SRA works closely with partners across rural and island Europe, particularly through the European Rural Parliament (ERP). In October 2025, Scotland hosted the European Rural Parliament for the first time, taking place in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire.
The European Rural Parliament
Expressing the voices of rural people in Europe; promoting self-help and action by rural people, in partnership with civil society and governments.
What is the ERP?
The European Rural Parliament (ERP) was designed by ELARD, ERCA & PREPARE to:
Rural Youth Europe has integrated the consortium as a fourth partner in 2025. The ERP has 70 national and regional Partner organisations in 40 European countries (Council of Europe Area) and 7 pan-European networks, all civil society organisations working for the wider benefit of rural communities.
A Gathering is held every two years, bringing together rural players – local, national and European – to exchange experiences and agree the rural policy agenda with which to advocate to policy makers at national and EU levels. Each Gathering attracts between 350-400 participants from around 40 countries. In each alternate year a Mid-Term Event is held to review progress and raise new agendas.
The 6th European Rural Parliament
The 6th European Rural Parliament took place in Inverurie, from 20 to 23rd October, 2025. The event was hosted by SRA under the theme: ‘Rural Community Solutions to Global Challenges’. The ERP brought together over 400 delegates - rural activists, youth, policymakers, and entrepreneurs - from 40 countries. United by a shared belief, they came together with a powerful message:
“We do not ask for help — we ask for support in partnership.”
This phrase comes from the Declaration of Inverurie, now live here: https://europeanruralparliament.com/the-6th-erp-gathering/declaration-of-inverurie/ . It's a shared commitment to ensure rural voices continue to shape Europe’s future.
With 29 workshops, panels, and plenaries, and 11 study trips, we explored what it takes to build a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable Rural Europe - one that values community-led innovation, youth participation, and local empowerment.
Head over to the European Rural Parliament website to learn more about the 6th ERP and what took place during the four days.
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 two in-person European Rural Parliaments in Poland (2022) and in Spain (2019).
