Although, in general
terms, France, Germany, Italy and Spain obtained more registrations, Portugal
is the country, per capita, to have participated most in DiscoverEU, an initiative launched by the European Commission,
which, in Portugal, is supported primarily by the Agência Erasmus + Juventude
em Ação, via Eurodesk. In total more than 6300 young Portuguese applied for a
free pass to discover Europe and who will have the opportunity to travel alone
or in groups from 15 April to 31 October. In total, there were approximately
80,000 young people from all EU Member States who showed an interest in this
initiative, of which only 14,536 were selected, based on the criteria and
quotas established for each Member State. The DiscoverEU initiative is an experience aimed at 18-year-olds,
giving them the opportunity to learn about Europe’s heritage and cultural
diversity, to make contact with other young people and to discover their
European identity. The European Commission intends to launch the next phase of
applications this summer.
