It is also necessary to further simplify access to the ESIFs and reduce red tape in line with the Commission’s objectives of better regulation and results-focused budgeting.

The success of ESIF programmes – and of the strategies that underpin them via ex ante conditionalities - will depend on good governance and their immediate start, as well as their full implementation in the coming years. A readiness to adapt to changing circumstances, such as the refugee crisis, is also necessary. Areas in which continued efforts are needed throughout the 2014-2020 implementation period are in particular related to ensuring the focus on results and the level of ambition for targets, further increasing the use of financial instruments, and making full use of the synergies between ESIFs, EFSI and other funding sources such as Horizon 2020 at project level, financial instrument level and through investment platforms. The 750 action plans put in place to fulfil the ex ante conditionalities show that there is room for development and a need for the Commission to provide hands-on assistance in some Member States to ensure the right investment conditions.

The ways in which the reformed ESIFs contribute to EU growth go well beyond just funding. The ex ante conditionalities support and provide incentives for structural reforms, and help create a better investment climate for private and public investment alike. Furthermore, the increased focus on good governance and administrative capacity across the public sector will ensure modernised and efficient public administrations (including by addressing market failures and the provision of public goods). Furthermore, INTERREG programs and macro-regional strategies bring citizens of different Member States together and improve their social and economic living conditions through trans-border cooperation.

The European structural and investment funds (ESIF) pave the way for long-term sustainable growth and a better life in a better Europe for its citizens. By 2023, ESIF programmes will provide more than EUR 637 billion of investment in all Member States, in line with the new Commission’s priorities. The more than 500 innovative programmes are delivering on EU policy goals including the Investment Plan for Europe by both mobilising financial resources and improving investment conditions. The programmes also aim to increase the effectiveness of funding, which will positively impact the lives and working opportunities of tens of millions of Europeans. They also significantly contribute to the implementation of EU law and to structural reforms following recommendations under the European Semester, by improving the business environment and boosting administrative capacity.

The ESIFs support the creation of stable and predictable institutions that are also able to react to societal challenges, open for dialogue with the public, and embrace technological change in the delivery of better services. 17 Member States will invest EUR 4.2 billion (ESF/ERDF) in institutional capacity building, depending on their individual needs. Expected achievements include:

The quality of public administration has a direct impact on the economic environment and is thus crucial to stimulating productivity, competitiveness and growth. The Annual Growth Surveys of the last four years have recognised the need for Member States to improve the quality of public administration and the effectiveness of justice systems as a key priority for the successful implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy.

Despite the early eligibility of expenditure under the YEI (1 September 2013), its implementation started late and was rather slow in 2014. Financial liquidity was identified as a problem and was addressed by an increase to 30 % pre-financing from the YEI budget line in 2015.

Member States will use funding allocated to the YEI to invest in quality apprenticeships, traineeships and jobs that could help bring about lasting labour market integration and increase the employability of young people. This will support a key EU policy objective in this area, set out in the Council recommendation on Establishing a Youth Guarantee (2013). The peak of YEI implementation, i.e. in terms of both financial progress and results in relation to the participants, is expected to take place in 2016-18.

20 Member States are eligible for the YEI, which has been integrated into 34 ESF programmes. The YEI was launched in 2013 and was budgeted in 2014 and 2015 to help achieve concrete results in responding to high youth unemployment. It will run until the end of 2018.

Approximately 10 % of the EMFF budget will be used for professional training and lifelong learning activities for fisheries and aquaculture operators and their life partners. This includes the diversification of activities within local communities, with a particular focus on women and youth.

In addition, investment in education infrastructure will lead to better access to high-quality education and to a decrease in early school leaving, as well as improved and modernised education and training systems needed for updating skills and qualifications, up-skilling of the labour force, and the creation of new jobs.

6.8 million young people will be able to use new or improved childcare or education facilities in 15 Member States.

The ESIFs will invest in education and training. Most Member States will invest in vocational education and training to improve both the relevance of education and training systems and the transition from education to work and life-long learning. Most funding in this area will however be concentrated on preventing early school leaving and promoting equal access to good quality early childhood, primary and secondary education. Higher education, apprenticeships and traineeships as well as education infrastructures will also be supported.

In the context of the current refugee crisis, the ESIFs can also support refugees and asylum seekers, and their families. This support includes measures that facilitate access to the labour market and promote social inclusion, such as education (including for children), vocational training, training, housing, one-stop shops, counselling, coaching activities, and language courses.

The ESIFs’ contribution to social inclusion will focus mainly on challenges identified in the country-specific recommendations, such as supporting those at risk, healthcare systems, and long-term care services. These investments aim to ensure the accessibility and effectiveness of social and health services; and to promote Roma inclusion. At least EUR 1.5 billion will be spent on supporting marginalised communities such as the Roma.

In line with the relevant country-specific recommendations, the ESIFs will support active labour market policy measures, including improved access to the labour market, support to labour market institutions, and worker mobility. They will focus on target groups most in need of support, for example the long-term unemployed, inactive or unemployed young people, and older workers. Investment in employment will also aim to reconcile work and private life, promote equality between women and men, and active and healthy ageing and support job creation by boosting self-employment, entrepreneurship and business creation opportunities, including for micro- and small enterprises.

A total of EUR 120 billion, predominantly funded by the ESF but with the support of the other ESI Funds as well, will be invested in this area.

facilitating the use of intelligent transport systems and infrastructure that makes it possible to use alternative fuels.

In addition, the ESIFs will provide considerable support for making transport in Europe more efficient and greener, for example by:

the construction of 3 100 km of new roads, of which 2 020 km will be TEN-T, and the reconstruction of 10 270 km of roads, of which 798 km will be TEN-T. The 2 818 km of TEN-T road to be built or upgraded represents 5 % of the TEN-T network;

The ESIFs will finance infrastructure projects aiming to close missing links and remove bottlenecks, especially in the less developed Member States and regions. These include:

In addition, a new type of risk management instrument has been introduced in the EAFRD and includes support for insurance premiums, the setting-up of mutual funds and an income stabilisation tool. 14 Member States injected a total of EUR 2.7 billion of public expenditure into risk management tools, aiming to support around 635 000 farms.

Investments in climate change adaptation and risk prevention include a broad range of measures, including flood prevention and ecosystem-based measures such as green infrastructure which aim at protecting 13.3 million people from floods and 11.8 million from forest fires while making a positive impact on jobs and growth.

