Parliament's Employment Committee today voted on the 474 amendments to the European Commission proposal concerning the European Social Fund (ESF) for 2014-2020. 

Nadja Hirsch (FDP, Germany), spokeswoman of the Group of Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament (ALDE), stresses that ESF-supported actions should also involve competent regional, urban and other local authorities, umbrella associations representing the local and regional level, alongside the social partners and NGO's. 

"Without good partnership between Member States and a broad spectrum of local actors, in particular the umbrella associations representing local and regional authorities, organised civil society, economic and social partners, an efficient and effective implementation of actions supported by the ESF is not possible." 

Hirsch draws special attention to the precarious situation of asylum-seekers and refugees, and people facing or at risk of social exclusion and poverty. The ESF should also contribute to the activities in the 'Youth Opportunities Initiative. "Support for young people is essential at a time when 21% of them are without employment in the European Union and many other young people have left training systems without any qualification. In addition, the ESF must be used as an instrument to developing skills that are relevant to the labour market." 

The European Social Fund (budget: € 84 billion), the EU’s principal instrument for employment promotion supports adaptation to changes in the jobs market through co-financing of training projects and employment aid programmes. Adequate financing for this fund in times of crisis and record unemployment is crucial, as the ESF is one of the most important tools for the EU to support vulnerable people in our society. 

The European Social Fund is part of the EU legislative package on EU regional, employment and social policy for 2014-2020 with funding concentrated on the key priorities from the Europe 2020 strategy: employment promotion; investment in skills, education and life-long learning; social inclusion and the fight against poverty.