EU extends solidarity initiative for young people

12 Jun 18

The European Union has proposed a new €1.26m programme to help young citizens of the bloc support communities in need.

The funds will broaden the work of the European Solidarity Corps under the next long-term EU budget from 2021 to 2027, the commission said yesterday.

The new programme will allow at least 350,000 young people in the Union to support those in need through volunteering, traineeships and job placements.

Günther Oettinger, commissioner for the budget and human resources, said: “Solidarity is one of the key values in the European Union, and the success of the European Solidarity Corps shows that there’s a high demand among young people to participate in solidarity activities.

“That’s why we have significantly increased the financial means for the European Solidarity Corps in the next EU budget.”

The Corps, which offers young people aged between 18 and 30 opportunities to take part in a wide range of solidarity activities across the EU and elsewhere, was unveiled in 2016 by Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.

Almost 64,000 young people have joined since its launch and almost 5,000 have already started their activities.

The bloc set out its €1,135bn budget for the 2021–2027 timeframe last month, focusing on sound financial management with the aim of doing “more for less”.

Last week, the Commission proposed to continue backing the EU-wide customs programme by allocating €950m to it as part of its long-term budget.

It also said it will commit €270m to its new Fiscalis programme, which will support cooperation between member states’ tax administrations to help them in the fight against fraud, tax evasion and tax avoidance.

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