Most Member States will use ESIF resources for the management, restoration and monitoring of Natura 2000 sites, in line with the EU’s nature and biodiversity policy.

Member States will direct EMFF support towards more sustainable use of marine biological resources and reducing environmental impacts (including via support for selective fishing techniques) by making investments that address unwanted catches and improve the added value of fishery products.

17.4 % of agricultural land and 3.5 % of forests will be targeted at better protection of biodiversity, respectively 30.6 and 4.1 million hectares;

16.9 million people will benefit from improved wastewater treatment and 12.4 million from improved water supply — this will reach 56 % of the population currently without access to public water supply;

Environmental protection will continue to receive substantial support — expanded in scope, and geared towards innovative solutions. The implementation of key EU environmental legislation provisions is a funding pre-condition (e.g. on environmental impact assessment). This will help the water and waste management sectors across many Member States to regenerate cities, support nature protection, aid EU industries to become more resource efficient, and contribute to reaching the EU circular economy objectives. Territorial cooperation programmes will support the joint management of common natural assets and develop ecosystem services. The expected results of investment in this area include:

Overall, ESIFs will contribute directly to an estimated annual greenhouse gas emissions decrease of around 30 million tonnes of CO2eq, which equals around 50% of the emission of either Sweden or Hungary.

Another key investment area is the generation of low-carbon energy and the development of better interconnected and modern grids that are easier to manage (i.e. ‘smart grids’). The investment in this area is expected to result in:

This will help the EU to meet its energy efficiency targets, and will lead to lower energy bills, better living and working conditions, local jobs, and more competitive businesses.

The ESIFs will support the development of the energy union by more than doubling the funds allocated to the low-carbon economy, to EUR 45 billion for 2014-20, providing a push for the implementation of EU legislation, and providing financing for tackling administrative and technical barriers.

The ESIFs will be essential for Europe’s sustainable growth, and will benefit people, companies and the environment alike. With the highest EU budget ever allocated to investment in energy, environment, climate, risk management and sustainable transport — of EUR 193 billion — the programmes will significantly contribute to reaching the objectives of important EU policies such as the energy union, and to steering Europe onto the path towards a low-carbon economy. They will also create business opportunities and green jobs in sectors that have significant growth potential and have generally shown resilience during the crises

support in the fisheries sector will largely take the form of support for small-scale fishing, which is of high social, economic and cultural importance for local coastal communities, especially in the Mediterranean basin. It is expected that more than 10 200 new jobs will be created in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, while another 85 000 will be maintained.

more than 334 000 rural firms will increase their competitiveness. Moreover, around 138 000 farmers will receive support to participate in quality schemes and nearly 129 000 farmers to join producers’ organisations. 30 000 farmers will get help to set up and participate in short supply chains and local markets;

396 500 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (including cooperative enterprises, and enterprises in the social economy) will receive funding to invest in human capital development and in people skills;

Support will be given to around 801 500 companies for the direct creation of 354 300 new jobs. Together with the R&I support to companies, this means that 5 % of all EU SMEs and 8 % of new companies will receive EU financial support;

The ESIFs will promote innovation among SMEs and will contribute to a deeper and fairer single market, with a stronger industrial base. They will do this through: support for R&I, business development, entrepreneurship, incubation, technology transfer, energy efficiency and support for clusters, and better support services for SMEs. Nearly half of this support will be channelled through financial instruments. The following achievements are expected:

ESIFs will invest towards the objectives of the digital single market. Improved broadband infrastructure will give consumers and businesses better access to digital goods and services, in particular in rural areas. Improved e-government and interoperability will increase cost-efficiency and the quality of services provided. Digitalising companies will integrate new technologies and manage the transition to a smart industrial system.

in rural areas, more than 3 000 innovation projects will be supported, and over 12 000 projects will receive support to develop new practices, processes and technologies in farming, food and forestry. 3.9 million farmers and other rural SMEs will be offered training and 1.4 million beneficiaries will receive advisory services.

All Member States and regions plan to invest in R&I. There is a special focus on activities that encourage SME innovation, such as incubation, voucher schemes, process, design and service innovation, university-business cooperation, clusters and networking. Significant support for the following is also planned: public and private R&I infrastructure and equipment, support services, technology transfer and the development of innovations that addresses societal challenges such as energy, environment and the aging society. Here are some key figures related to the expected achievements:

Strategies for smart specialisation (RIS3) are the cornerstone of R&I investment. They are a precondition for ERDF funding and are also taken into account in EAFRD funding. They provide the policy frameworks for strong R&I support, based on evidence and stakeholder involvement, building on regional strengths and following a common methodology. This precondition has triggered a paradigm shift in the way innovation policy is implemented and a renewal of regional planning culture based on the active participation of stakeholders. It is also expected to contribute to capacity building in public administrations, which will in turn encourage synergies with Horizon 2020 and improve quality and impact of R&I investments.

The ESIFs contribute EUR 121 billion to reaching the EU’s smart growth objectives, and therefore to improving R&I, SME competitiveness and the digital single market. These investments in the real economy are expected to strengthen the research capabilities of businesses and higher education institutions, create incubators and technological centres, enable access to risk capital and loans, build cluster partnerships, activate innovation ecosystems, provide advanced services, stimulate collaboration in European value chains in order to deepen the internal market and strengthen the industrial base, and the rural renaissance of Europe.

Annex IV gives an overview of the timeframe of approving partnership agreements and programmes that took place after the legislation was adopted in late 2013.

The ESIFs operate under a common legal and strategic framework across the EU. Each Member State has a partnership agreement that brings together funding from up to five ESIFs. An overview of the expected achievements of ESIF funding channelled through the 456 national (thematic) and regional programmes and the 79 Interreg cooperation programmes is presented below. Annex II has more details on ESIFs in Member States, and Annex I has more details on the Interreg programmes.

For 2014-2020, EUR 454 billion in ESIF funding has been allocated to promote job creation and growth. National co-financing is expected to amount to at least EUR 183 billion, with total investment reaching EUR 637 billion.

Special allocations have been set aside to address the specific needs of territories such as the outermost regions, sparsely populated areas and mountainous and island Member States. Furthermore, funding for territorial cooperation is now more focused on shared challenges.

