We work closely with our friends and partners across rural and island Europe, especially through the European Rural Parliament.
The European Rural Parliament
The European Rural Parliament is not a conference. It is a long-term, grassroots-driven, participative democratic process. It serves to express the voices of rural and island people in Europe; and helps mobilise rural and island communities in partnership with civil society and governments. The European Commission has recognised the European Rural Parliament and its constituent networks as a key partner in achieving its long term vision for rural areas. This gives the European Rural Parliament influence and status within European policymaking.
The ERP is coordinated by the following three bodies who make up the ERP Steering Group:
The main Gathering of the European Rural Parliament (ERP) cycle is organised every two years in a different rural location, the most recent in Kielce, Poland, in 2022. The European Rural YOUTH Parliament is hosted at the same time. These events result in a Declaration that may be used as an advocacy tool. The Declaration is backed by a more detailed Manifesto which was first published at the 2015 ERP Gathering, and subsequently updated and re-adopted at each ERP Gathering. ERP midterms, organised between the Gatherings, offer an opportunity to reflect on progress implementing the Manifesto and to sense-check actions against emerging developments that affect rural and island places.
Scotland’s links to the European Rural Parliament
Scotland has its own Scottish Rural & Islands Parliament (SRIP) process. The SRIP is part of the European Rural Parliament ‘family’ which includes the rural movements and Rural Parliaments of 40 European countries, as well as a number of European-wide networks such as the European Small Islands Federation (ESIN), and the European Council for the Village and Small Town (ECOVAST).
Rural and island communities in Scotland can use the Scottish Rural & Islands Parliament as a platform to connect with each other and with government in Scotland and the UK. The European Rural Parliament serves to amplify their voices across European institutions and to connect them to organisations and networks in different European countries, something which post-Brexit, Scotland continues to see enormous value in.
This connection is actively supported by the Scottish Government which has funded Scottish delegations to attend the last two in-person European Rural Parliaments in Poland (2022) and in Spain (2019).
