ABSTRACT
Sustainable development is an enormous challenge for rural Europe. Rural areas in the European Union face two major problems. One is related to the cost of repairing environmental damage caused by the unsustainable use of natural resources. Cumulatively, across Europe this amounts to several billions of ECU per year. As these environmental costs of production are not reflected in entrepreneurial budgets there is little incentive to change production patterns (e.g. agriculture). The second issue is rural Europe, which covers 80% of the European Union, currently faces an exodus of its inhabitants. Poor infrastructure, high unemployment rates, few and unequal opportunities for jobs, severe educational constraints, lack of investments and little access to new information technologies encourage many - especially the young, to leave the country in search for better living and working conditions.