23 Member States participate in one or more macro-regional and/or sea-basin strategy which allows them to design and implement their national and regional priorities more effectively and in a better-coordinated way to maximise common potential. In 2014-2020, all macro-regional strategies (Baltic, Danube, Adriatic and Ionian, Alpine) and the Atlantic sea-basin strategy are integrated into the ESIF programmes.

Community-led local development (CLLD) empowers local action groups (LAGs) to implement strategies creating jobs and growth and enhancing social inclusion by combining different EU funds. Over the programming period, multi-fund CLLD is supported with more than EUR 12 billion. In rural development, more than 2 500 local strategies will reach out to half of the EU’s rural population, while the EMFF will support some 280 such strategies in coastal and inland communities. 17 Member States will support local development strategies also in cohesion policy.

Support to sustainable urban development strategies where urban authorities have a role in implementation will exceed EUR 16 billion (9.9 %) of the total ERDF budget, higher than the 5 % target set), with considerable additional financing from the ESF in a number of Member States. The bulk of the funding will support urban areas in managing the transition to a low carbon economy through investment into energy efficiency and renewables, sustainable urban mobility, improvement of the urban environment. Funding will also address the challenges of physical and social deprivation in urban areas.

Integrated territorial investments (ITI) make it possible to combine funding from different ESIF programmes to support the implementation of territorial development strategies. 20 Member States will use ITI in areas ranging from deprived urban neighbourhoods to metropolitan areas, from cultural heritage routes to sub-regions hit by economic restructuring.

To allow more flexibility in tailoring the delivery of ESIF funding based on the needs of the territory at hand, new and improved delivery mechanisms were put in place:

The Commission paid special attention to how Member States involve partners in partnership agreements and programmes. Feedback has been generally positive and concerns brought to the attention of the Commission have been addressed with national authorities. Furthermore, each Member State implements the partnership principle differently, depending on national administrative structures and culture. Strengthening the partnership culture is a long-term process, and results will only be seen in the medium and long term.

The partnership principle — close cooperation between public authorities, economic and social partners and bodies representing civil society throughout the programme preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation so as to enhance broad collective commitment and ownership and quality programmes — is even more important in the 2014-2020 period. In the Code of Conduct, the Commission has outlined the minimum standards for how a well-functioning partnership should be organised: it should ensure that relevant stakeholders are included in the process and that their opinion is sought through open consultations.

To address this, the Commission set up the High Level Group of Independent Experts on Monitoring Simplification for Beneficiaries of the European Structural and Investment Funds. The group is charged with identifying both good and bad practices, and helping to disseminate simplification possibilities among Member State authorities. Its work will contribute to the achievements of the general objectives of better regulation and the ‘budget focused on results’ initiative.

Simplification is an important factor in access to funding, and is recognised as a continuous process through which simple yet sound implementation practices are identified and put to work. The new regulatory framework provides significant possibilities for simplification, particularly in relation to common eligibility rules, simplified cost options and e-governance. In partnership agreements and programmes, Member States provided a summary of the main sources of administrative burden for beneficiaries (application and payment procedure, followed by audits and controls, reporting and project preparation), as well as of simplification actions planned in order to address them. Overall, the experience shows that there is room for self-reflection and mutual learning from Member States' differing practices.

As a result of discussions with Member States, the planned allocations from all ESIFs into financial instruments have increased considerably (see table 2). In the context of maximising synergies and complementarities between ESIF resources and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the Commission is issuing a brochure for the Member States and other stakeholders. In addition, potential also exists in combining ESIF resources with financial instruments under Horizon 2020 and other EU programmes, on which there will also be guidance available.

This trend was strengthened by the Investment Plan for Europe, in which the Commission strongly encourages the use of financial instruments instead of traditional grants in ESIF funding, in areas such as SME support, CO2 reduction, environmental and resource efficiency, ICT, sustainable transport, R&I. As noted in the Investment Plan, it is expected that the funds committed to innovative financial instruments over the 2014-2020 period will have a direct leverage effect and will generate additional investment of EUR 40–70 billion, with an even higher multiplier effect in the real economy by attracting private investment.

Given the leverage effect of financial instruments, the impact of their support is greater than grants to the same policy areas. In 2014-2020, a stronger framework was put in place to support the widespread use of financial instruments (loans, guarantees, equity) in policy areas where investment leads to financial returns allowing beneficiaries to pay back at least part of the received assistance.

Furthermore, the performance reserve of 6 % of national allocations set aside for attribution in 2019 will reward programmes which are progressing best towards their agreed milestones.

Despite requirements for objectives, indicators and targets in the past, they were not systematically or rigorously applied. The improvements introduced for the 2014-2020 period ensure that programmes have more robust result orientation, with investment needs linked to specific objectives and priorities with corresponding indicators and targets for outputs and results. Every programme has a performance framework against which performance will be assessed. This makes it possible to have transparent reporting and evaluate progress towards programme objectives.

Sustainable development and climate change concerns have been mainstreamed in all ESIF funding (e.g via financial allocations, strategic environmental assessments and integrating environmental requirements in projects’ selection). Member States have also shown strong commitment to act on climate change by allocating 25% of ESIF – or more than EUR 114 billion - to climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. With this ESIF will support strongly the EU objective to spend at least 20 % of the EU’s budget on climate actions.

Given the importance and urgency of human capital development, Member States have allocated a greater share of the cohesion policy budget to the ESF, compared to the previous programming period. Both the minimum share of the ESF and the minimum allocation for social inclusion have been exceeded, which shows the importance of investment in these areas. The ESF concentrates funding on the following five priorities: active inclusion, access to employment, sustainable integration of young people in the labour market, early school-leaving and life-long learning.

Where past experiences showed that ESIF funding did not have the desired impact due to lack of critical mass, stronger requirements were put in place to ensure that the 2014-2020 ESIFs concentrate on key investment areas and growth bottlenecks. As a result of discussions between the Commission and Member States, the legal requirements for thematic concentration of the ERDF resources were often exceeded by Member States and the investment is now focused more on SME support and the low carbon economy, while ensuring that basic infrastructure in less developed regions is also supported where needed.

Although around 75% of all ex ante conditionalities were fulfilled by the time the programmes were approved, some 750 were not (for example transport master plans underpinning transport investment). Action plans for their fulfilment by the end of 2016 at the latest were agreed with the Commission. These plans will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of investment supported by the ESIFs, and will also affect other public and private investment and help enforce EU legislation and policies in the Member States.

