European Parliament - Eprs Podcasts, What Europe Does For You

People living in sparsely populated areas (e.g. parts of Scandinavia, Spain, Italy, Greece or Croatia) face common challenges, including a limited range of job opportunities, high poverty levels and the dilapidation of public services, such as transport, education and healthcare. These regions often feature specific geographic characteristics: they might be islands, mountainous areas or border regions. Usually, sparsely populated areas are a long way from major urban centres and lack transport connections to them. Transport for goods and people may be expensive and take a long time. Source: © European Union - EP