ESF Reaction to the Financial Crisis

The European Commission has presented a new report, “Evaluation of the reaction of the ESFⁱ to the economic and financial crisis”. This report highlighted the responsiveness of the ESF Operationnal Programmes, thanks to simplifications made in 2009.

Despite difficult circumstances in which one might expect a switch to passive short-term actions, spending on active labour market policy measures actually increased during the crisis. The authors remark that this could well be due to the ESF which promotes active measures and contributes to longer-term structural changes in labour markets. The report makes a number of recommendations for the ESF, including: developing further the ability to react quickly when needed; phasing out crisis-related measures where they risk impeding active measures to combat long-term structural unemployment; and strengthening the ESF’s focus on structural measures and vulnerable groups.

For further information please visit: Evaluation of the reaction of the ESF to the economic and financial crisis