Following past experiences of insufficient planning in key investment areas, ex ante conditionalities were introduced as part of the ESIF reform. They require that regulatory and policy frameworks are in place and that there is sufficient administrative capacity before investments are made. They cover most investment areas, including improvements to regional R&I strategies for smart specialisation, as well as strategic plans linked to water and transport sectors, active inclusion, health services, vocational education and training.

In the coming years the future CSRs will trigger, where relevant, ESIF programme adjustments, also at the initiative of the Commission, ensuring Commission's support to structural reforms in Member States. This shows that there is a strong link between the ESIFs, the European Semester process and the EU’s economic priorities in a number of Member States with CSRs relevant to the ESIF; this contributes to the third pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe — improving investment conditions.

More than two-thirds of the CSRs adopted in 2014 were relevant for cohesion policy investment and have been taken into account in Member States’ programme priorities. Examples of CSRs where the funds will support reforms include:

The Commission’s starting point for discussions with Member States on the funding priorities for 2014-2020 partnership agreements and programmes was rooted in the Europe 2020 targets, the relevant country-specific recommendations (CSRs) made in the context of the European Semester process, and the socio-economic analysis at Member State and regional level.

Following the lessons learned from previous programming periods and taking into account the need for better use of ESIFs, the 2014-2020 regulations introduced several key reforms. There is a clear move towards a more focused policy approach, a stronger results orientation, solid framework conditions for investments, better coordinated use of ESIF funding through the common strategic framework, and improved links between EU priorities and regional needs.

Furthermore, best use of scarce investment resources is ensured by closer links and synergies between the ESIF and with other EU funding instruments, such as Horizon 2020, LIFE+, Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, COSME, Erasmus+ or the Connecting Europe Facility.

In 2014-2016, the commitments from ESIFs are expected to account for approximately 14 % of total public investment on average, with the highest share reaching beyond 70 % in some Member States (see table 1). This contribution to investments gives a boost to the first pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe — mobilisation of financial resources.

The crisis had a profound impact on national and regional budgets, limiting funding for all types of investment. In the EU, public investment decreased by around 15 % in real terms between 2008 and 2014. Total investment also decreased considerably and is now around EUR 300 billion below the historical norm. As a result, the importance of ESIF funding for co-financing public investment programmes has considerably increased.

Progress towards Europe 2020 targets has been uneven. Substantial progress has been made on adaptation to climate change, energy, and education, but not on meeting employment and poverty targets. Progress on research and innovation has also been limited. Furthermore, regions which are less developed or in transition score much worse than other regions for most Europe 2020 targets — their performance needs to improve substantially for the EU to reach its objectives. It is in this context that Member States and the Commission discussed the 2014-2020 ESIF programmes.

The European Union is gradually recovering from the economic crisis with declining unemployment and real GDP expected to grow by 1.9% and remain slightly above its pre-crisis level in 2015. Nevertheless, total employment is foreseen to remain below the level of 2008. The crisis wiped out the gains from economic convergence achieved in several European regions and Member States since 2000, thus reversing the trend of reducing regional disparities and poverty.

This Communication presents the main results of negotiations between Member State authorities and their partners, including regional and local actors, and the European Commission, on their investment programmes further to the ESIF reform. It responds to the requirement of Article 16(3) of the Common Provisions Regulation and includes details on each Member State in Annex II.

The ESIFs contribute to the Investment Plan for Europe and complement the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) in several ways: by leveraging public and private investment, supporting structural reforms, and improving access to funding. The ESIFs will make a substantial contribution to the new Commission’s political priorities: the digital single market, the energy union and climate change policies, the single market and economic governance, in line with the European Semester country-specific recommendations. All ESIF investment ultimately targets boosting jobs, growth and investment across Europe, with a focus on the least developed areas. They also contribute to addressing together shared challenges and exploiting common potential via territorial cooperation and the macro-regional strategies.

The post-crisis period has provided additional motivation for reforming the way the ESIFs are planned and used. In a climate of declining overall investment, maximising the ESIFs’ impact is a top priority, especially as they provide the majority of public investment in many countries. Reforming the ESIFs has led to more emphasis on results, funding being more focused, and investments based on better strategic planning and capacity to deliver. The ESIFs are now a forward-looking investment policy tool, ready to tackle the challenges facing Europe today and in the years to come.

Crucially, the Funds will invest in the skills and adaptability of Europe’s workforce, giving tens of millions of people, including young people, opportunities to (re)train or start businesses. Such opportunities will also be available for refugees and legal migrants.

Investment in infrastructure will help Member States to improve peoples’ lives and the competitiveness of their business environment. This is especially the case for the less developed Member States, who will be able to catch up with the more developed ones. Better access to quality broadband and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services and improved water supply for tens of millions of Europeans are just a few examples of what the ESI Funds are expected to achieve.

More than 2 million enterprises will be supported across the funds to increase their competitiveness, develop products, find new markets and create new jobs.

By 2023, the ESIFs will deliver a critical mass of investment in key EU priority areas, to respond to the needs of the real economy by supporting job creation and by getting the European economy growing again in a sustainable way. For example, the Member States have committed to the following:

Even though the regulations allow an ERDF co-financing rate of up to 85 %, it is worth noting that Interreg programmes involving (mostly public) partners who have worked together via Interreg for many years often use a lower co-financing rate. This illustrates the growing maturity of established cooperation mechanisms in the regions concerned.

The programmes address the European Commission’s drive towards simplification and reducing beneficiaries’ administrative burden to varying degrees. Simplification will result partly from harmonising rules and templates across Interreg programmes. Moreover, most programmes use the simplified cost options offered by the regulations and many have committed to specific actions to reduce the administrative burden placed on beneficiaries.

The coordination arrangements between the administrative structures of Interreg programmes and those of the IfGJ programmes are mostly of an organisational nature: representatives of the Interreg programmes take part in national ESIF coordination bodies and are therefore involved in the decision-making process.

The introduction of the performance framework has proved a real challenge for the cooperation programmes, mainly due to the acute lack of meaningful cross-border and transnational data. Baselines and targets are difficult to set when there is a lack of evidence of specific flows.

