18-year-olds to travel free of charge this summer to European countries

A total of 15,000 European 18-year-olds will be selected to travel free of charge in Europe this summer, using special free travel passes valid for 30 days, following a European Parliament initiative aiming to strengthen a sense of European identity and European values, as highlighted in the resolutions adopted by the European Parliament.

A special page on the European Youth Portal and a Facebook page with detailed information on the initiative will be available by mid-May.

“If you are 18, a European citizen and want to discover Europe and its culture, this is your chance,” the European Parliament said in a statement.

The idea was originally proposed during the European Youth Event (EYE) and thanks to the efforts of MEPs, 20,000-30,000 young people, aged 18, will receive free tickets to travel to Europe.

Later, more young people will benefit from another “Discover the EU” initiative.

* About 15,000 participants will travel from July to September.

* Online applications will be open from June 12 to June 26. Applications will open for the second time later this year.

* Only Europeans who will be 18 years old on July 1, 2018 will be eligible to participate in the first round of applications.

* Participants can travel from 1 to 30 days to four EU destinations.

* Traveling will be mainly by train, while other modes of transport will be possible in specific cases (eg for people with disabilities, people coming from remote areas).

AMNA