First Balkan Rural Parliament

The first ever Balkan Rural Parliament took place on 26-28 June 2018 in Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia, under the heading ‘European perspective of rural communities of the Western Balkans and Turkey’.

The event intended to support regional and inter-sectorial cooperation, promote stakeholder involvement and develop recommendations for sustainable development of rural communities in the countries of the region. It discussed the EU’s Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance in Rural Development (IPARD) and the state-of-play of Local Action Groups (LAGs) in countries of the region.

It was held within the framework of the EU-funded project ‘Active Local Regions for Economic Development of Rural Areas’ (ALTER).