Brussels: The European Union on Monday rejected a proposal to give all 18-year-olds free InterRail passes as too expensive, saying it would instead subsidise some travel for a few thousand students.
Up to 7,000 European students will get bus, train or plane tickets to any EU country under a plan unveiled by the European Commission, the executive arm of the 28-nation European Union.
But the commission said a suggestion by the European Parliament to give out InterRail passes, beloved of young backpackers travelling across Europe, would have cost far too much.
"The commission has estimated that such an initiative would cost between 1.2 billion euros and 1.6 billion euros a year. This kind of funding is currently not available," it said in a statement.
The new scheme will cost just a small fraction of that -- 2.5 million euros ($2.7 million), the commission said.
The centre-right European People's Party, the biggest group in the EU Parliament, called the decision a "missed opportunity".
It had been a champion of the proposal when MEPs voted in favour of it last year.
"The European Commission could have used the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome to present an original and ambitious proposal that will make people enthusiastic about Europe again," EPP chief Manfred Weber said.l
But he said that the free InterRail plan was "far from being dead" and that his group would continue to push for it.
Launched in 1972, InterRail passes were initially designed for young passengers but are now available for all age groups.
The commission said the scaled-down "Move2Learn, Learn2Move" programme would give 5,000 to 7,000 students an entitlement for tickets worth 350 to 530 euros.
The students will be picked from schools taking part in an online project matching students and teachers for joint projects across Europe.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Up to 7,000 European students will get bus, train or plane tickets to any EU country under a plan unveiled by the European Commission, the executive arm of the 28-nation European Union.
But the commission said a suggestion by the European Parliament to give out InterRail passes, beloved of young backpackers travelling across Europe, would have cost far too much.
The new scheme will cost just a small fraction of that -- 2.5 million euros ($2.7 million), the commission said.
Advertisement
It had been a champion of the proposal when MEPs voted in favour of it last year.
Advertisement
But he said that the free InterRail plan was "far from being dead" and that his group would continue to push for it.
Advertisement
The commission said the scaled-down "Move2Learn, Learn2Move" programme would give 5,000 to 7,000 students an entitlement for tickets worth 350 to 530 euros.
Advertisement
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
COMMENTS
Advertisement
EU's Carbon Tax Could Cost India 0.05% Of GDP: Report Roberta Metsola Re-Elected As European Parliament Chief EU Leaders Nominate Von Der Leyen To Head Commission For 2nd Term Over 300 Indian Students Return As Quota Row Sparks Violence In Bangladesh "Jindal Group Executive Showed Porn, Groped Me On Flight": Woman To NDTV Curfew In Bangladesh, Military On Streets After 105 Die In Clashes CrowdStrike: All About The Cybersecurity Giant Behind Global IT Outage UP Government Forms Lucknow-SCR On The Lines Of Delhi-NCR The Situation At Delhi, Mumbai Airports Day After Global IT Outage Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.