35,000 Young People Can Now Receive Free Rail Tickets Thanks to DiscoverEU

The Commission of the European Union officially launched the DiscoverEU spring call.

This will allow 35,000 young people to get a free train ticket to explore Europe.

Today, March 15, at 12 noon, is the start of the application cycle for DiscoverEU's spring call. It will finish two weeks later, on March 29, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

To be eligible for the call, applicants must show that they were born between June 30, 2025 and July 1, 2004.

They will need to complete five questions and answer a secondary question. Successful applicants will be allowed to travel to Europe for up to 30 days between June 15, 2023 and September 30, 2024.

All applicants from the EU or third countries that are part of the Erasmus+ programme such as Norway, Iceland, Serbia, Norway and Turkiye can apply for a free ticket to transport.

Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, commented on the call and said they expected a high volume of applications. She also stressed that the DiscoverEU initiative is growing more inclusive every year.

"We are pleased to announce the opening of the eighth application round of DiscoverEU. Every year, more and more young people join the DiscoverEU community. At the end of this cycle, the initiative will have received more than 1 million applications, which is quite an impressive number," Gabriel said.

The route of the new European Bauhaus will be revealed to applicants this year. They will also have the opportunity to take advantage of initiatives such as DiscoverEU, which were launched in 2023.
The DiscoverEU cultural route connects different cultural branches and destinations, such as theatre, architecture and music.

Additionally, the European Heritage Label-awarded destinations will be open to all who are granted a free train ticket. They can also stop in cities that have made efforts to make their accessibility easier for all.

Participants will be able to take advantage of a discount card that offers over 40,000 discounts on accommodation, public transport, cultural activities, catering and other services in the countries they're visiting.

All Erasmus+ National Agencies will prepare all students who are eligible for the free ticket to travel Europe. They also organise information meetings prior to departure.

Source: schengenvisainfo.com