Brussels, 04/05/2001 (Agence Europe) - Anna Diamantopoulou, European Commission responsible for employment and social policy, signed on Friday a decision approving the new Community initiative programme EQUAL in Germany, for the 2001-2006 period. In the framework of this programme, the European Social Fund (ESF) will grant EUR 514.5 million to experiment new means to fight against discrimination and inequalities in the field of employment. The German public sector will contribute EUR 370 million to the programme and national private sources 94.5 million, which increases the overall budget to EUR 979 million.
In Germany, despite a relative economic growth, certain people still face significant difficulties in gaining access to the labour market, and unemployment is concentrated on social categorise such as the handicapped, ethnic minorities, older workers and households living in the poorest regions. The EQUAL programme presents a detailed analysis of this situation and sets priorities for remedy it by referring to four main themes: - employability (216 million, 42% of the ESF contribution) - entrepreneurship (67 million, 13% of the ESF contribution); - adaptability (113 million, 22% of the ESF contribution); - equal opportunities for women and men (EUR 51.3 million, 10% of the ESF contribution). Other than the measures linked to these themes, actions are foreseen to answer the social and professional needs of asylum seekers (36 million, 7% of the ESF contribution). 6% of the budget will be set aside for technical assistance for the programme.
EQUAL will be implemented through "development partnerships" that will be concluded at the national, regional and local level. The partnerships will be selected following a national call for tenders.