The management structures of Interreg programmes have remained generally stable compared to the previous period. However, there have been several significant changes in the delivery structures, i.e. three new transnational programme areas have been defined (Danube, Adrion and Balkan Med) and 13 cross-border cooperation programmes have appointed new managing authorities.

Finally, the Interreg programmes also address institutional cooperation, with EUR 790 million allocated for setting up or strengthening cooperation structures and improving the efficiency of public services. In addition, some programmes will contribute to institutional cooperation with funding from sector-specific activities such as environment, health-care provision or social inclusion.

Transport investment comes next, with 33 programmes aiming to improve general connectivity, mainly via road and port investment and through the promotion of multimodal, clean and intelligent transport systems across borders. Rail investment is very limited due to the comparatively smaller amount of funding available under Interreg programmes.

13 % of the Interreg budget is dedicated to promoting inclusive growth. Activities linked to employment and education & training will yield significantly more opportunities for joint employment or training initiatives. Some of the expected results include:

Investment in smart growth has the second highest share of funding, with 27 % of the budget. In particular, 46 programmes will invest in strengthening R&I. Some of the expected results include:

Climate change-related actions are 20% of the Interreg programmes’ allocations which is in line with the EU objective to spend at least 20 % of the EU’s budget on such actions.

Sustainable growth receives by far the largest share of Interreg investment. 73 cooperation programmes will invest 41 % of the total Interreg ERDF budget into measures to improve the environment and support joint actions in the fields of water management, wastewater treatment, conservation and restoration of habitats and species, prevention of natural and man-made risks such as floods or fires, sustainable tourism and energy efficiency. This is in line with the general perception that environmental protection is by its very nature blind to administrative borders and is therefore a joint responsibility which calls for strong coordination and cooperation.

The resources for Interreg amount to just under 3 % of the ERDF, ESF and Cohesion Fund resources, i.e. EUR 10 billion. The data below refers to the EUR 9.1 billion invested across the EU and EFTA countries (i.e. excluding programmes at the EU’s external borders).

European territorial cooperation (ETC), also known as Interreg, is the second goal of cohesion policy. It provides a framework for joint action between Member States, to find common solutions to shared problems. It promotes trans-boundary cooperation through 79 programmes organised in three strands: cross-border, transnational and interregional.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 14.12.2015 COM(2015) 639 final ANNEX

ANNEX II: Country fiches to the Communication from the Commission Investing in jobs and growth - maximising the contribution of European Structural and Investment Funds



ANNEX II: COUNTRY FICHES Contents Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia

Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom 1. ESIFs in Austria Economic and social challenges in the ESIF context After a phase of decent economic development followed by a modest slowdown as a result of the crisis, Austria now appears to be entering a phase of lower growth. This may make it harder for it to achieve its goals on innovation, the labour market and education, reducing CO2 emissions and resource efficiency. Austria has specific weaknesses on innovation and technology transfer from research institutes to SMEs and on private investment in R&D. The country needs to improve its provision of science and technology education and employment opportunities in this field. More generally, it needs to help older people, women, young people and people from a migrant background become more employable. Austria also needs to improve its resource efficiency to tackle rising CO2 emissions, high levels of nitrate use in farming and a lack of biodiversity in forestry. The EU’s policy recommendations to Austria in the European Semester address some of these problems, which are part of Austria’s wider challenges connected with the retirement age, the sustainability of the pension system, the labour market and education and qualifications. Main priorities and results Promoting innovation, research and technological development, the ESIFs will help Austria to achieve its objective of becoming an innovation leader and its ambitious Europe 2020 strategy target of spending 3.76 % of GDP on R&D. The ESIFs will support research infrastructure and capacities in Austria’s regional areas of strength and the country’s role in important European projects such as the European research infrastructure consortium and the European strategy forum on research infrastructures. EUR 248 million will be spent on R&D in SMEs, increasing the number of ‘technological leaders’ and on making businesses in general more innovative. EUR 792 million will be spent on making SMEs more competitive, focusing on farming, industry, services and aquaculture. ESIF funding will contribute to a planned 3 % increase per year in new start-ups, in particular in innovative and knowledge-intensive sectors, and support the planned 5 % annual growth in the number of SMEs. Some of the funding will be used to help Austria achieve its targets of improved or new broadband infrastructure for 2.3 million inhabitants in rural areas by 2030 and invest in the restructuring and modernisation of around 20 000 farms by 2023, along with nearly 650 cooperation projects. Moreover, EUR 231 million will be spent on reducing CO2 emissions in all sectors of the economy. This will involve boosting companies’ renewable energy use from 10 % to 12-13 %, helping companies to achieve a 5 % annual rise in resource efficiency and funding local and regional CO2 reduction strategies. EUR 1.27 billion will be spent on climate change adaptation, risk prevention and risk management in rural areas and a further EUR 1.28 billion will be invested in preserving and protecting the environment and promoting resource efficiency in rural areas. EAFRD funds will help Austria to restore, preserve and strengthen its biodiversity and agricultural and forestry systems with a high conservation value. It wants over 83 % of its agricultural land to be covered by management contracts supporting biodiversity/landscapes and 78 % by management contracts to improve soil management. 75 % of the country’s agricultural land will benefit from EAFRD support to develop sustainable water management. EMFF funding will be spent on making fisheries and aquaculture more sustainable, improving aquatic ecosystems and aquatic biodiversity, and increasing the country’s annual aquaculture production by 5 000 tonnes by 2023. ESIF funding of EUR 123 million will be spent on promoting sustainable and quality employment and supporting labour mobility, in particular by supporting integrated sustainable development in selected urban and rural areas and by improving the employability of older workers, women, young people (particularly those from a migrant background) and other social groups at risk of social exclusion. EUR 553 million is available to promote social inclusion, combat poverty and anti-discrimination; this is mainly intended to support young people and social groups from a migrant background (including Roma). Inclusive growth is therefore supported with about 19 % of the ESIF allocation. EUR 243 million are to be invested in education, training and vocational training for skills and lifelong learning, in particular to improve educational outcomes for young disadvantaged people and support lifelong learning and vocational training in agriculture and forestry. Nearly 610 000 people are expected to have received training by 2023.

