EU plans to give teenagers free Interrail tickets for 18th birthday

The European Union (EU) is considering giving free continental railway tickets to European teenagers for their 18th birthday to impress the youth with their neighbors' charm and make them love the bloc better.

According to reports of different sources, members of the European Parliament (MEP) are voting this week on the proposal that allows all EU teenagers to travel by train to 30 European countries with a month-long ticket, known as the Interrail pass, as soon as they turn 18.

Presently, an Interrail pass for those under the age of 26 costs around 479 euros (537 U.S. dollars). Therefore, the generous proposal has been hailed as bold and constructive for building "a sense of belonging" to the continent.

"Such a programme would give the opportunity to all young people regardless of their social and educational background to discover Europe diversity, and promote Interrail travel as a pragmatic way to reduce carbon food print," British newspaper The Independent quoted the plan as saying.

So far European Commissioner of Transport Voileta Bulc, German MEP Manfred Weber and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi reportedly support the plan.

However, the plan still faces funding difficulties. Estimated to affect 6 million young people, the plan presents a considerable extra cost for the EU budget.

As details of the plan are under discussion, one thing is for sure: the proposal is unlikely to benefit British teenagers as it would take months, even years to come into effect, not soon enough to function before Brexit. Endi