This is an initiative of the European Commission that seeks to promote solidarity in European societies through the involvement of young people and organizations in volunteer activities, practices and solidarity employment.
In Spain, the management of European Solidarity Corps corresponds to the Spanish National Agency (ANE), composed of the Institute of Youth (INJUVE), youth organizations of the autonomous communities and autonomous cities, and the Youth Council of Spain (CJE).
In this program, young people between 17 and 30 years old from across the European Union and other associated countries can participate during a period of 2 to 12 months in projects that benefit communities and European citizenship in general.
The European Solidarity Corps has two complementary aspects: volunteer activities and occupational activities. The volunteer side offers young people the opportunity to provide a full-time volunteer service in another country for which they will not receive any remuneration, but other types of help that will depend on the program, such as transportation, accommodation, meals, medical insurance and money for your stay expenses.
The occupational side will gradually be introduced through partnerships with public bodies, NGOs and companies active in these fields. The young people hired through the latter will have an employment contract and will be remunerated in accordance with the salary regulations and collective agreements in force in the corresponding country.
In 2019, Spain has had more than 550 accredited entities to present projects within this program. For its part, the Youth Institute has approved 339 projects in which 1,263 young people have participated. In the environmental field alone, 67 projects have been submitted, with the participation of 272 young volunteers. This year the budget for Spain has been 8,940,486 euros and for the year 2020, the corresponding amount is 12,450,000 euros.
In the opinion of Ruth Carrasco, general director of INJUVE, "in the current context, marked by the rise of extremisms and the growth of intolerant attitudes, xenophobes, initiatives such as the European Solidarity Corps take on special relevance and are more necessary than ever to defend our democracies and build inclusive and diverse societies. "