Euroscola FAQ
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According to the Euroscola rules, any secondary school of the European Union or in an applicant country or former Member State is eligible to participate in the programme. The participants should be at least 14 years old on the date of the visit.
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The Euroscola Team (part of the Visitors and Citizens Liaison Unit, Directorate-General for Communication) is responsible for the organisation of the Euroscola events, following the selection of classes by EP Liaison Offices across Members States. Teachers who accompany the classes to the Euroscola event have preparatory meetings and are provided with the opportunity to network with their colleagues from other countries.
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The selection procedure is organised by the European Parliament Liaison Offices in the relevant country. Please enter in contact with your Liaison offices for more information. The European Parliament has Liaison Offices (EPLOs) all across the Member States and in the UK. Please find more information under this link. For applicant countries, please contact the Euroscola team.
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Euroscola is conceived to enable as many young people as possible to engage in democracy and witness decision-making at EU level through their participation in a session. Consequently, schools need to ensure that the same people do not participate in Euroscola more than once, so that others can also benefit from this opportunity.
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According to the governing rules, participants must be resident in a Member State, applicant country or former Member State. Participation is also open to third-country nationals who fulfil the previous residency criteria.
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The Euroscola Team will get in touch with the contact person of each selected schools/class to explain the registration procedure.
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After a school has successfully registered a class for a Euroscola session, all participants (pupils and accompanying adults) need to register on EUSurvey. On-site participants will be asked to provide the following information for accreditation: first name, surname, date of birth, nationality, type of identity document and number of identity document. They will also be required to complete an ‘image release form’, which is to be completed by the participant if they are of legal age or by their parents if they are minors. Participants who do not consent to being filmed or photographed by completing this document will be placed in a ‘no filming zone’ on the day of the session. Online participants also need to complete the EUSurvey registration form – the information requested differs slightly from the form for on-site participants.
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The Parliament offers participating schools a financial contribution to cover their travel and accommodation costs. The exact amount of the contribution depends on a number of different factors and may not cover all the costs. Schools are responsible for making their own travel arrangements.
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The estimated maximum financial contribution provided by Parliament is set out in the invitation letter addressed to the head of the participating group. According to the rules, a group receiving a Parliament financial contribution may consist of a minimum of 10 pupils with one accompanying teacher/adult and a maximum of 24 pupils with two accompanying teachers/adults.
If the number of pupils is less than 20, only one accompanying teacher/adult can receive the financial contribution from Parliament. Extra teachers are welcome as guests, but they will not receive this contribution. Exceptionally, two accompanying teachers/adults may be financially supported for groups of at least 15 pupils if the European Parliament Liaison Office or the group provide detailed justification (for instance, if the group is composed of at least 15 pupils from two different schools, one accompanying teacher per school may be financially supported).
Parliament will not pay a financial contribution if the group attending the session is composed of fewer than 10 participants.
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15 days before the session at the very latest, the designated head of the group has to send three forms to the Euroscola email address:
1) List of participants (with dates of birth) including teachers and pupils;
2) Financial form 1 (signed, dated and stamped with the official school stamp);
3) A recent bank statement confirming the information on financial form 1.If possible, the head of the group should also submit, at the same time, the declaration on honour, properly signed.
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The participants may speak in French, German, Italian, Spanish and English and can listen into French, German and English. We invite all the participants to try to speak in different languages during the programme and they can of course take the floor in the language they are the most comfortable with.
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The participants may enter the premises from 8:15 am at the Louise Weiss building (Allée du Printemps, 67070 Strasbourg). The programme starts at 10:00 am and ends at 4:30 pm. The students meet a Vice-President/Member of the European Parliament, as well as an expert, depending on the programme. The morning session is a hybrid format, open to both on-site and online participants. The afternoon program, for on-site participants only, focuses on a simulation of the work of a Member of the European Parliament.
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One local journalist per school/national group is authorised to take part in a session. Please send an email to the Euroscola team for more information.
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Parliament can only provide a financial contribution to groups that actually attend the session. It strongly advises groups to make flexible travel arrangements that allow for zero-cost cancellations.
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No. Parliament’s financial contribution can only be paid into the bank account in the name of the invited group or, if the group does not have an account in its name, a bank account held by the head of the group. If a participating school cannot have a bank account in its name because of national legal restrictions, it has to explain these restrictions to the Euroscola team well in advance. In such justified cases, the group should register its interest (and receive the invitation letter) in the name of the entity that manages its finances and holds a bank account into which Parliament’s financial contribution can be paid. The financial forms should be completed accordingly.
