Еуропалық әлеуметтік қор Плюс: Жұмыспен қамту мен әлеуметтік ынтымақтастықты қолдау құралы

The European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIFs), which are dedicated to improving social cohesion and economic well being across the regions of the Union. The funds are redistributive financial instruments that support cohesion within Europe by concentrating spending on the less developed regions. It is the European Union's main financial instrument for supporting employment in the member states of the European Union as well as promoting economic and social cohesion, created by merging the existing European Social Fund with the EU Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) and the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) in 2021. ESF+ spending amounts to around 10% of the EU's total budget. The particular aim of ESF+ spending is to support the creation of more and better jobs in the EU, which it does by co funding national, regional and local projects that improve the levels of employment, the quality of jobs, and the inclusiveness of the labour market in the member states and their regions.

The European Social Fund was created in the founding Treaty of Rome in 1957. It is the oldest of the European Structural and Investment Funds. It was established as a "remedial instrument" against the end of nationalist protectionism due to the advent of the European Economic Community. As of 2015, the main goal is to foster employment, reduce social exclusion and invest in skills. In some EU countries it also supports administrative reform. It was transformed into the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), which will run for the period 2021–2027 and have a total budget of €88 billion, by merging the existing European Social Fund with the EU Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) and the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) in 2021.

The overarching strategy of the European Union is the Europe 2020 strategy, which aims to promote "smart, sustainable, inclusive growth" with greater coordination of national and European policies. In 2010 this succeeded the Lisbon Agenda which aimed to make Europe the most dynamic and competitive knowledge based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion, and respect for the environment, by 2010. The objectives of Europe 2020 shape the priorities of the ESF. In the light of the need to increase competitiveness and employment against a background of globalisation and ageing populations, the European Employment Strategy provides a coordinating framework for the Member States to agree common priorities and goals in the field of employment. These common priorities are then taken up in the Employment Guidelines and incorporated into the National Reform Programmes prepared by the individual Member States. ESF funding is deployed by the Member States in support of their National Reform Programmes as well as their National Strategic Reference Frameworks (NSRF) which establish a member state's main priorities for spending the EU Structural Funds it receives. The European Social Agenda also plays a role in shaping the priorities of ESF spending. The Social Agenda seeks to update the 'European social model' by modernising labour markets and social protection systems so that workers and businesses can benefit from the opportunities created by international competition, technological advances and changing population patterns while protecting the most vulnerable in society. In addition, the concept of 'flexicurity' contributes to current ESF initiatives. Flexicurity can be defined as a policy strategy to enhance the flexibility of labour markets, work organisations and labour relations, on the one hand, and employment security and income security on the other. The term flexicurity encompasses a new approach to employment involving 'work for life' rather than the 'job for life' model of the past. It encourages workers to take charge of their working lives through lifelong training, adapting to change and mobility. The EU is offering a guarantee of up to €13 billion until 2027 as part of the EFSD+ open architecture. In order to help partner nations reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this is implemented through a variety of implementing partners, including international financial institutions and European development finance organisations.

The ESF is managed through seven year programming cycles. The ESF strategy and budget is negotiated between the EU member states, the European Parliament and the EU Commission. The strategy defines the objectives of ESF funding, which it shares partly or wholly with other structural funding. For the current ESF funding cycle these objectives are:

The strategy also lays down broad priority axes – the actions required to achieve the objectives and which are eligible for funding.

While strategy definition is done at EU level, implementation of ESF funding is the responsibility of EU Member States and regions. Once the strategy and budget allocation have been agreed, a shared approach to programming is taken. Seven year Operational Programmes are planned by Member States and their regions together with the European Commission. These Operational Programmes describe the fields of activity that will be funded, which can be geographical or thematic. The Member States designate national ESF management authorities that are responsible for selecting projects, disbursing funds, and evaluating the progress and results of projects. Certification and auditing authorities are also appointed to monitor and ensure compliance of expenditure to the ESF regulation. Until 2007, approximately 5% of ESF funds were allocated to 'Community Initiatives' to support transnational and innovative actions. They have addressed such issues as employment for women (NOW), disabled people (INTEGRA) and young people, new professions and qualifications (EUROFORM) and adaptability (ADAPT). The most recent of these, the EQUAL Community Initiative, saw in the admission of 10 new Member States in 2004 but ended in 2008.

The implementation of the ESF on the ground is achieved through projects which are applied for and implemented by a wide range of organisations, both in the public and private sector. These include national, regional and local authorities, educational and training institutions, non governmental organisations (NGOs) and the voluntary sector, as well as social partners, for example, trade unions and works councils, industry and professional associations, and individual companies. The beneficiaries of ESF projects are varied, for example, individual workers, groups of people, industrial sectors, trades unions, public administrations or individual firms. Vulnerable groups of people who have particular difficulty in finding work or getting on in their jobs, such as the long term unemployed and women, are a particular target group. As an indication, it is estimated that over 9 million individuals from these vulnerable groups are helped each year through participation in ESF projects – see chart 1.

The 2014–2020 cycle had a total budget of €70 billion, 20% of which was dedicated to promoting social inclusion and decreasing poverty.