Starting next spring, thousands of 18-year-olds will have the chance to explore Europe for free through the European Commission’s DiscoverEU initiative.
The program will offer 35,500 travel passes to young people, with the current application period open until October 16.
To qualify, applicants must be born between January 1 and December 31, 2006. They will need to complete a quiz with five questions about the EU and one question about the EU Youth Portal, according to Schengen.News.
This initiative is open to young people from EU member states and countries associated with the Erasmus+ program, such as Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, and Türkiye.
Successful applicants can travel across Europe for up to 30 days between March 1, 2025, and May 31, 2026. The program aims to promote cultural exchange and foster a sense of European identity among youth.
In addition to the travel pass, participants will receive a discount card that offers over 40,000 deals on public transportation, cultural events, accommodations, dining, sports, and more. Erasmus+ National Agencies will also hold pre-departure information sessions and DiscoverEU Meet-ups, which will be educational programs lasting one to three days.
DiscoverEU Initiative Overview
The DiscoverEU initiative began in June 2018 as part of a preparatory action by the European Parliament and has since become a component of the Erasmus+ program for 2021-2027.
Since its inception, more than 1.3 million people have applied for a total of 319,000 travel passes. Impressively, 93% of participants said that their DiscoverEU experience encouraged them to travel by train more often.
This summer, 35,551 young Europeans received travel passes to explore the continent. In the recent application round held in April, over 180,000 young people showed interest in this opportunity.
Selected participants can travel alone or in groups of up to five people from July 1, 2024, to September 2025.
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