Free train ticket is inappropriate propaganda stunt

The Christian Democrat EPP group in the European Parliament is proposing to give a free train ticket to all 18 year olds, an initiative which would cost taxpayers EUR 1.9 billion a year: “money that will be cut from budgets for European research into, for example cancer,” fears MEP Anneleen Van Bossuyt. She finds the give-away completely inappropriate and hopes to find a majority in the Parliament to stop this absurd propaganda stunt. “Particularly in these times of cutbacks affecting ordinary citizens, the EU once again shows that it is out of touch with reality,” she says. “What’s more, the EU wants to foster a pro-European sentiment among young people, but you can’t just buy love.”

The idea is to have young people travel throughout the EU, thereby increasing the feeling of togetherness and also tackling youth unemployment. Anneleen Van Bossuyt fears that only young people with sufficient financial means will be able to benefit from the proposed project: “European young people have never travelled as much as they are doing now, but young people who are strapped for cash risk staying at home. And that’s because the main travel cost is no longer the cost of transport. Today, you can get to Berlin and back for a mere twenty euros. It’s actually the youth hostels, restaurants and bars that make up significant extra costs.”

Buying popularity

The economic crisis has made it painfully clear that young people are the first to be hit, and Anneleen Van Bossuyt thinks that they deserve every opportunity to help themselves. “That’s why the EU must focus on making useful programmes like Erasmus available to all, and not on buying popularity by giving away free travel. Giving young people a good education, exciting job placements and the prospect of a good job: that’s what the focus must be on,” Anneleen Van Bossuyt concludes.