What is the ESF?
The ESF is the European Union’s main financial instrument for investing in people.
It is devoted to promoting jobs and helps Member States make Europe’s workforce and companies better equipped to face new, global challenges.
In short:
Funding is spread across the Member States and regions, in particular those where economic development is less advanced.
It is a key element of the EU’s strategy for Growth and Jobs targeted at improving the lives of EU citizens by giving them better skills and better job prospects.
Over the period 2007-2013 EUR 76 billion is being distributed to the EU Member States and regions to achieve its goals. This represents around 10% of the total budget of the European Union.
The European Employment Strategy (EES) brings together the 27 Member States to work at increasing Europe’s capacity to create more good jobs and to provide people with the skills to fill them. It guides the ESF which spends European money on achieving these goals.
How does the ESF work?
The European Social Fund is based on the principles of co-financing and shared management.
Co-financing means EU financial support always runs alongside national public or private financing. The level of EU intervention is linked with the situation on the ground. Depending on a number of socio-economic factors, the co-financing may vary between 50 and 85% of the total cost of interventions.
Shared management refers to the guidelines for ESF actions which are designed at European level, whereas implementation on the ground is managed by the relevant national or regional authorities in each Member State.
These authorities prepare the Operational Programmes and select and monitor the projects.
The ESF does not fund projects directly from Brussels. ESF funding is available through the Member States and regions and each Member State or region – together with the European Commission – agrees on an Operational Programme for ESF funding for the 2007-2013 period. Operational Programmes set out the priorities for ESF intervention and their objectives.
Beneficiaries of ESF funding can be of many different types: public administrations, NGOs and social partners active in the field of employment and social inclusion, enterprises and other relevant stakeholders.
The ESF’s resources are committed for seven years. Such financial continuity is crucial, since it offers projects the security they need to deliver their objectives, regardless of shifts in national priorities. European investment also draws in funding from other sources – on a 50-50 or sometimes even a 15-85 basis – such as from public authorities or industry.
More info at: http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/esf/
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