Sittings · Document
5.3.2025 A10-0014/1
Amendment 1
Elena Donazzan
on behalf of the ECR Group
Nikola Bartůšek
on behalf of the PfE Group
Report A10-0014/2025
Marit Maij
European Social Fund Plus post-2027
(2024/2077(INI))
Motion for a resolution (Rule 188(3) of the Rules of Procedure) replacing non-legislative motion for a resolution A10-0014/2025
European Parliament resolution on the European Social Fund Plus post-2027
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Commission communication of 20 March 2024 entitled ‘Labour and skills shortages in the EU: an action plan’ (COM(2024)0131),
– having regard to its resolution of 19 May 2022 on establishing the European Education Area by 2025 – micro-credentials, individual learning accounts and learning for a sustainable environment,
– having regard to the Commission evaluations of the European Social Fund since 2014,
– having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) has been the primary instrument for supporting the Member States in their respective social policy, promoting employment, improved living and working conditions, social protection and the development of human resources, all in accordance with the subsidiarity principle;
B. whereas the ESF+ must not be a subsidy for its own sake, but instead it must be social in principle, that is, it must help people through vocational training to find a good job, break free from dependency and achieve self-sufficiency, thereby supporting them in improving their social conditions;
C. whereas different vulnerable groups have different needs, such as children, young people, families, persons with disabilities, precarious workers and elderly people; whereas Member States have a particular responsibility to support and strengthen the skills of their citizens and workers, to continue investing in education, training and lifelong learning, and to encourage innovation; whereas the EU must support its Member States in ensuring the well-being and prosperity of their citizens;
D. whereas around 100 million people in the EU have some form of disability; whereas only half of persons with disabilities are employed; whereas 28.8 % of persons with disabilities are at risk of poverty or social exclusion; whereas 29.7 % of all persons with disabilities in the EU live in poverty; whereas persons with disabilities are entitled to enjoy their fundamental rights on an equal basis with others and to fully and effectively participate in all areas of life and society;
E. whereas in recent decades, most EU Member States have not put in place a forward-looking birth-rate policy and today the national population is declining in many Member States; whereas some Member States’ regions are experiencing depopulation and there is an increasing concentration of the population in certain urban areas, making development and cohesion difficult; whereas the average life expectancy of men and women has increased by an average of 10 years over the last 50 years;
F. whereas programmes, projects and actions that promote intergenerational ties can also be supported through the European Structural and Investment Funds, including the ESF+;
G. whereas territorial differences should be taken into account, giving Member States the flexibility and choice to respond to the needs of their respective territories, rather than imposing a top-down programming approach; whereas the local communities that are direct beneficiaries of the ESF+ should be directly involved in the shaping of this instrument;
1. Insists that the ESF+ must remain the key and primary instrument for supporting the Member States, and their regions and people, in strengthening the social dimension of the Union and pursuing socio-economic development, while recognising local communities, as a level closer to the citizen in defining needs and territorial diversity, as a resource requiring the development of specific solutions, also in responding to the challenges of demographic and technological change;
2. Recalls that the ESF+ must support, complement and add value to the Member States in their respective social policy, promoting employment, improved living and working conditions with fairness and high-quality and healthy working environments, social protection, opportunities and the development of human resources, training and skills, while improving social conditions, all in accordance with the subsidiarity principle;
3. Insists that the objectives of the ESF+ should be to achieve high employment, training and skills levels with adequate wages, decent working conditions and a healthy working environment, in order to develop a skilled, competitive and resilient workforce ready for the future world of work and to build fair social protections, with the aims of increasing labour market participation among the inactive population, eradicating poverty and delivering on the principles and headline targets set out in the European Pillar of Social Rights;
4. Insists that the paradigm of the ESF+ should be shifted from individuals to natural communities, such as the family, enterprises and professional associations; underlines the importance of supporting families and rural, peripheral and outermost regions that are still lagging behind in terms of connectivity and accessibility;
5. Recalls that the ESF+ should not be used by the EU to bypass the Member States’ immigration policies or as a call for further uncontrolled immigration;
6. Believes that shared management, multilevel governance and the principles of subsidiarity and partnership are the foundations of the ESF+ in the context of cohesion policy, and that a different ESF+ governance would lead to social aspects being given less priority, including employment, vocational education and training projects, and to funding not reaching local levels and the Member States’ citizens most in need, while increasing the risk of the funds being reallocated for other purposes;
7. Insists that the ESF+ should apply the principle of national preference in the attribution of social aid to Member States’ citizens, rather than to people irrespective of nationality;
8. Recalls that the ESF+ must refrain from centralising social policy at EU level, as social competence is vested primarily in the Member States by the EU Treaties, allowing the Member States to define and manage their own social priorities;
9. Notes that the current ESF+ programme was adopted before the emergence of crises that have resulted in high inflation and a rising cost of living, requiring the ESF+ to focus on helping people find a job or improve their qualifications and skills;
10. Calls for ESF+ spending to be focused on training and retraining older workers in order to encourage companies to include older workers in all forms of training, adapting their practices to employ older people and adapting public infrastructure and spaces to the needs of older people; requests that investment be dedicated to public services in rural and depopulating areas, which would attract the younger generation and increase the well-being of older people living in these areas;
11. Stresses that the ESF+ could be used in combination with other funds to respond to emergencies or crises only in exceptional cases, as the ESF+ has its own long-term social and economic objectives that need to be addressed first;
12. Stresses the importance of applying an efficiency approach throughout the entire development and implementation of the fund;
13. Stresses that the ESF+ should invest in projects targeting the employment and social and economic inclusion of women, with a specific focus on women returning to the labour market after a longer period of absence; insists that the ESF+ support women who are in vulnerable situations and need extra support to (re)integrate into society and the labour market, including women who are the victim of violence;
14. Calls for the ESF+ to improve access to quality early childhood care as well as social services and care for older persons and persons with disabilities, for families that wish to avail of these services; recommends that preference be given to community- and home-based services and infrastructure, while also supporting informal carers and promoting decent working conditions for formal carers;
15. Calls on the Commission, in the light of current challenges, to include in the specific objectives of the ESF+ the promotion of intergenerational solidarity, family and support for depopulating areas, vocational training and school-to-work transition;
16. Underlines the importance of entities belonging to the social economy having access to the ESF+; underlines the utmost importance of self-employed persons and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, including social and family-run enterprises, having access to all aspects of the ESF+ on an equal footing with larger enterprises;
17. Reiterates that digitalisation is a key tool for reducing administrative burdens and streamlining applications for funding opportunities, and as such, it must be promoted and citizens’ digital skills must be strengthened; warns that not all people are prepared for digitalisation and that certain groups of people, especially the most vulnerable, could miss out on funding opportunities as a result;
18. Stresses the importance of the social inclusion of persons with disabilities and insists, therefore, that the ESF+ support the employment of persons with disabilities through work and training placements, especially in facilitating transitions from sheltered workshops to the open labour market;
19. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.
Or. en