Free Interrail

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The term Free Interrail (also: #FreeInterrail or #DiscoverEU ) describes the proposal to introduce a mobility program at EU level , which should enable EU citizens to use an Interrail ticket free of charge . In 2015 the idea was first introduced by activists Vincent-Immanuel Herr and Martin Speer , u. a. in an article in ZEIT , formulated and since then taken up by various politicians. Under the name #DiscoverEU, the Group of the European People's Party (EPP), under its chairman Manfred Weber , is currently campaigning for implementation by the European Commission . The proposal also has supporters in other political groups in the European Parliament and beyond. Proponents hope that the proposal will inspire young people for the European idea and the EU and at the same time be able to take effective action against anti-European populism. Critics see the program as a disproportionate expenditure of taxpayers' money and consider the positive effects for Europe and European youth to be too small. According to a representative survey by ZDF in September 2016, 56 percent of Germans are in favor of introducing a free Interrail ticket for 18-year-olds.

development

In the summer of 2015, the idea was presented in various articles by the Berlin activists Vincent-Immanuel Herr and Martin Speer . In it, both speak out in favor of sending all EU citizens a voucher for a 30-day Interrail ticket on their 18th birthday. This voucher can be redeemed within six years. Herr and Speer hope the measure will provide effective protection against tendencies towards renationalization in Europe and argue that only personal encounters between people from different cultures could create real European cohesion. The authors rely on the positive experiences with the EU exchange program Erasmus , but complain that the program is only available to a fraction of young people. That is unjust. The authors estimate that the implementation of such a proposal by the European Commission could cost up to 2.2 billion euros per year, but affirm that such an investment is important for the future of the EU. In addition, the activists started a petition on change.org . In September 2016, the two of them won 2nd place at the ZEIT Online Z2X Festival of New Visionaries with their proposal .

Shortly after the articles appeared in the summer of 2015, the Hungarian MEP István Ujhelyi ( S&D ) took up the proposal and mentioned it in a written question to the European Commission. In 2016, both Ujhelyi and the MEPs of the Greens / EFA Rebecca Harms , Karima Delli and Michael Cramer submitted applications for pilot projects on the idea for the 2017 budget. On September 14, 2016, EPP Chairman Manfred Weber spoke out in favor of the proposal in a commentary on the State of the Union address . In a parliamentary debate on October 4, 2016, the idea was u. a. supported by MEPs from EPP, S&D, Greens / EFA and ALDE . The European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc announced an examination by the Commission and praised the proposal: "We admire the boldness and the level of ambition - and we are ready to explore it further ... the Commission likes this idea."

In November 2016 it became known that the Commission was planning to start a first pilot project in 2017. The mobility project presented in March 2017 deviates fundamentally from the original idea and has a volume of 2.5 million euros, which are made available to young people as a travel grant following a complicated procedure. "The EU Commission is giving away a great opportunity," Manfred Weber commented on the pilot project. The initiators Herr and Speer do not see the end of “a revolutionary idea”. EU parliamentarians continue to support the idea. Politicians at national level are also promoting the proposal, including Austrian President van der Bellen , Swedish Foreign Minister Wallström , and former Italian Prime Minister Renzi .

In March 2018, the European Commission announced another pilot project worth 12 million euros. The aim is to enable up to 30,000 young people to travel through Europe from summer 2018. The activists Herr und Speer see this pilot project as an "important milestone on the way to creating a youth mobility program that can reach all young EU citizens without exception".

In May 2018, the European Commission announced that it would make 700 million euros available for #FreeInterrail / #DiscoverEU for the period from 2021 to 2027.

In the summer and autumn of 2018, German Chancellor Merkel spoke out in public for the idea several times.

On October 17, 2018, the European Commission announced that it would provide a further 12,000 free tickets in a second application round.

