European Social Fund Key elements of the Commission proposal for the future ESF Franz Pointner, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion

European Social Fund Legislative package  The General Regulation  Common provisions for cohesion policy, the rural development policy and the maritime and fisheries policy  Common provisions for cohesion policy only (ERDF, CF, ESF)  Fund specific regulations  ERDF regulation  CF regulation  ESF regulation + YEI  ETC regulation  EGTC regulation

European Social Fund Guiding political principles of the reform  Concentration on Europe 2020 Strategy  Focus on results  Better coordination and harmonisation between the funds  Simplification

European Social Fund Geographical coverage of support  Three categories of regions  Less developed regions (GDP per capita < 75% of EU average)  Transition regions (GDP per capita between 75% and 90%)  More developed regions (GDP per capita > 90%)

European Social Fund ESF - minimum shares  At least 25% of the Cohesion envelope for the ESF  € 84 billion  (25% for the less developed regions, 40% for the transition regions and 52% for the more developed regions)  Why?  Important contribution to the Europe 2020 strategy and its headline targets  Key factor for medium term growth (OECD)  Expression of European solidarity In 2010, 10 million people were reached out

European Social Fund Focus on …  … Reinforced Integrated Programming  … Results  Performance framework and reserve  Indicators  Evaluation  Joint Action Plan  … Conditionality  … Thematic Concentration  Simplification

European Social Fund Specific provisions for the ESF

European Social Fund Scope 18 Investment priorities in 4 thematic objectives 1.Promoting employment and supporting labour mobility 2.Promoting social inclusion and combating poverty 3.Investing in education, skills and lifelong learning 4.Enhancing institutional and administrative capacities ESF contribution to the other thematic objectives notably: Supporting an environmentally sustainable economy (low carbon…) Enhancing the accessibility, use and quality of ICT Strengthening research and innovation 4.Enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises

European Social Fund ESF specific issues 1.Ensuring a strong involvement of social partners and NGOs 2.Gender equality and non discrimination at the core of the ESF 3.Transnationality and social Innovation 4.Reinforcing the territorial approach 2.Specific provisions for financial management

European Social Fund Youth Employment Initiative

European Social Fund  Aim: fight youth unemployment in EU regions NUTS level 2 with >25% youth unemployment rate in 2012 (Eurostat data).  Budget: EUR 3 bn ESF +3 bn from new budget line within MFF sub-heading 1b.  YEI aims to directly support the Youth Employment Package, in particular the Youth Guarantee (Council political agreement 28 February)  Available Overview

European Social Fund  New chapter (III bis) on YEI + separate Annex 2 on indicators + new recital  YEI will target actions to individuals only (not systems).  Target group: - NEETs (aged 15-24); - inactive or unemployed (+long-term); - registered or not as job seekers; - residing in the eligible regions.  Concrete policy measures to be supported by the YEI will be discussed with Member States in the context of ESF OP negotiations BUT: direct and speedy results expected Proposed amendments to the ESF Reg. (1)

European Social Fund  Additional flexibility element introduced: MS may direct up to 10% of their YEI allocation (ESF + top-up) outside the eligible regions, to support e.g. young persons residing in big cities.  YEI top-up calculated proportionally to the number of young unemployed in the regions (fixed once, at the start).  ESF allocation at least equal to the share of the top-up for the region concerned, possibly greater BUT: the top-up cannot increase.  YEI separate budget line allocation not taken into account for thematic concentration. Proposed amendments to the ESF Reg. (2)

European Social Fund  MS chooses to programme YEI as either: - a dedicated priority axis, - a part of a priority axis or - a dedicated OP (volume).  National co-financing rates apply only to the ESF part (not the top-up).  If several categories of regions in one Member State => the highest co-financing rate applies.  Additional monitoring and evaluation arrangements + indicators for YEI (new Annex 2).  Other provisions: financial management, technical assistance, publicity. Proposed amendments to the ESF Reg. (3)

European Social Fund Only limited amendments. A new recital is introduced.  Article 18: Performance reserve shall not apply to the YEI.  Article 83-84: introducing the resources for the YEI  Article 93: public support threshold for JAPs provision does not apply for YEI.  Annex V: a new ex-ante conditionality criterion under TO8 is introduced. It requires that MS have a comprehensive strategic policy framework underpinning the Youth Employment Package and the Youth Guarantee.  All other CPR provisions, including those related to macro-economic conditionalities, also apply to the YEI. Proposed amendments to the CPR

European Social Fund Discussions in Council working group (SAWP) EP opinion on the amendments Commission position

European Social Fund