60 Years European Social Fund - Investing in People
The European Social Fund (ESF) will be 60 years old in 2017. Since its creation it has played a key role in promoting and maintaining social cohesion across Europe. The funds it provides are used to finance many pioneering projects and measures to improve the employability of millions of people.
In the current 2014 to 2020 funding period, the fund is continuing to provide specific support to EU Member States, to help strengthen and boost the competitiveness of their national labour markets by offering people assistance with training and qualifications, and by removing obstacles on the labour market. These objectives lie at the heart of the Europe 2020 strategy of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in the EU Member States. The ESF has an important role to play here in attaining these objectives, particularly in the fight against unemployment and poverty.
This presentation looks back at the history of the ESF and outlines future development trends for this funding instrument.
