Brussels, 06/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is preparing to ensure that the €80 billion at today's prices to be provided for the member states in 2014-2020 under the European Social Fund (ESF) is used both efficiently and effectively in line with the country-specific recommendations and the EUROPE 2020 strategy on jobs and the reduction of poverty. To this end, the Commission, working with the Greek Presidency of the Council of the EU, has organised a conference in Brussels on Thursday 6 and Friday 7 February to brief stakeholders on the changes incorporated in the new ESF.
For a quarter of a century, there has been an ever decreasing share of cohesion policy funding going to the ESF, despite the fact that it is the EU's most important tool for supporting jobs and social inclusion, said Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Laszlo Andor on 6 February. The ESF cash has even fallen since the outbreak of the financial and economic crisis in 2008. In order to ensure this does not continue under the new financial framework (EU budget for 2014-2020), 23.1% of cohesion funding must go to the ESF. The Commission forecasts that the greatest beneficiaries will be Poland (more than €12.8 billion under the ESF from now to 2020), Italy €8.2 billion, Spain €7.4 billion and Portugal €7 billion.
How will the money be used? The Commission is working on this with the member states. Various studies and inter-institutional negotiations on the ESF have revealed resistance in the member states to the idea of using all the cash for human capital rather than tangible objectives like the building of infrastructure. Andor pointed out in the opening address at the Brussels conference that the ESF plays a crucial role in the development of human capital, giving aid to more than 15 million people a year to help them improve their skills, make it easier for them to find work, tackle social exclusion, tackle poverty and improve the efficiency of public administration. (JK/transl.fl)