The right to stay in rural areas: an evidence-informed agenda shaped by youth voices?
The European Commission and the Council of Europe have both recently prioritised the need to support rural dwellers’ right to stay and thrive in their communities. This is reflected in the European Commission’s Cohesion and Policy Funds, its EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 and European Youth Goal 6: Moving Rural Youth Forward. It also follows the Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2025)3 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the social, economic and political participation of rural youth.
For rural youth, the “right to stay” is not a legal concept or a political proclamation on mobility choices. It constitutes a policy agenda for enabling younger generations to prosper in the countryside – whether they are locals or newcomers.
This policy brief provides a quick guide for institutional decision makers and organisational leaders from the youth sector and beyond on how to implement a new agenda for rural youth prosperity based on the right to stay. It combines four elements.
A short overview of the policy agenda on the right to stay, driven by the European Union and the Council of Europe.
The discussion of place attachment as a pivotal concept for inspiring policies on the right to stay agenda.
A summary of the evidence upholding the right to stay among rural youth, including a research study on rural youth transitions, published by the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership (Youth Partnership 2026).
An overview of the most pressing actionable measures for pushing forward the right to stay agenda among rural youth.
