The European Commission has today
adopted the French national Operational Programme for the implementation
of the European Social Fund (ESF) in mainland France in the period
2014-2020.
Under this programme France will
receive EUR 2.893 billion from the ESF to support employment,
vocational training and social inclusion and reduce early
school-leaving. This national programme will be supplemented by 22
regional programmes in metropolitan France and eight in the overseas
departments and regions, to which the ESF will contribute EUR 2.883
billion.
ESF funding for France comes to a total of EUR 6.027 billion, including the EUR 620 million from the ESF to cofinance the Youth Employment Initiative (IP/14/622)
programme and the national technical assistance programme. The ESF
accounts for 41.7 % of the total cohesion policy funding awarded to
France.
"I warmly
congratulate the French authorities for their work and their excellent
cooperation, allowing the speedy adoption of this ESF Operational
Programme for the period 2014-2020. The ESF will thus help to correct the structural imbalances in the labour market and provide support for measures to reduce poverty", said László Andor, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.
The ESF allocation for
metropolitan France will be distributed among the following three
priorities (excluding technical assistance):
EUR 454 million will be spent
on unemployed and inactive persons, including young people in
unemployment and those young people who are most disconnected from the
labour market ('NEETs'), and also on supporting professional mobility,
developing entrepreneurship and preventing early school-leaving.
EUR 707 million will be spent
on anticipating change and securing career pathways by means of forward
planning of jobs and skills, training for low-skilled workers, women and
older people, training for workers made redundant, and encouraging
businesses to commit to equal pay and opportunities.
EUR 1.634 million, or more
than half of the ESF's allocation under the Operational Programme, will
be spent on reducing poverty and promoting inclusion. These funds will
be used mainly by local authorities, in particular departments and
inter-municipality structures.
Background...
On 8 August the European
Commission adopted a "partnership agreement" with France setting out the
strategy for optimum use of European Structural and Investment Funds in
the country's regions and cities for 2014-2020 (IP/14/906).
The European Social Fund
(ESF) plays a fundamental role in supporting Member States' investment
in human capital and thereby in strengthening the competitiveness of the
European economy as it emerges from the crisis. Every year the ESF
assists more than 15 million people by helping them to upgrade their
skills, facilitating their integration into the labour market, combating
social exclusion and poverty and increasing the effectiveness of public
administrations.
In 2014-2020, for the first time
in the history of EU cohesion policy, a minimum ESF share of 23.1 % (at
EU level) of cohesion policy funding has been set out — see MEMO/14/84.
