European Social Funds (ESF)

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European Social Funds (ESF)

• Petros Christodoulou
• Therapon Andreou
• Giannis Agathokleous

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HISTORY

• The European Social Fund was created in the
  founding Treaty of Rome in 1957 it is the oldest
  of the structural funds. While the ESF has always
  taken higher employment as its objective, it has
  adapted its focus over the years to meet the
  challenges of the time. In the early post-war
  years, it concentrated on managing the migration
  of workers within Europe later it moved on to
  combating unemployment among the young and poorly
  qualified. In the current funding period,
  2007-2013, as well as targeting support at those
  with particular difficulties in finding work,
  such as women, young people, older workers,
  migrants and people with disabilities, ESF
  funding is also helping businesses and workers
  adapt to change. It does this by supporting
  innovation in the workplace, lifelong learning
  and the mobility of workers.

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INTRODUCTION

• The European Social Fund (ESF) is the
  European Unions main financial instrument for
  supporting employment in the Member States as
  well as promoting economic and social cohesion.
  ESF spending amounts to around 10 of the EUs
  total budget.
• The ESF is one of the EU structural funds,
  which are dedicated to improving social cohesion
  and economic well-being across the regions of the
  Union. The structural funds  are redistributive
  financial instruments that support cohesion
  within Europe by concentrating spending on the
  less-developed regions.
• The particular aim of ESF spending is to
  support the creation of more and better jobs in
  the EU, which it does by co-funding national,
  regional and local projects that improve the
  levels of employment, the quality of jobs, and
  the inclusiveness of the labor market in the
  Member States and their regions.
•  

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MAIN BODY

• First of all ,the overarching strategy of the
  European Union is the Lisbon Agenda  which aims
  to make Europe the most dynamic and competitive
  knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of
  sustainable economic growth with more and better
  jobs and greater social cohesion, and respect for
  the environment, by 2010. The objectives of
  the Lisbon Agenda shape the priorities of the
  ESF.
• Many EU financial and policy instruments operate
  in support of the Lisbon Agenda. Among these,
  Cohesion Policy aims to reduce the economic and
  social disparities between the countries and
  regions of the EU. To do this it uses financial
  resources (Structural Funds) from the EU budget 
  including the ESF to support the economic and
  social development of the less-developed regions.

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• In the light of the need to increase
  competitiveness and employment against a
  background of globalization and ageing
  populations, the European Employment
  Strategy provides a coordinating framework for
  the EU Member States to agree common priorities
  and goals in the field of employment. These
  common priorities are then taken up in the
  Employment Guidelines and incorporated into the
  National Reform Programmes prepared by the
  individual Member States. ESF funding is deployed
  by the Member States in support of their National
  Reform Programmes as well as their National
  Strategic Reference Frameworks (NSRF) which
  establish a Member States main priorities for
  spending the EU Structural Funds it receives.

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• The European Social Agenda also plays a role in
  shaping the priorities of ESF spending. The
  Social Agenda seeks to update the European
  social model by modernising labour markets and
  social protection systems so that workers and
  businesses can benefit from the opportunities
  created by international competition,
  technological advances and changing population
  patterns while protecting the most vulnerable in
  society. In addition, the concept of
  flexicurity contributes to current ESF
  initiatives. Flexicurity can be defined as a
  policy strategy to enhance the flexibility of
  labour markets, work organisations and labour
  relations, on the one hand, and employment
  security and income security on the other. 
• The term flexicurity encompasses a new approach
  to employment involving work for life rather
  than the job for life model of the past. It
  encourages workers to take charge of their
  working lives through lifelong training, adapting
  to change and mobility.

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• The ESF strategy is defined by a seven-year
  programming cycle. ESF strategy and budget is
  negotiated between the EU Member States,
  the European Parliament and the EU Commission.
  The strategy defines the objectives of ESF
  funding, which it shares partly or wholly with
  other structural funding. For the current ESF
  funding cycle these objectives are
• The regional competitiveness and employment
  objective to reinforce regional competitiveness,
  employment and attractiveness for investment.
• The convergence objective to stimulate growth
  and employment in the least-developed regions.
  This objective receives more than 80 of total
  ESF funding.
• The strategy also lays down broad priority axes
  the actions required to achieve the objectives
  and which are eligible for funding.

