European Social Fund (ESF)

The European Social Fund, created in 1957, is the European Union’s main financial instrument for investing in people. It supports employment and helps people enhance their education and skills in order to improve their job prospects. Member States and regions devise their own ESF Operational Programmes in order to respond to the real needs ‘on the ground’.

The ESF is devoted to promoting employment in the EU. It helps Member States make Europe's workforce and companies better equipped to face new, global challenges. In short:

• Funding is spread across the Member States and regions, in particular those where economic development is less advanced.
• It is a key element of the EU's strategy for Growth and Jobs targeted at improving the lives of EU citizens by giving them better skills and better job prospects.
• Over the period 2007-2013 some €75 billion will be distributed to the EU Member States and regions to achieve its goals.

ESF Spending by Member State

The Management of the ESF

The European Social Fund is based on the principles of co-financing and shared management.

• Co-financing because EU financial support always runs alongside national public or private financing. Of course, the level of EU intervention is linked with the situation on the ground. Depending on a number of socio-economic factors, the co-financing may vary between 50% and 85% of the total cost of interventions.
• Shared management because the guidelines for ESF actions are designed at European level, whereas implementation on the ground is managed by the relevant national or regional authorities in each Member State. These authorities prepare the Operational Programmes and select and monitor the projects.

Eligible Regions

The level of ESF funding differs from one region to another depending on their relative wealth. EU regions are actually divided into four categories, based on their regional GDP per head compared to the EU average (EU with 25 or 15 Member States)

The convergence objective includes:

• Convergence regions: with a GDP per head of less than 75% of the EU-25 average (in the period 2007-2013)
• Phasing-out regions: with a GDP per head of more than 75% of the EU-25 average but of less than 75% of the EU-15 average ( in the period 2007-2013)

The regional competitiveness and employment objective includes:

• Phasing-in regions: with a GDP per head of less than 75% of the EU-15 average (in the period 2000-2006) but of more than 75% of the EU-15 average (in the period 2007-2013)
• Competitiveness and employment regions: applies to all other EU regions

Priorities in the Member States

Source: European Commission