Fundación Secretariado Gitano participates in the European Employment and Social Rights Forum 2026 [editar]

On 3 and 4 March, Brussels hosted the European Employment and Social Rights Forum 2026, the European Commission's annual flagship event on employment, inclusion and social rights. Organised by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, the forum brought together policy makers, experts, civil society representatives, social partners and economic actors to discuss the future of the European social model.

This fourth edition of the forum was held under the slogan ‘Social Europe: empowering people in times of change’, focusing the debate on how to strengthen the role of European social policies in a context of economic and social transformation. Among the main challenges addressed were the rising cost of living, job insecurity and changes in the labour market resulting from technological, green and demographic transitions.

During the two days of the event, various thematic sessions were held to analyse the role of European policies and EU funding in promoting employment, social inclusion and equal opportunities. The forum also provided a space for dialogue between policy makers, researchers and professionals to share evidence, good practices and experiences in the implementation of social policies in the European Union.

From evidence to action: lessons on European funding for a more social Europe

In this context, Fundacion Secretariado Gitano had the opportunity to participate in the session ‘From evidence to action: lessons on EU funding for a more social Europe’, which focused on the role of empirical evidence and evaluation in the design and improvement of policies funded by the European Union.

The session included a specific section dedicated to evaluating the impact of the European Social Fund (ESF) and the importance of developing rigorous methodologies to better understand the results of interventions financed with European funds. In particular, the evaluation initiatives that the European Commission is currently promoting through the Joint Research Centre (JRC) to analyse the impact of different programmes and policies were presented. Several ongoing studies were presented at this session, including the evaluation being carried out on the personalised pathways of the Acceder programme developed by the Fundación Secretariado Gitano and funded by the European Social Fund (ESF+). We had the opportunity to emphasise the great value of demonstrating the positive results and social impact of this programme for Roma people in Spain.

The session provided an opportunity to publicly share progress and highlight its relevance for understanding the impact of ESF-funded programmes on improving employability and social inclusion. In the current debate on the future Multiannual Financial Framework, it will be key to demonstrate, through a counterfactual evaluation, the value of the Access pathways funded by the ESF, in order to defend the essential role that this fund must continue to play in the social inclusion of the most vulnerable groups.

Our participation enabled us to contribute to the European debate on the role of evidence-based evaluation in public policy design, as well as on the importance of using rigorous methodologies to more effectively guide policy decisions and the use of European funds to move towards a more social and inclusive Europe.