Today it is an important driver of
- job creation,
- promoting better education,
- more modern public administrations and social inclusion,
and therefore a key tool to ensure fairer opportunities for all citizens.
Celebrations of the Fund's achievements and debates on the future of human capital funding in Europe kick off today with the conference "European Social Fund: past, present and future", hosted by the Maltese Presidency of the EU, ahead of the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome and the meeting with the EU Social Partners in Rome which will be attended by President Juncker, Vice-President Dombrovskis and Commissioner Thyssen.
Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility Marianne Thyssen said: "The 60th anniversary of the European Social Fund is a true reason to celebrate. Throughout six decades, the European Social Fund has helped millions of job seekers and employees and has supported hundreds of thousands of companies and start-ups. By investing directly in people, we help to make sure that nobody is left behind, while boosting Europe's competitiveness and keeping pace with the changing world of work. 60 years of success stories showing that the European Union is making a real difference in the lives of Europeans: today, in the past and in the future."
In the past 60 years, the European Social Fund has helped millions of Europeans find a job, gain a qualification or certificate and increase their skills levels. These outcomes are achieved through many thousands of projects carried out everywhere in Europe.
The online Open Data Platform which gives access to data on achievements under the European Structural and Investment Funds for 2014-2020, shows that ESF projects are making very good progress:
- over 30% of projects have already been selected for funding,
- projects under the Youth Employment Initiative even show a 60% implementation rate.
