EU to offer young people free Interrail passes
for 2022
By Sean
Goulding Carroll | EURACTIV.com 18 Feb 2021 (updated: 19 Feb 2021)
The
DiscoverEU programme provides 18-year-olds with free Interrail passes in the
hopes cross-border travel will foster greater intercultural unity across the
bloc.
The
European Union will gift 60,000 young people a chance to explore Europe by
train in 2022, as the ‘DiscoverEU’ programme relaunches following its
pandemic-driven hiatus.
The
announcement was made earlier this week in the European Parliament by Mariya
Gabriel, the EU commissioner in charge of innovation, research, culture,
education and youth.
The
programme provides 18-year-olds with free Interrail passes in the hopes
cross-border travel will foster greater intercultural unity across the bloc.
Tickets are
allocated to member states based on population-size and can be applied for by
those who recently turned 18.
The figure
of 60,000 tickets is double the usual amount, as EU citizens who had their 18th
birthday in 2020 are eligible to apply in addition to those coming of age in
2021.
The
programme is expected to open for applications in October, with selected
participants able to travel between March 2022 and March 2023 for a period of
30 days. As the trajectory of the pandemic remains unknown, all travellers will
be exceptionally offered flexible bookings and interruption insurance.
From 2022,
DiscoverEU will be funded under Erasmus+, an educational programme that enables
young people to study abroad, meaning non-EU citizens will be eligible take
advantage of the travel passes scheme.
The
integration into Erasmus+ also means that DiscoverEU is required to adopt a
more structured learning approach.
Travellers
will need to take part in a pre-departure meeting to discuss the significance
of the DiscoverEU programme, and later join a “meet-up”, during which those in
the same location will partake in cultural activities with locals, preferably
in a place of “historical, cultural or sustainable relevance”.
The EU will
also encourage travellers to set their sights beyond the bustling streets of
Venice or the beer gardens of Berlin, instead asking them to visit lesser-known
destinations in more remote areas of Europe.
The move is
expected to help a cultural sector reeling from the impact of the pandemic. It
also comes amid a backlash from the residents of the continent’s most visited
cities, many of whom complain their neighbourhoods are overrun by tourists.
The
DiscoverEU application process requires candidates to respond to six quiz
questions about European history and culture. Responses are then reviewed by
officials at the European Commission and winners selected.
Eighteen-year-olds
must pass quiz on European culture to receive free travel tickets
Eighteen-year-olds
will need to pass a six-question quiz about European history and culture to
receive free Interrail train or plane tickets, as part of a €700 million
project that’s set to start next month.
The passes
entitle holders to travel by rail, though there are exceptions for those living
on islands or in remote areas, who may also use ferries or, in exceptional
circumstances, air travel.
EU
Commissioner for research, innovation, and youth Mariya Gabriel expressed hope
that Discover EU will make young people more positive about rail travel,
calling the programme “a key element” in supporting the aims of the current
European Year of Rail.
In 2017, MEPs
approved a motion to give all Europeans free Interrail passes on their 18th
birthdays, but this was rejected by the European Commission on the grounds that
the estimated €1.6 billion price tag was too high.
The
DiscoverEU programme is considered a political compromise between the
institutions, offering around 30,000 18-year-olds per year free travel passes.
It is foreseen that this figure will be scaled up as Erasmus+ funding becomes
available.
The idea of
free Interrail passes for young people was spearheaded in 2014 by German
friends Vincent-Immanuel Herr and Martin Speer, who saw travel as a way to
increase European solidarity. The two launched a petition, which attracted over
40,000 signatures from across the continent.
The idea
was debated in the European Parliament, where it was strongly supported by
German MEP Manfred Weber, leader of the parliament’s largest group, the
centre-right European People’s Party.
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