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Pupils, accompanying teachers and accredited journalists receive the same amount per person attending a Euroscola session. Subsidies received from other sources for the group to take part in Euroscola have to be declared to the Euroscola team and may be deducted from the amount to be paid by Parliament.
Each invited participant receives:
- an amount for travel costs calculated based on the distance between the group’s point of departure and Strasbourg.
- EUR 72 for hotel costs only if the group stays overnight for the purpose of participating in the event.
- EUR 48 for food and other minor expenses.
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Yes, copies proving the expenses declared in financial form 2 have to be submitted together with the form. The originals should be kept for three years.
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Parliament’s contribution for accommodation is fixed (EUR 72) and independent of the number of nights the group spends in a hotel for the purpose of taking part in Euroscola. However, it is not paid if the group does not stay overnight, for instance if the group comes from an area not far from Strasbourg. When the head of the group declares the actual costs incurred in financial form 2, they can declare the accommodation costs that were absolutely necessary for participating in Euroscola, taking into account the distance the group travelled to Strasbourg and the travel arrangements. Generally, a maximum of two nights’ accommodation is accepted.
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If the costs go beyond a reasonable amount (max. EUR 100 per person/night), the financial file will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and may require further evidence/justification.
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The applicable rules adopted by Parliament’s Bureau set out in detail the way in which Parliament calculates and pays for the financial contribution, which is not intended to fully cover all expenses and is not contingent on the actual cost of participating in the session. While Parliament is fully aware of the difficulties often encountered in raising the funding necessary for the trip, extra financial support cannot be provided to participating groups.
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In the case of pupils with a recognised disability, the Bureau rules provide the possibility to increase the number of sponsored adults accompanying the group beyond the maximum two that are normally allowed. For that purpose, the EPLO and the head of the group have to inform the Euroscola team in time so that the extra adult is taken into account when confirming the participation of the group to the session. The head of group has to submit, at the latest 15 days before the session, the necessary documentation, i.e. proof of disability and a declaration concerning the information that is submitted.
Alternatively, the Bureau Rules provide the possibility to pay an additional financial contribution for visitors with a recognised disability, under two conditions:
- the visitors are accompanied by a sign language interpreter or they are in a wheelchair and require special assistance or they require special arrangements to be made, within reason, in order to be able to travel comfortably, and
- the financial contribution normally paid to the group fails to cover the additional costs arising as a result of the participation to the group of a visitor falling under one of the three abovementioned cases.
The head of group has to declare any additional costs for participants with a recognised disability in financial form 2 to be submitted after the session, accompanied by the necessary documentation, i.e. proof of disability and a declaration concerning the information that is submitted. Any possible additional financial contribution cannot exceed the normal financial contribution that the sponsored visitor receives for participating to the session.
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The applicable rules do not foresee the possibility to split the Parliament’s contribution. Only one payment can be made to the account designated as described above. As long as it remains one single group, the group needs to find a solution for managing Parliament’s contribution after it is paid. If the group members do not travel to Strasbourg from the same point of departure, the financial contribution for travel costs is calculated based on the average distance between Strasbourg and the place of residence of all sponsored participants in the group.
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Parliament’s financial contribution for the group’s participation in Euroscola is paid by bank transfer in two instalments. A total of 70 % is paid within a few days of the visit if the head of the group has duly submitted all of the information required as set out in the invitation letter. The day on which the amount appears in the group’s designated bank account depends on how fast the bank processes the transfer. The balance is paid after receipt of financial form 2, duly completed and submitted by the group. In this financial form, the head of the group declares the actual costs incurred by the group for participating in Euroscola, as well as any other financial contribution the group has received for this purpose.
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A few days prior to the event, the head of the group should notify the Euroscola team via email that some participants have specific dietary restrictions. This is especially important in the case of food allergies and/or intolerances.
The breakfast and lunch options offered during Euroscola include gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian alternatives.
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Regional Euroscola is a French-German version of Euroscola, attended by school groups from Alsace (France) and Baden-Wuerttemberg (Germany). This event is the outcome of the Declaration of joint intention signed by Parliament and the competent authorities from both sides of the border. It takes place once a year. A group travelling from a distance of more than 100 km is eligible to receive a financial contribution for accommodation. Daily allowances are not calculated for groups that travel a distance of less than 10 km.
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Only the head of the group has to take part in the technical test session.
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There is no minimum/maximum number of pupils per school for online participation.