On Tuesday, another round of applications for the European Union’s free Interrail Pass will be opened under the DiscoverEU programme, so this year nearly 800 young Hungarians will be able to win a free European train pass, István Ujhelyi, MEP and mentor of the programme, announced on Monday.
In this year’s first call for applications, the European Union is giving out 35,500 free passes, with an initial quota of 779 passes for young Hungarians aged 18. The quota for young Hungarians is expected to further increase this year, thanks to the regular oversubscription of free travel opportunities in Hungary, the representative said.
Outlining the details of the upcoming round of applications, Ujhelyi stated that eligible young people have to submit their applications through the online platform provided by the European Commission until the end of April. In this call for applications, only those born between 1 July 2005 and 30 June 2006 can apply. In addition to citizens of EU Member States, young people from non-EU countries associated with the Erasmus+ programme, such as North Macedonia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Serbia, or Turkey, can also apply.
Applicants selected and awarded a free Interrail Pass in this call will be able to travel across Europe for up to 30 days between July 2024 and September 2025.
This will be the ninth round of applications. So far, more than one million young Europeans have taken advantage of the opportunity, with nearly 30,000 applicants from Hungary. Just over 6,000 have already travelled with a rail pass under the quota. The MEP emphasized that the funding and the future of the DiscoverEU programme are secured for the long term.
Participants selected under the EU programme can travel in groups of up to five people, and people with disabilities or health issues can bring an accompanying person as well. To ensure access to as many places as possible in the EU, participants can also use other modes of transport, such as buses or ferries, and in exceptional cases, the pass can even be used for air travel.
The original concept of the ‘FreeInterrail’ programme came from two young German activists who a few years ago proposed that the EU should surprise every young person in Europe with a free train pass on their 18th birthday. The success of the project is proven by the fact that it has won several awards in recent years, including the European Quality Award.
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