European Social Fund Plus

The European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) is one of the main instruments of Community policy for investing in people and ensuring the implementation of the European pillar of social rights, through actions in the fields of employment, education and skills, and social inclusion.

As part of the cohesion policy funds, the ESF+ also has a marked territorial character and, by concentrating its investment effort on the most disadvantaged regions, seeks to contribute to redressing the regional imbalances between the different regions of the Union, in order to strengthen the economic, social and territorial cohesion of the Union.

The ESF+ acts by cofinancing investment programmes agreed between the European Commission and the national and regional authorities of the Member States. The different ESF+ programmes are the subject of shared management, where responsibility for managing them rests with both the European Commission and the Member States.

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For the period 2021-2027, of the five policy objectives (OP) of investment for cohesion policy set out in Community legislation, the ESF+ specifically aims to contribute to the political objective in favour of a more social and inclusive Europe through the implementation of the European pillar of social rights (OP4).The ESF+ Regulation then sets 13 specific objectives (EO) of sectoral policies to which the investments of the various programmes co-financed by the ESF+ contribute.

1. Improving access to employment and labour market activation measures
2. Modernizing labour market institutions and services
3. Promoting balanced gender participation in the labour market
4. Promoting the adaptation of workers, businesses and entrepreneurs to change
5. Improving the quality and effectiveness of training systems
6. Promoting equal access to quality and inclusive education and training
7. Promoting lifelong learning through opportunities for all
8. Promoting active inclusion to promote equal opportunities
9. Promoting the socio-economic integration of third-country nationals
10. Promoting the socio-economic integration of marginalized communities
11. Improving equality and opportunity in access to essential services
12. Promoting the social integration of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion
13. Addressing material deprivation through food and providing basic assistance to the most disadvantaged.

ESF+ programmes

For the period 2021-2027 Spain has a total ESF+ aid allocation of €11,296 million. Given the strong territorial dimension of cohesion policy funds, much of the ESF+ aid is concentrated around the less developed regions (52%) and to a lesser extent in the transition regions (34%) and more developed regions (14%).

In order to promote the efficient use of financial resources from a territorial perspective, the funds have been regionalised and distributed with a view to their management in each Community and Autonomous City, either directly by the territories through the 19 regional programmes, or by the General Government through four multiregional programmes, covering the major sectoral policies and which are in turn territorialised.

Within the framework of the ESF+ 2021-2027 programming, a number of common priorities have been defined to which the programmes comprising one or more of the 13 specific objectives defined by the ESF+ regulation.

1. 

   Priority 1: Employment, adaptability entrepreneurship and social economy

2. 

   Priority 2: Social inclusion and combating poverty

3. 

   Priority 3:Education and training

4. 

   Priority 4:Combating material deprivation

5. 

   Priority 5: Youth employment

6. 

   Priority 6:Innovative social actions

7. 

   Priority 7:Child guarantee

8. 

   Priority 8: Outermost regions

9. 

   Priority 9:Development of skills and qualifications related to the Strategic Technology Platform for Europe (STEP)