Covid-19 pandemic caused a pause, but the ‘DiscoverEU’ program is starting again. The program will distribute a total of 60,000 free train tickets, allowing young Europeans aged 18-20 to travel across Europe for free.
The European Union’s free train ticket program, ‘DiscoverEU,’ has begun and is available for use by youth from all over Europe. The program allows young people aged 18-20 to apply for a month-long guarantee for free train travel, with 60,000 tickets being made available.
The program, which is only open to those over 18 years of age, has been extended to include 20-year-olds due to its inability to be implemented in the last two years because of Covid-19.
To benefit from the free tickets, young people must meet two conditions: they must be European Union citizens and must have been born between July 1, 2001 and December 31, 2003. Additionally, young people from the United Kingdom, who left the European Union at the beginning of this year due to Brexit, are also eligible to participate in the program until the end of this year because of the pandemic’s effect on the usage of their tickets.
Young people applying for the program must fill out an online form and pass a short test on European Union countries.
The deadline to apply for tickets is October 26, 2021. Winners will be able to travel for up to 30 days for free between March 1, 2022 and February 28, 2023. Participants who may face difficulties or medical conditions during their travels can also receive support to help them participate.
Young people can participate in the DiscoverEU program in groups of up to four. For programs that require travel from the participant’s country of residence to another country, ferries and buses will also be allowed, in addition to trains.
The program was last held in 2019 and received the most applications from Italy, France, and Spain. 350,000 young people across Europe applied for tickets.
The European Union, which has declared 2021 the European Year of Rail, aims to eliminate carbon emissions by 2050 in its fight against climate change, and is encouraging young people to travel by train more frequently.
Those interested in the program can apply through the European Youth Portal.
