On Wednesday 19 February, MEPs of the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) called on the co-legislators to strengthen the future European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) post-2027 and its social dimension, according to a press release.
In adopting the report by MEP Marit Maij (S&D, Dutch), they called for additional resources to support vulnerable people and social investments, and opposed “changes in the fund’s governance and structure”.
The report, which will feed into the discussion on the future ESF+ budget, was adopted by 42 votes to 3 with 8 abstentions.
According to EMPL, the ESF+ post-2027 should support people in vulnerable situations, invest in people and skills, help lift people out of poverty and boost social investment and social entrepreneurship.
Splitting or merging the ESF+ with other funds could “seriously hamper its ability to reach its objectives and the objectives of the European Pillar of Social Rights”.
The ESF+ governance model should also remain a shared management governance one. The MEPs are calling on the Commission as well to protect the budget allocation, currently at 99.3 billion euros.
Link to the report: https://aeur.eu/f/fkk (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)