The European Solidarity Corps is the new European Union initiative which creates opportunities for young people to volunteer or work in projects in their own country or abroad that benefit communities and people around Europe.

President Juncker in his State of the European Union speech on 14 September 2016 presented the “European Solidarity Corps”. It was designed to give young Europeans the opportunity to support a non-governmental organization, a local authority or a private enterprise working to manage difficult situations throughout the European Union and whose objective is to assist in the reconstruction of communities following natural disasters, to respond to social challenges such as social exclusion, poverty, health and demographic issues, or to work for the reception and/Integration of refugees. The Corps will be based on existing professional and voluntary youth programs in the EU, as well as on the mobilization of job offerings, education and civil society actors across Europe. A mechanism in close cooperation with the Member States, local authorities and NGOs will be developed. Candidates wishing to join the body and entities wishing to recruit members can do so via a single point of entry: a web portal dedicated to the European Solidarity Corps. The launch of the “European Solidarity Corps” aims in particular to deal with a massive youth unemployment worsening the crisis in which the EU is plunged. The Commission hopes that the body will encourage cross-border solidarity and restore the image of the EU.