Use of financial instruments and territorial tools Austria is planning to allocate EUR 3 million to financial instruments for equity investment through the HighTechFund Linz in Upper Austria, which provides venture capital to young technology-oriented enterprises in their seed/start-up phase and to companies that are expanding. Although investment in financial instruments is significantly lower than the 2007-2013 figure, Austria is managing to cover its needs using existing national instruments, so there is no gap to be addressed by ESIF-funded financial instruments. EUR 27.2 million (5 % of ERDF) will be spent on integrated sustainable urban development in Vienna and Upper Austria. The Responsible River Modelling Centre will be co-funded in Vienna, contributing to the EU strategy for the Danube Region. The province of Tyrol will receive EUR 5.5 million to serve as a test case for community-led local development in seven of its sub-regions. Local partnerships in rural areas expect to create 800 jobs. Key information Cohesion policy (ESF, ERDF) EAFRD EMFF ETC No of programmes 2 (national) 1 1 10 Available funds (EUR) 978 349 432 3 937 551 997 6 965 000 1 061 990 384 2. Pre-conditions for effective and efficient use of ESIFs Austria has fulfilled all applicable ex ante conditionalities for effective and efficient use of ESIFs. Before the adoption of the programmes, the Commission made sure that Austria had put in place the necessary regulatory conditions to support R&I, in particular that it had a ‘smart specialisation’ strategy at national and regional level. 3. ESIF management Austria’s ESIF funding will be coordinated by the Federal Chancellery and the Austrian Conference on Spatial Planning. The country has reduced the number of ESIF programmes from 13 in 2007-2013 to 4, making implementation simpler. It now has one country-wide ERDF programme instead of nine regional programmes, and one ESF programme instead of two. It has also decreased the number of managing authorities from 11 to 2. The number of ERDF intermediate bodies decreased from 36 to 16, and both ERDF audit and certifying authorities are increasing their administrative capacity. As an important intermediate body will cease to create expenditure relevant for ESF funding, the Commission will monitor Austria’s ESF absorption capacity and seek assurance that the new monitoring and control systems are reliable. 4. Simplification for beneficiaries To further reduce the administrative burden for beneficiaries, Austria will revise its ERDF and ESF-related national eligibility rules and provisions of its budget law so that they are more coherent and consistent. It will also put in place e-management systems covering applications and reporting and consider bringing in simplified cost options and flat-rate and standard scales of unit costs in national and regional eligibility rules, where appropriate.

1. ESIFs in Belgium Economic and social challenges in the ESIF context After several years of stagnation, Belgium has returned to growth, become more competitive and improved its fiscal framework, while its rising public debt is expected to stabilise at around 107 % of GDP in 2016. Nevertheless, it still needs to secure fiscal sustainability and pursue structural reforms, increase its employment rate and continue to improve its competitiveness. Belgium’s performance compared with its Europe 2020 strategy targets and the EU’s policy recommendations in the European Semester indicates needs to improve the functioning of its labour market, particularly by reducing financial disincentives to work, making it easier for specific target groups to access the labour market and addressing skills shortages and mismatches. It also needs to ensure that wages evolve in line with productivity. In addition, by focusing more clearly on modernisation, innovation and R&D, Belgium could further improve its performance on the aspects of competitiveness that are not linked to costs. If Belgium is to reach its 2020 greenhouse gas emission targets, it must make more use of sustainable and multimodal means of transport. In addition, by stimulating renewable energy production and energy efficiency, the country will improve its overall economic efficiency, reduce its import dependency, strengthen its balance of payments position, reduce its economy’s vulnerability to external price shocks and cut GHG emissions. Belgium has a serious and growing problem with traffic congestion and its federal and regional governments have not yet taken tangible action to deal with this. Main priorities and results For the 2014-2020 period, Belgium will direct ESI Funds towards key thematic objectives, in line with the Europe 2020 strategy objectives. About 28 % of the total ESI Funds spent in Belgium will go towards promoting an innovation-friendly business environment. This will in turn make SMEs more competitive, improve innovation and research performance and stimulate the growth of the e-economy. In this context, Belgium will focus on developing synergies between businesses, R&D centres and higher education. Around 8 000 Belgian companies will receive support for productive investments and about 1 000 will cooperate with research institutions. At the same time, around 45 % of farms will be modernised and restructured to make them more competitive. ESI Funds will be used to help Belgium reach an employment rate of 73.2 % by 2020 (compared with 67.3 % in 2014). EUR 1.1 billion in investment will go towards developing human capital growth and improving labour market participation by improving education at all levels, promoting social inclusion and helping the most vulnerable groups in society (in particular the young and long-term unemployed) to find work. The aim is to help around 460 000 people find a job, start their own business, go back into education or follow training.

On energy and climate change, EUR 657 million will be spent on encouraging the sustainable and efficient use of natural resources and providing investment to support the shift towards a low-carbon economy, particularly through investment in energy efficiency. From 2014 to 2020, EUR 114 million in ESI Funds will be spent on making buildings more energy efficient (company premises, public buildings and residential housing) and improving district heating and high-efficiency cogeneration. ESIF-supported projects will help Belgium to reduce GHG emissions by about 11 000 tonnes CO2 eq. and create 11 MW additional renewable energy production capacity. EUR 64 million will be allocated to the move towards an energy-efficient, decarbonised transport sector. ESI Funds earmarked for fisheries will continue to focus on making fisheries and aquaculture more sustainable, improving marine ecosystems and aquatic biodiversity and reducing unwanted catches. Regarding agriculture, the modernisation of farming in Belgium should be accompanied by sustainable agriculture practices and ecological land management, and invest in new technologies. More than 85 000 ha of land has been earmarked to receive support to develop organic farming, while agri-environmental and climate measures will be brought in to protect more than 160 000 ha of land. Use of financial instruments and territorial tools Belgium is putting around EUR 98 million into financial instruments, which mainly support SMEs and energy efficiency. Instruments are planned in Wallonia and Brussels only, not in Flanders. Belgium should look more closely at using ESI-funded financial instruments alongside existing national and regional instruments. The aim is for community-led local development strategies to cover roughly 70 % of the rural population in Flanders and one third of the rural population in Wallonia. Three integrated territorial investments (ITIs) are planned for Flanders (Limburg, Kempen and West Flanders). The programmes for the Brussels Capital Region are entirely urban. The Limburg and Kempen ITIs will address problems relating to industrial conversion. Key information Cohesion policy (ESF, ERDF, CF, YEI) EAFRD EMFF ETC No of programmes 7 (regional) 2 1 7 Available funds (EUR) 2 020 742 087 647 797 759 41 746 051 1 378 392 541 2. Pre-conditions for effective and efficient use of ESIFs The ex ante conditionality on the smart specialisation strategy is not yet fully met for Wallonia and the Brussels Capital Region, and accordingly action plans were put in place. The Brussels Capital Region also has an action plan on energy issues under its ERDF programme. 3. ESIF management For the 2014-2020 period, Wallonia has decided to continue the practice of having joint ERDF-ESF monitoring committees. Monitoring committees for EAFRD will be held separately. 4. Simplification for beneficiaries Managing authorities for the ESIFs are currently planning an extended use of the simplified costs options. Increased use of ICT has significantly reduced the administrative burden for funding recipients and public authorities.

