Category: EU News (een)

Samaritan International co-organised a Training Academy with SOLIDAR under the title „Understanding and engaging with the European Semester“, hosted by the Representation of the European Region Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino. The Training Academy brought together members from both networks for two days of intensive training, exchange, and strategy building on one of the most influential EU governance […]

On 21 October, the European Parliament formally adopted the agreement with the Council on new driving licences rules. Samaritan International has successfully advocated for simplified requirements for the driving of heavy ambulances. Following the agreement, the driving of emergency vehicles, including ambulances and civil protection vehicles, weighing up to 5.000 kg will be possible with […]

From 23-24 November, an “Active Citizens’ workshop” was held in Nicosia, Cyprus, as part of the “Social Cohesion by Empowering Volunteering during Emergencies” project

From 27-29 September, the Erasmus+ project “Inclusive First Aid” (INFA) met in Sveti Ivan Zelina, Croatia, hosted by local project partner SRCE.

From 18-21 July, 19 teams from 12 organisations and 11 different countries competed in Zabljak, Montenegro at the 9th Samaritan Contest. This year’s competition was jointly hosted by Samaritan International’s members Alfa Centar (Montenegro), IDC (Serbia) and CDI (North Macedonia).   Over the course of 3 days, the youth teams tested not only their theoretical […]

The 11th International Samaritan Forum took place on 23-24 May 2024, at a crucial time just before the elections of the European Parliament. Hosted by ASB Germany in Cologne, the Forum brought together 80 Samaritans and external guests from 15 European countries. While the main thematic focus if this year’s edition was on social services […]

Ahead of the elections for the European Parliament in June 2024, Samaritan International published its election memorandum titled “Social resilience needs to become a priority” and sent a catalogue of questions to the European parties as well as the main groups in the European Parliament. The responses will inform Samaritan International and its members about […]

On 28 February, the European Parliament adopted its First Reading position on the Revision of the Driving Licences Directive. Samaritan International strongly welcomes the result in view of the agreed rules for ambulances. Whereas other issues, such as regular medical testing or minimum age, have taken the spotlight in the public debate, Samaritan International had […]

On 18 December, SAM.I. welcomed Pompiers Humanitaires Français (PHF) as its 21st member organisation. PHF has become the second French member in the network next to the Fédération des Secouristes Français Croix Blanche. “I am very happy to welcome Pompieres Humainataires Français to Samaritan International. They will certainly enrich our network with their high expertise in the […]

On 14 November 2023, Samaritan International organised a policy debate with high-level stakeholders to discuss the importance and value of qualified volunteering for our societies. Volunteering is not only an expression of civic engagement, which is vital for living democracies, but structurally committed volunteers are also a necessity for the work of the members of […]