On Monday 14 July, the European Commission announced it had welcomed Ukraine in the ‘Employment and Social Innovation’ (EaSI) strand of the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), the EU’s main instrument for investing in people, during the conference on the reconstruction of the country held in Rome on 10 and 11 July.
“Ukrainian NGOs, public authorities and companies can now apply for ESF+ funding for social projects, such as improving labour market participation and combating poverty and homelessness”, explains a press release.
The agreement was signed in Rome by Roxana Mînzatu, Executive Vice-President responsible for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness, and Yulia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine.
The Commission also announced its commitment to involve Ukraine in the Erasmus+ programme, thereby expanding education and mobility opportunities for Ukrainian students and teachers. In addition, Erasmus+ will support the distribution of two million new textbooks to Ukrainian pupils during the 2025-2026 school year.
A memorandum of understanding between the Ukrainian Ministry of the Economy and the Ukrainian social partners was also signed on 11 July. “This aims to strengthen social dialogue, modernise labour laws, enhance social protection and promote gender equality at work in Ukraine”, adds the press release. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)