As the permanent rapporteur of the European Parliament for the Erasmus+ programme I have been striving,
for as many young people as possible to be given the student exchange or work exchange opportunities
in another country of the Union. In order to be mobile.
As part of European Mobility Week, attention is focused on how
people move inside cities, places and between them.
The initiative to minimise traffic emissions, of course, also enjoys strong support
in the European Parliament. In my opinion, the use of trains can also contribute
a lot to this process. The European Commission has made a proposal that the year 2020–2021
be designated as European Year of Railways. I supported the initiative and supplemented it
so that travel by train would be increasingly attractive for young people in particular.
I believe that more frequent use of railways can contribute to the transition
to a carbon-neutral economy, decrease in traffic jams
and improved the health of citizens. Also within Erasmus,
I favour the promotion of the use of domestic rail transport services.
The Discover the European Union initiative (Discover EU) also contributes to this, and we hope that
it will become part of the Erasmus+ programme. It offers a unique opportunity
for young people to take trains to get to know Europe.
About 70,000 young people have alreadyn received a free ticket
for travel by rail across Europe, and although the initiative
is not being implemented at the moment, it will continue as soon as
the pandemic-related circumstances allow it.
I wish that we all replace our cars with
more environmentally friendly rail, or run some errands on foot and
so keep a healthy mind in a healthy body.