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ESF IMPLEMENTATION

• Once the strategy and budget allocation have been
  agreed, a shared approach to programming is
  taken. Seven-year Operational Programmes are
  planned by Member States and their regions
  together with the European Commission. These
  Operational Programmes describe the fields of
  activity that will be funded, which can be
  geographical or thematic.
• The Member States designate national ESF
  management authorities that are responsible for
  selecting projects, disbursing funds, and
  evaluating the progress and results of projects.
  Certification and auditing authorities are also
  appointed to monitor and ensure compliance of
  expenditure to the ESF regulation.
• Until 2007, approximately 5 of ESF funds were
  allocated to 'Community Initiatives' to
  support transnational and innovative actions.
  They have addressed such issues as employment for
  women (NOW), disabled people (INTEGRA) and young
  people, new professions and qualifications(EUROFOR
  M) and adaptability (ADAPT). The most recent of
  these, the EQUAL Community Initiative, saw in the
  admission of 10 new Member States in 2004 but
  ended in 2008 .

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The European Social Fund 2007-2013

• The current programming cycle of the ESF runs
  from 2007 to 2013 under the banner Investing in
  People. Over this period, it is investing around
  75 billion close to 10 of the EU budget on
  employment-enhancing projects. Funding is given
  to six specific priority area
• Improving human capital (34 of total funding)
• Improving access to employment and sustainability
  (30)
• Increasing the adaptability of workers and firms,
  enterprises and entrepreneurs (18)
• Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured
  persons (14)
• Strengthening institutional capacity at national,
  regional and local levels (3)
• Mobilisation for reforms in the fields of
  employment and inclusion (1)

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EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND REGULATION

• The European Social Fund Regulation defines
  the areas of intervention of that specific
  instrument increasing the adaptability of
  workers and enterprises, enhancing access to
  employment and participation in the labor market,
  reinforcing social inclusion by combating
  discrimination and facilitating access to the
  labor market for disadvantaged people and
  promoting partnership for reform in the fields of
  employment and inclusion.

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OBJECTIVES OF THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND (ESF)

• The relative wealth of a country or region
  measured by GDP per capita determines whether
  it falls under the Convergence or Regional
  Competitiveness objective. There is a higher ESF
  contribution up to 80 of co-funding for
  Convergence regions.
• Convergence objective spending aims to improve
  job creation and employment opportunities, thus
  bringing the wealth and employment in a region
  closer to the EU average. Regional
  Competitiveness objective spending aims to give
  countries and regions the workforce and labour
  markets they need to build successful,
  competitive economies, able to compete globally.

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WAYS THE ESF SUPPORTS ITS OBJECTIVES

• To achieve its objectives, the ESF funds projects
  and programmes in six specific fields relevant to
  creating jobs and helping workers to fill them.
  For example, a project under improving social
  inclusion of less favoured persons might
  directly address the training needs of female
  immigrant workers, while another under
  increasing the adaptability of workers and
  firms, enterprises and entrepreneurs might
  encourage job sharing in companies.
• The share of funding indicated for the different
  fields can vary between regions and countries
  depending on priorities, although Convergence
  regions will usually place an emphasis on
  improving human capital.

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Who becomes Beneficial from the ESF

• While unemployment can hit everyone, some groups
  are more vulnerable than others. For a variety of
  reasons, some people can find it more difficult
  to get a job and to keep it.
• For example, older workers whose long experience
  is underestimated, the young who have yet to
  acquire experience, and mothers who want to
  return to the labour market yet find their skills
  are out of date.ESF funding targets people in
  society who are more vulnerable to unemployment
  and social exclusion.

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EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND SPENDING

• The share of the ESF budget that each Member
  State receives depends on several factors. Larger
  Member States, with greater populations, receive
  more funding. Less-wealthy Member States also
  receive proportionally more funding, as do those
  with higher unemployment. Within each Member
  State, more funding can be given to regions that
  fall under the Convergence objective.

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CONCLUSION

• The ESF should be the preferred instrument
  for implementing the goals of the strategy,
  particularly with regard to employment,
  education, and poverty, in all regions of the EU.
  In every Member State, there should be at least a
  satisfactory percentage of all ESF resources
  intended for the thematic objective promoting
  employment and supporting labor mobility.
• Finally the budget allocated to the European
  Social Fund must at least be maintained at the
  same level as for the last planning period. The
  ESF must also support involvement of citizens,
  civil society and a greater awareness of the
  common values of Europe.