2.5 Cross-border mobility programmes
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EU programmes
Hungary participates in the Erasmus+ Programme which funds the implementation of the European Solidarity Corps programme (ESC). The Tempus Public Foundation manages the programme. The target group is young people between the ages of 18 and 30.
The specific objective of the ESC programme is to provide young people, including those with fewer opportunities, with easily accessible opportunities to engage in solidarity activities that bring positive change in the EU and beyond while enhancing and adequately validating their competences and promoting their active citizenship.
Three types of activity can be implemented under humanitarian aid:
- individual volunteering, where a volunteer aged 18-35 joins a host organisation in a third country for 2-12 months to help with the day-to-day operation of the organisation;
- group volunteering, where teams of 5-40 volunteers join the organisation for 2-8 weeks to carry out a clearly defined activity such as distributing food, cleaning up an area or organising animation events for children in a refugee camp;
- complementary activities, any activity that raises the visibility of the project, spreads the ideals of the importance of volunteering and solidarity or reinforces the impact of the project such as meetings, conferences, coaching or training.
Results of the ESC programme
According to the information of the Department for Young People of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation in 2022, in the 2021-2027 budget cycle more than HUF 400 billion (about EUR 1.02 billion) fund is available for about 270 000 young people to perform voluntary activities or own solidarity project. From 2022, young people can participate in humanitarian voluntary activities outside Europe. The target group of this activity is between the ages of 18-35.
RAY Network
Hungary participates in the RAY Network through the Tempus Public Foundation, the national Erasmus+ Youth and European Solidarity Corps programme agency. The main objectives of the RAY Network include:
- Contribute to the quality assurance and development of the implementation of European youth programmes.
- Support the development of research-based and evidence-based youth policies in Europe.
- Promote the recognition of non-formal education and learning in the youth field, especially in the context of international youth work and mobility.
- Encourage dialogue between research, policy and practice in the youth sector.
The network's activities include various research projects, such as monitoring the Erasmus+ Youth and European Solidarity Corps programmes and thematic research on different aspects of youth work.
Other Programmes
The State Secretariat for the Promotion of Persecuted Christians in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Külgazdasági és Külügyminisztérium) coordinates the preparation and implementation of the Hungary Helps Volunteer Programme, in cooperation with a non-profit organisation, the Hungary Helps Agency. Their voluntary organisation body is the Hungarian League of Volunteers Association. It aims to connect the Hungarian youth volunteers living in the neighbouring countries and help them implement projects, work together and apply for different resources through applications. It mainly operates in Transylvania, Vojvodina and Hungary.
The Hungary Helps Agency's volunteering programme (Complex Assistance for the Scholarship Students participating in the ECF programme), funded by the European Solidarity Corps (ESC), was launched in April 2022. The aim is that volunteers working at the Hungary Helps Agency assist foreign students studying in Hungary in the framework of the Scholarship Programme for Christian Youth. They provide them support in the daily administrative tasks by directly participating in it, and enhance intensive community building, by organising different programmes and events for the foreign students. From August 2023 to August 2024, 2 young people (one from Romania and one from Jordan) are supported by the ESC for a total amount of EUR 19 849, and from September 2024 to September 2025, 2 young people (one from Slovakia and one from Romania) are supported for a total amount of EUR 26 055. The number of students in the Scholarship Programme for Christian Youth in the school year 2023/24 was 229, which is the potential number of students that could be reached by volunteers working at Hungary Helps Agency in the organisation of community-building programmes.
Legal framework applying to foreign volunteers
There is no specific legal framework for foreign volunteers in Hungary. The standards defined in the EU Regulation on establishing the ESC are applied to cross-border, international voluntary activities and to the conditions necessary for these activities.
The Act LXXXVIII of 2005 on Public Interest Volunteer Activities (Volunteer Act) (2005. évi LXXXVIII. törvény a közérdekű önkéntes tevékenységről) regulates the activities of the foreign volunteers. It states that:
'A citizen of a state which is not a state party of the Agreement on the European Economic Area (except for persons recognised as refugees or persons in a refugee-like situation, immigrants or permanent residents, and relatives in the direct line or spouses of citizens of a state party of the Agreement on the European Economic Area) may pursue public interest volunteer activity if the host organisation has concluded liability insurance covering damages caused by the volunteer; meals, accommodation and return transportation of volunteer is provided for; and the volunteer is eligible to healthcare services or has an insurance covering the costs of healthcare services.'