding. We should clarify the extent to which rural and cultural diversity may affect the usability of a particular brand. We need to define a set of criteria and conditions for determining a regional brand, as well as to specify which institutions will be entrusted with granting brands and operating the system. The current trademarks and brands should be implementable in the regional brand. Last but not least, it is crucial that governments support these actions instead of questioning the right to exist of historical regions."
"The findings of the report, which encourage new development models in rural areas, are welcome and should be supported. The report states that from a regional development perspective, an area does not necessarily mean an administrative unit, but a social structure people can identify with. I agree that special resources such as social cohesion, acquired knowledge, historical heritage, as well as various forms of self-organisation and local identity should be taken into account.
However, the text is not clear regarding regional branding. We should clarify the extent to which rural and cultural diversity may affect the usability of a particular brand. We need to define a set of criteria and conditions for determining a regional brand, as well as to specify which institutions will be entrusted with granting brands and operating the system. The current trademarks and brands should be implementable in the regional brand. Last but not least, it is crucial that governments support these actions instead of questioning the right to exist of historical regions."