1. ESIFs in Bulgaria Economic and social challenges in the ESIF context Bulgaria’s economic performance has remained subdued during the post-crisis period. After a decline in economic activity in 2009, growth has been fluctuating around 1 % per year. Longterm sustainable growth is being held back by structural bottlenecks such as skills mismatches in the labour market, the continuous decline in the workingage population, the EU’s lowest labour productivity and highest energy intensity of production, and inefficient management of natural resources such as water. Public services are inefficient and of poor quality due to limited progress in administrative and judicial reform. In response, the European Semester policy recommendations focused on the labour market, social inclusion, quality of education, innovation-friendly business environment, energy efficiency, and administrative capacity building. These priorities are reflected in the 2014-2020 ESIF programmes in Bulgaria with funds to be invested in all 11 thematic objectives. Main priorities and results ESIF will contribute to increasing the employment rate, ensuring high-quality human capital through better education, raising qualifications and skills, improving health and healthcare, with a special emphasis on the young, the elderly and disadvantaged population groups such as Roma. Bulgaria aims to increase the rate of employment for people aged 20 to 64 from 63.5 % in 2013 to 76 % in 2020. For older people (55-64 years), the 2020 employment target is 53 %, while for youth unemployment the target for 2020 is 7 %. To advance the social inclusion of the underprivileged and more vulnerable part of its population, Bulgaria aims to have 260 000 people less in poverty by 2020. Also, better access to healthcare is to be provided to several thousand children, including those with disabilities. The ESI Funds are expected to boost the qualifications of around 100 000 people, help 28 000 jobseekers to find jobs, finance employment and training measures to help 17 000 young people, and provide lifelong learning for 160 000 people. In education, around 1 500 schools will receive ESIF support, providing 160 000 pupils the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills. Around 30 000 university students will receive scholarships while thousands of secondary and high school students will receive career guidance and training in real work environments.

ESI Funds will help improve Bulgaria’s business environment by strengthening SMEs’ knowledge-based competitiveness. By 2020, 1.5 % of GDP should be spent on R&D in Bulgaria. EUR 528 million in ESI Funds will support innovation in companies, the creation of innovative start-ups and improving innovation and research infrastructure. ESI Funds will be spent on making 3 500 farms and 120 companies in the forestry sector more competitive and environmentfriendly, creating jobs both in farming and nonagricultural sectors in rural areas. More than 4 000 small farmers will receive support to develop their farms and 1 630 young farmers will receive start-up aid. In fisheries, ESI Funds will be spent on investments and innovation to reduce the negative impact of fishing activities on the marine environment and support SMEs in the aquaculture and processing sector. Investments using ESI Funds in Bulgaria should lead to a 25 % rise in energy efficiency in households, industry, services and transport alike. By 2020, the share of renewable energy sources in gross final energy consumption in Bulgaria should be 16 %. ESI Funds will also be invested in water and waste management, the preservation of natural resources, biodiversity and climate-change risk prevention. EUR 1.6 billion in ESI Funds will be devoted to upgrading Bulgaria’s transport infrastructure, providing better connections between regions and with neighbouring countries, improving access to services and stimulating trade and tourism: 190 km of TEN-T railway, 62 km of TEN-T motorway and 8 km of Sofia metro track will be built, the latter raising the number of trips by metro from 80 to 105 million per year by 2023. Good governance is one of the main challenges for Bulgaria. Human resources in the public administration and the judiciary need proper management and development. That is why ESIF will be mobilised to develop areas such as e-governance and e-justice, and establish quality services for citizens and businesses. By 2020, the time needed to provide public administrative services should be reduced, compared to 2013, by 50% and the average duration of criminal and civil proceedings by 10%. Use of financial instruments and territorial tools EUR 612 million from the ERDF, Cohesion Fund and ESF budgets has been earmarked for financial instruments, 70 % more than in 2007-2013. Most support will be directed towards energy efficiency, the waste and water sectors, SMEs, urban development and tourism. Bulgaria has also joined the SME Initiative, contributing EUR 102 million. ESIF will also be used to contribute to community-led local development in rural areas and areas dependent on fisheries, creating 600 jobs. One third of Bulgaria’s rural population is to benefit from infrastructure that has been improved with help of ESIF. Key information Cohesion policy (ESF, ERDF, CF,YEI) EAFRD EMFF ETC No of programmes 7 (national) 1 1 8 Available funds (EUR) 7 422 791 277 2 366 716 966 88 066 622 701 131 995 2. Pre-conditions for effective and efficient use of ESIFs Three of the ex ante conditionalities (EACs) specific to the EMFF and 7 out of 11 thematic EACs remain unfulfilled, most notably for smart specialisation, water, transport, health and digital growth, but also the crucial general EAC for public procurement. However, Bulgaria has put in place action plans to implement all of its EACs by the end of 2016 at the latest. 3. ESIF management The programming, management, monitoring and control of ESIF programmes in Bulgaria are the responsibility of the deputy prime minister responsible for the management of EU funds and the central coordination unit in the Council of Ministers. The deputy prime minister coordinates and chairs the Council for coordination of EU funds management, which involves all ministries with responsibility for EU funds. The different ESIF programmes include measures to strengthen the administrative capacity of the bodies responsible for coordination, management, implementation, payment and control. Project beneficiaries, such as municipalities, the judiciary and institutional beneficiaries in the transport sector, are also eligible for assistance to strengthen their administrative capacity. International financial institutions, such as the European Investment Bank, the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, provide expertise. 4. Simplification for beneficiaries The Bulgarian authorities are working to reduce the administrative burden for project beneficiaries, digitalising where possible the communication between beneficiaries and the managing authorities. This involves electronic submission of project proposals and project reporting and making administrative procedures easier and more efficient. For example: application and reporting forms will be standardised, rules will be introduced for simplified costs when reporting expenditure and the different auditing and inspection bodies will coordinate their inspections.

