The European Social Fund 2007-2013
The current programming cycle of the ESF runs from 2007 to 2013 under the banner ‘Investing in People’. Over this period, it is investing around €75 billion – close to 10% of the EU budget – on employment-enhancing projects. Funding is given to six specific priority areas:
- Improving human capital (34% of total funding)
- Improving access to employment and sustainability (30%)
- Increasing the adaptability of workers and firms, enterprises and entrepreneurs (18%)
- Improving the social inclusion of less-favoured persons (14%)
- Strengthening institutional capacity at national, regional and local levels (3%)
- Mobilisation for reforms in the fields of employment and inclusion (1%)
In any given region, the actual distribution of funds will vary to reflect local and regional priorities. All six priorities are applicable to both the convergence and regional competitiveness and employment objectives; however, convergence would normally place an emphasis on the ‘improving human capital’ priority.
The allocation of ESF expenditure by Member State for 2007-2013 is shown in chart 2.
The redistributive character of the ESF can be seen in chart 3 which shows spending per head of population in the Member States.
Read more about this topic: European Social Fund
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