The European Commission is very proud of its new tool and has announced another stage in the process for setting up the European Solidarity Corps. In a press release published on 10 July, it asserted that it would support two projects in this context in France and Italy.
The European Solidarity Corps was launched by the Commission in December 2016 (see EUROPE 11684). It offers young people aged between 18 and 30 the opportunity to take part in a range of solidarity activities in voluntary work or vocational projects underpinned by a work contract. On 30 May 2013, the Commission presented a legislative proposal to provide the corps with a solid legal basis and a budget of €341.5 million for the 2018-20 period.
In this regard, it is committed to supporting two projects led by the Italian and French Public Employment Services, which will offer a solidarity-related job or traineeship in another EU country to up to 6,000 young people. These projects will be up and running until March 2019 and will reach out to employers, to ensure the matching of candidates and provide financial and other types of support, such as training, to participants. The projects are funded with more than €14 million from the Employment and Social Innovation programme.
Since its launch on 7 December 2016, more than 32,000 young people have joined the European Solidarity Corps. Approximately 11,500 participants have been contacted and 460 placements were accepted. The aim is to have 100,000 young people taking part in the European Solidarity Corps by the end of 2020. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)