Listen to the audio version of the article
In the speech on Europe that he delivered on Thursday 25 April at the Sorbonne, in view of the European elections next June, French President Emmanuel Macron mentioned three Italians: Enrico Letta, Mario Draghi and Matteo Renzi. If the first was called into question for the report on the single market, and the second for that on competitiveness, the reference to the leader of Italia Viva, Matteo Renzi, did not go unnoticed. The former secretary of the Democratic Party and Prime Minister was cited for the “Pass cultures”, as the measure modeled on the culture bonus that Renzi launched when he was Prime Minister was called in France. “You know that we are chauvinists” but it must be recognized that the Pass culture was introduced by Matteo Renzi, admitted Macron.
The 18app Bonus
The French president refers to the 18app Bonus, also known as the “Culture Bonus”: it is an electronic card worth 500 euros established by the Renzi Government with the 2016 Stability Law for the benefit of all newly 18-year-olds to make purchases of a cultural nature, such as the purchase of books or tickets to access musical events. The 2023 Budget Law of the Meloni Government has ordered its abolition with effect from 1 January 2023, replacing it with two other cultural “charters” of different approaches: the Youth Culture Charter and the Merit Charter. This means that the old 18app Bonus has stopped being valid starting from children who turned 18 in 2023. In a few days, on May 1st, the 18App platform for the edition of those born in 2004 will be definitively closed. Vouchers can be created and used until April 30, 2024. After this date, unused vouchers created previously will no longer be available. The ceiling provided for by law 234/2021, as a maximum spending limit, has been exhausted. The platform, therefore, no longer allows registrations.
Current tools
From last January 31st until June 30th it is possible to request the “Youth culture card” and the “Merit card”, each worth 500 euros, which can be combined. You can purchase the permitted goods until December 31, 2024.
