Population Congress Successfully Begins in Teruel
The I International Congress on Population held at the Balneario Hotel of Segura de los Baños brought together over 200 attendees during its first day on September 23. The event addresses political, economic, and social strategies to prevent demographic and territorial imbalances in rural areas.
The Minister of Development, Housing, Logistics, and Territorial Cohesion of the Government of Aragon, Octavio López, opened the congress, highlighting that «no place is too small to undertake when enthusiasm and talent are dedicated to the progress and happiness of the people in the territory.»
María Palacios, the director of the Brussels office of the Government of Aragon Delegation to the European Union, described the meeting as «an essential working space to address depopulation from a European and local perspective.»
Among the keynote speakers was Emil Boc, former Prime Minister of Romania and current Vice President of the COTER Commission in the Committee of the Regions, who classified depopulation as «an urgent matter» affecting European regions, communities, and families.
Also participating were the Aragonese MEPs Borja Giménez Larraz and Rosa Serrano Sierra, the Secretary General for Demographic Challenge at the Ministry for Ecological Transition, Francesc Boya Alós, the Vice President of the Junta de Castilla-La Mancha, José Luis Martínez Guijarro, and the Minister of Justice of Andalusia, José Antonio Nieto Ballesteros.
López recalled the historical milestones of the regional government in revitalizing rural areas: direct commitments to support depopulation, the agreement with the Provincial Councils of Huesca, Teruel, and Zaragoza, the creation of the Interdepartmental Commission, and the implementation of Law 13/2023 on Rural Revitalization in Aragon.
Alberto Casañal, the General Director of Depopulation of the Government of Aragon, explained the choice of Segura de los Baños as the venue: «In Europe, especially in the north, talking about depopulation means discussing populations below 50 or 60,000 inhabitants; in the center, it is about 40,000; and in the south, like us, we are talking about 40.»
Representatives from the European Commission (Valentina Corsetti, Alba Barrutieta San Miguel, and Enrique Javier Nieto Antón) addressed the current EU support framework for depopulation, while delegates from France, Belgium, Germany, and Romania shared successful cases from their regions.
Rafael de Miguel, a Geography professor at the University of Zaragoza and academic director of the Zaragoza Logistics Center, highlighted the positive impact of the General Interest Projects of Aragon (PIGAS), which «although they cover 25% of the surface area of Aragon, affect the territory that houses 75% of the total population and 80% of the Gross Added Value.»
The congress will continue on September 24 with sessions on best practices in rural development, including LEADER projects and the contribution of public institutions in the fight against depopulation.
