The European Commission opened applications Wednesday for the latest round of the EU’s ‘DiscoverEU’ initiative, giving thousands of 18-year-olds the opportunity to explore Europe at no cost.
A total of 35,500 travel passes are available. To qualify, young people born between 1 January and 31 December 2006 will need to answer five questions about the EU, along with an additional question on the European Youth Portal.
Candidates will be ranked based on their responses and travel passes will be distributed based on this ranking. The call is open to young people from the European Union and countries associated to the Erasmus+ programme including Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia and Türkiye. The call is open until 16 October at 12:00 CET.
Successful applicants will have the opportunity to travel across Europe for up to 30 days between 1 March 2025 and 31 May 2026. They can either plan their own routes, or be inspired by existing ones such as the “Feel Good Route” which focuses on physical and mental health, or a DiscoverEU Culture Route.
In addition to the free travel pass, participants also receive a discount card with over 40,000 deals on public transport, culture, accommodation, food, sport and other services. Erasmus+ National Agencies organise pre-departure information meetings and DiscoverEU Meet-ups, learning programmes lasting from one to three days.
Special support is available for participants with disabilities or health conditions. The DiscoverEU Inclusion Action enables organisations working with young people with fewer opportunities to apply for grants, providing additional support to participants such as extra funding and the option to travel with accompanying persons.
