Editing Interrail (section)

==DiscoverEU==
In 2015, German activists Vincent-Immanuel Herr and Martin Speer approached European Commission vice-president [[Frans Timmermans]] with a proposal to provide all EU youth with a free one-month Interrail Global Pass
at age 18. Their effort was documented by [[Politico Europe]]'s ''Brussels Playbook''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/brussels-playbook/politico-brussels-playbook-sarkozy-climbs-greece-rocks-the-vote-eurocrat-in-the-dragons-den/|title=POLITICO Brussels Playbook — Sarkozy climbs — Greece rocks the vote — Eurocrat in the Dragons' Den|date=2015-07-23|work=POLITICO|access-date=2018-04-03|language=en-US}}</ref> According to Herr and Speer, their idea would help to overcome stereotypes in Europe and problems with nationalism in several countries by enabling a whole generation (not just a small fraction of it) to explore Europe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.politico.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Traveling-for-Europes-future-HERRSPEER.pdf|title=Traveling for Europe's Future|last=Herr; Speer|first=Vincent-Immanuel; Martin}}</ref> They subsequently wrote a number of articles<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://euobserver.com/opinion/135160|title=[Opinion] #FreeInterrail: saving Europe by travelling|access-date=2018-04-03|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/aussenansicht-generation-interrail-1.3188303|title=Generation Interrail|last=Herr|first=Vincent-Immanuel|date=2016|work=sueddeutsche.de|access-date=2018-04-03|language=de|issn=0174-4917}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.zeit.de/2015/34/interrail-europa-kennenlernen-kostenlos-jugend|title=Interrail: Lasst uns reisen|last=Herr|first=Vincent-Immanuel|date=2015-09-04|work=Die Zeit|access-date=2018-04-03|last2=Speer|first2=Martin|language=de-DE|issn=0044-2070}}</ref> about their idea, started a [[change.org]] petition, and approached more EU politicians.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.freeinterrail.eu/about|title=About - #FreeInterrail|work=#FreeInterrail|access-date=2018-04-03|language=de-DE}}</ref> 

The idea was picked up by a number of EU politicians in 2016, including [[Rebecca Harms]], [[Karima Delli]], [[Michael Cramer (politician)|Michael Cramer]], [[István Ujhelyi]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&reference=PE-587.706&format=PDF&language=EN&secondRef=01|title=Budget Amendments, 2017 Budget|last=European Parliament, Committee on Transport and Tourism}}</ref> [[Manfred Weber]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20160909IPR41712/2016-state-of-the-union-debate|title=2016 State of the Union debate {{!}} News {{!}} European Parliament|access-date=2018-04-03|language=en}}</ref> and [[Alexander Graf Lambsdorff]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.liberale.de/content/begeisterung-fuer-europa-mit-interrail-tickets-wecken|title=Begeisterung für Europa mit InterRail-Tickets wecken|work=portal liberal|access-date=2018-04-03|language=de}}</ref> A 2016 German survey found that 56 percent of respondents were in favor of such a proposal,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.forschungsgruppe.de/Umfragen/Politbarometer/Archiv/Politbarometer_2016/September_2016/|title=Forschungsgruppe Wahlen > Umfragen > Politbarometer > Archiv > Politbarometer 2016 > September 2016|website=www.forschungsgruppe.de|language=de|access-date=2018-04-03}}</ref> and Herr promoted the idea at a 2017 [[TED (conference)|TEDx]] event.<ref>{{Citation|last=TEDx Talks|title=#FreeInterrail - A Vision of a Europe for All {{!}} Vincent-Immanuel Herr {{!}} TEDxOTHRegensburg|date=2017-06-06|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POf0VzZYgD0|access-date=2018-04-03}}</ref>

In March 2018, a €12 million pilot project to purchase 20,000-30,000 Global Passes for EU youth was confirmed by the European Commission.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dw.com/en/eu-to-give-free-interrail-train-passes-to-30000-teens/a-42793625|title=EU to give free Interrail train passes to 30,000 teens {{!}} DW {{!}} 02.03.2018|last=(www.dw.com)|first=Deutsche Welle|website=DW.COM|language=en|access-date=2018-04-03}}</ref> A press release announcing the decision elaborated on its goal of the scheme: "The action will seek to offer young people, regardless of social or educational background and including people with reduced mobility, a chance to travel abroad."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://travelupdate.boardingarea.com/free-interrail-pass-europeans-turning-18/|title=Free Interrail pass for Europeans turning 18 - TravelUpdate|date=2018-03-22|work=TravelUpdate|access-date=2018-04-03|language=en-US}}</ref> On 1 March 2018, the European Commission announced initial steps to implement the European Parliament's proposal for a "Free Interrail pass for Europeans turning 18" by adopting a financing decision: <blockquote>"With a budget of EUR 12 million in 2018, this action is expected to give an estimated 20,000-30,000 young people a travel experience that would help foster a European identity, reinforce common European values and promote the discovery of European sites and cultures. This proposal fits well with the EU's ambitions to promote learning mobility, active citizenship, social inclusion and solidarity of all young people."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEX-18-1443_en.htm|title=European Commission - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - Daily News 01 / 03 / 2018|website=europa.eu|language=en|access-date=2018-07-20}}</ref></blockquote>

On 3 May 2018, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport [[Tibor Navracsics]] and [[Manfred Weber]] MEP announced that the initiative would be called DiscoverEU<ref>{{cite web|url=https://europa.eu/youth/discovereu_en|title=DiscoverEU|website=europa.eu}}</ref> and outlined the first details on the application process. The initiative aims to give 15,000 young people the opportunity to travel around Europe during the summer to discover the continent's rich cultural heritage, get in touch with other people, learn from other cultures, and discover what unites Europe. Participants can travel up to 30 days and  visit one to four foreign destinations. In an application round to select the first 15,000 travelers, those interested needed to apply during a two-week period in June 2018 through the European Youth Portal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEX-18-3666_en.htm|title=European Commission - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - Daily News 03 / 05 / 2018|website=europa.eu|language=en|access-date=2018-07-20}}</ref>