Fundación Secretariado Gitano

European Parliament and Member states reach a Political Agreement for European Social Fund+ (ESF+) [editar]

• International

The political agreement reached by Parliament and Member States this February allows to deliver the 88 billion budget (in 2018 prices) for the 2021-2027 period. The ESF+ budget will address key social inclusion areas such as youth employment, fight against poverty and social inclusion, developing capacities for digital and green transition. The new ESF+ Regulation is expected by June 2021.

The European Commission recommended European Parliament and Member States to allocate specific percentages to address social priorities such as:

• 12,5 % of ESF+ resources must address youth employment measures, education and training focusing on reducing the NEET’s (Not in Employment, Education nor Training) rate in those countries above the european average rate.  According to Eurostat, the current average NEET rate in the EU reaches 12.2% for men and doubles when referred to women up to 20.8%. 
• allocate at least 25% of the ESF+ resources to social inclusion measures. A Specific Objective (viii a) focus on Promoting socio-economic integration of marginalised communities such as Roma. 
• at least 5% of ESF+ budget should be devoted to measures for child poverty reduction. Countries that reach a child poverty rate over 22.5%, which is the average of the European Union must comply addressing 5% of their ESF+ budget. Eleven countries are over the 22.5 % of their under 18 years population at risk of poverty or social exclusion, with 5 contries over 30%: Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, Greece and Spain. 

Furthermore, 3% of the total budget should be allocated to the FEAD (Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived) through basic material assistance and food to address severe deprivation. 

 Following recommendations and guidelines such as EURoma Checklist for Roma inclusion, Member states can coordinate and complement several funds, such as ESF+ and ERDF through its’ political objective 4: increasing the socioeconomic integration of marginalised communities, migrants and disadvantaged groups, through integrated measures including housing and social services. 

Funds’ complementarity allows long-term programming and both targeted and integrated measures, aligned with National Strategies for Roma Inclusion.

Following the European Strategic Framework for Roma equality, inclusion and participation 2020-2030, Member states should send to the European Commission their National Strategies to the European Commission by September 2021.

Additionally, through Next Generation EU, two instruments are available for Member states: the Recovery and Resilience Facility and REACT EU, specifically designed reduce COVID crisis impact throughout the EU. 

Coordination between Funds programming and long-term strategies allow Member states to specifically design measures to invest in Roma access to employment, housing and social services, education and health, reducing the poverty and vulnerability gap and fighting discrimination and anti-gypsyism.

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