Awards

The campaign and several of the people behind it were honored with various prizes and awards. In 2017, for example, the model award of the Bayreuth Dialogues and the Political Award in the category "Campaign with a small budget" went to the initiative of Herr und Speer. The Berlin Blue Bear European Prize and the Jean Monnet Prize for European Integration followed in 2018. The Innovation in Politics Award 2018 in the "Quality of Life" category honors the entire project as the first prize, which names both the civil society initiators and important political actors in connection.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ About - #FreeInterRail . In: #FreeInterRail . ( freeinterrail.eu [accessed February 1, 2017]).
  2. ↑ Free Interrail trip for Europeans turning 18 to #DiscoverEU . ( youdiscover.eu [accessed February 1, 2017]).
  3. ↑ Vincent-Immanuel Herr, Martin Speer: Interrail: Let's travel . In: The time . September 4, 2015, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed February 1, 2017]).
  4. ↑ Till Schwarze: Interrail: Travel against Europe frustration | ZEIT campus . In: The time . September 27, 2016, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed February 1, 2017]).
  5. ↑ SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg Germany: Free Interrail tickets: Free travel for 18-year-olds? - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Travel. Retrieved February 1, 2017 .
  6. ↑ Skepticism about Europe: Free Interrail ticket aims to attract young people to the EU - WELT. Retrieved February 1, 2017 .
  7. ↑ Interrail: Facts and Figures | News | European Parliament. Retrieved February 1, 2017 .
  8. ↑ Save Europe while traveling . ( ipg-journal.de [accessed February 1, 2017]).
  9. ↑ Bernd Ahlert / Stefan Beuke: EU proposal: Pros and Cons: Interrail ticket for every 18-year-old? | shz.de . In: shz . ( shz.de [accessed February 1, 2017]).
  10. ↑ Research Group Elections> Polls> Politbarometer> Archive> Politbarometer 2016> September 2016. Accessed on September 20, 2017 .
  11. ↑ Vincent-Immanuel Herr, Martin Speer: Interrail: Let's travel . In: The time . September 4, 2015, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed February 1, 2017]).
  12. ↑ Every young European should get a 1-month Interrail pass for free. Retrieved February 1, 2017 (UK English).
  13. ↑ Vincent-Immanuel Herr: Strengthening the European Identity . In: TheEuropean . June 15, 2015 ( theeuropean.de [accessed February 1, 2017]).
  14. ↑ Save Europe? Send the young generation on a journey! #FreeInterrail @EU_Commission @JunckerEU. Retrieved February 1, 2017 (American English).
  15. ↑ Maria Exner, Hannes Schrader, Zacharias Zacharakis, Elisabeth Rank, Sebastian Horn: Z2X: Ten projects against fear of the future . In: The time . September 5, 2016, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed February 1, 2017]).
  16. ↑ Written question - Free rail travel for all young people - E-011991/2015. Retrieved February 1, 2017 .
  17. ↑ Budget Amendments, 2017 Budget, European Parliament. European Parliament, August 31, 2016, accessed February 1, 2017 .
  18. ↑ 2016 State of the Union debate | News | European Parliament. Retrieved February 1, 2017 .
  19. ↑ MEPs want to give free rail passes to young Europeans | News | European Parliament. Retrieved February 1, 2017 .
  20. ↑ EU says no to free interrailing for 18-year-olds . In: newstalk.com . ( newstalk.com [accessed August 2, 2017]).
  21. ↑ Till Black: EU Commission: #FreeInterrail before the breakthrough . In: The time . November 22, 2016, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed February 1, 2017]).
  22. ↑ A. Van der Bellen: An idea that should be pursued: @FreeInterrail. Click here for the petition: https://www.change.org/p/for-europe-s-future-freeinterrail-for-all-eu-youth-eu-commission-eucouncil-europarl-en… #FreeInterrail #Europehttps: //twitter.com/FreeInterrail/status/783638281669996544… In: @vanderbellen. October 5, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2017 .
  23. ↑ SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg Germany: Sweden's Foreign Minister on Putin and Syria: "Russia's approach is absolutely unacceptable". Retrieved July 29, 2017 .
  24. ↑ Skepticism about Europe: Free Interrail ticket aims to attract young people to the EU - WELT. Retrieved July 29, 2017 .
  25. ↑ Sasan Abdi-Herrle: Interrail ticket: Big idea, small implementation . In: The time . March 27, 2017, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed on August 2, 2017]).
  26. ↑ EUROPA - Press releases - server inaccessibility. Retrieved March 1, 2018 .
  27. ↑ Interrail: EU Commission wants free train tickets for young people . In: The time . March 1, 2018, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed March 1, 2018]).
  28. ↑ Free Interrail: EU plans 700 million euros for free Interrail tickets . In: ZEIT ONLINE . ( zeit.de [accessed on July 22, 2018]).
  29. ↑ "Refugees are not treated better" - 5vier.de . In: 5vier.de . October 9, 2018 ( 5vier.de [accessed October 9, 2018]).
  30. ^ "AZ Forum live" with Angela Merkel . In: live.augsburger-allgemeine.de . ( augsburger-allgemeine.de [accessed on October 9, 2018]).
  31. ↑ kry / dpa: Interrail tickets: EU Commission distributes 12,000 additional free tickets. In: Spiegel Online . October 17, 2018, accessed April 30, 2020 .
  32. ↑ Bayreuth Dialogues 2017 | Model price. In: bayreuther dialoge 2018 . ( bayreuther-dialoge.de [accessed on November 20, 2018]).
  33. ↑ A lot has been achieved with a small budget . In: Politics & Communication . ( politik-kommunikation.de [accessed on November 20, 2018]).
  34. ↑ Berlin European Blue Bear Prize. November 1, 2018, accessed November 20, 2018 .
  35. ↑ Winner of the 2018 Jean Monnet Prize: #FreeInterrail campaign . In: EuropeanConstitution.eu . ( europeanconstitution.eu [accessed November 20, 2018]).
  36. ^ The Innovation In Politics Awards . ( innovationinpolitics.eu [accessed November 20, 2018]).