ESF+ – European Social Fund – 2021-2027

ESF + (European Social Fund) is one of the European Union’s Structural Funds. It is dedicated to employment, education and training. As an initiator of social inclusion, the ESF+ helps people in precarious and excluded situations in particular. Created in 1957 by the Treaty of Rome, it is intended to boost economic cohesion by developing employment. Since 2021, the ESF has been strengthened and has become the ESF+.

Objectives

• Supporting the policy areas of employment and labour mobility, education and social inclusion, in particular by contributing to the eradication of poverty and thus contributing to the implementation of the European social rights floor
• Supporting the digital and green transition, job creation through smart specialisation skills and improvements in education and training system
• Support temporary measures in exceptional or unusual circumstances

Priorities

Priorities vary according to each country and region. They are defined through spending programmes and must respect the main principles:

• Employment
• Training
• Inclusion
• Youth unemployment
• Support for social innovation

Financed actions 

• Employment
• Education and skills
• Social inclusion