1. ESIFs in Croatia Economic and social challenges in the ESIF context The protracted recession has reduced Croatia’s real GDP by about 12.5 %, while its unemployment rate doubled from 8.6 % in 2008 to 17.3 % in 2014. Recent years have shown the need for structural changes, in particular to address the fiscal imbalances, implement labour market reform, develop sustainable social and health protection systems, improve the business environment and reform the state administration and judiciary. The national authorities have carried out a set of reforms as part of the European Semester. A significant proportion of the EUR 10.676 billion allocation from the ESI Funds for 2014-2020 has been earmarked for carrying out reforms and meeting national targets as part of the Europe 2020 strategy.

Main priorities and results ESI Funds will be used to stimulate R&D&I in Croatia, making its economy more innovative and competitive and helping it to meet its national commitment to spend 1.4 % of GDP on R&D by 2020 (2012 figure: 0.75 %). Croatia also aims to increase the value added per employee in SMEs by 50 % by 2023. Croatia has one of the lowest labour-market participation rates in the EU, particularly affecting young people, the low-skilled, older workers and women. Croatia’s national target is an employment rate of 65.2 % by 2020 (2012 figure: 55.4 %), with specific focus on increasing the employability of young people not in employment, education or training. In this context, ESI Funds will tackle the mismatch of workers’ skills by reforming tertiary education and the public employment service, and supporting vocational education and training and lifelong learning. Funds will also be spent on supporting self-employment and reducing long-term unemployment. Croatia will spend ESI Funds on building infrastructure that can boost economic growth: the focus will be on the development of key networks (TEN-T), sustainable urban transport and making its regions more accessible. In addition, Croatia aims for 53 % of households to have broadband coverage by 2023 (compared with 33 % in 2013). The ESI Funds will also be spent on implementing the EU environmental acquis: the aim is for one million inhabitants to have improved water supply and wastewater treatment services by 2023. Funds will also be used to reduce the proportion of landfilled municipal waste from 83 % in 2012 to 35 %, to put 40 % of Croatia’s Natura 2000 management framework in place and to make air quality information available for 100 % of the population in urban areas. More than EUR 160 million ESI Funds will be invested in renewable energy production, while the average annual heating and cooling energy demand in retrofitted public buildings should reach 50 kWh/m2 by 2023 (the 2013 figure was 250 kWh/m2). Croatia is facing social challenges in the form of high levels of poverty and social exclusion; the national objective is to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by 150 000 by 2020. To achieve this goal, ESI Funds will be invested in promoting the social and labour market integration of vulnerable groups, improving access to healthcare, improving access to high-quality social services (including support for the shift from institutional to community-based services), preventing and tackling discrimination, developing social entrepreneurship and implementing urban regeneration projects. Finally, ESI Funds will be used to support the national reform of Croatia’s public administration through better and sound management of public finances, cutting unnecessary procedures, developing e-administration and fighting corruption. In addition, dialogue with social partners and civil society will be further developed and the justice system will be made more efficient by speeding up legal procedures and ensuring impartiality. ESI Funds will contribute to making Croatia’s food production, aquaculture and fisheries sectors more competitive and environmentfriendly. Funds will be used to restructure and modernise more than 1 800 farms, provide start-up aid to at least 1 000 young farmers, thus improving generational renewal of rural areas, and support the use of biodiversity management contracts covering more than 101 000 ha of agricultural land. Croatia is also aiming to achieve balanced regional development and reduce the economic downturn in rural areas, including through the development of alternative economic activities. In addition, ESI Funds will be used to improve and diversify the local economy in coastal areas, strengthen the country’s growth potential in the marine and maritime sectors, make fisheries and aquaculture more sustainable and strengthen aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity. In particular the volume of aquaculture production is envisaged to increase by 400%. Use of financial instruments and territorial tools Croatia expects to allocate more than EUR 440 million ESI Funds to financial instruments providing support for SMEs, R&D&I, energy efficiency, urban transport, self-employment and social entrepreneurship. Considering that it had no financial instruments in the previous programming period, this is an ambitious programme. It needs to look more closely at using financial instruments in ICT, urban development and transport infrastructure. Croatia will put at least EUR 400 million into integrated territorial investments to be used for sustainable urban development and into community-led local development projects in rural areas, fisheries and maritime areas. Local development strategies under LEADER will cover 1.5 million people in rural areas during the programming period 2014-2020. Key information Cohesion policy (ESF, ERDF, CF, YEI EAFRD EMFF ETC No of programmes 2 (national) 1 1 9 Available funds (EUR) 8 463 255 776 2 026 222 500 252 643 138 1 201 084 956 2. Pre-conditions for effective and efficient use of ESIFs Before the end of 2016, Croatia will have adopted a set of strategies and investment plans to fulfil the ex ante conditionalities (EACs) for effective and efficient use of ESI Funds. It plans inter alia to adopt a smart specialisation strategy, broadband and digital strategies, a strategy for the management of natural risks, a water pricing strategy, river basin management plan, waste management plans and waste prevention programmes, an integrated transport strategy, a hospital master plan, a programme for the development of the vocational education and training system and a development strategy for public administration. Two of the EMFFspecific EACs, related to administrative capacity for the implementation of control and report on fishing capacity are only partly fulfilled; action plans to their fulfilment should be implemented by 31 December 2016. 3. ESIF management A national coordination (governmental) committee will coordinate implementation of the four national programmes and the European territorial cooperation programmes. Given the sharp increase in Croatia’s ESI Funds allocation in 2014-2020, the technical and administrative capacities should be increased substantially, both within the management and control system, as well as at beneficiary levels. 4. Simplification for beneficiaries Different tools will be developed, including a website for beneficiaries, a coordinated mechanism to provide information on ESIFs, and the simplification of procedures for project application and selection. Croatia has also envisaged the use of a simplified costs option.

1. ESIFs in Cyprus

Economic and social challenges in the ESIF context As a condition for Cyprus’ EUR 10 billion financial package (consisting of EUR 9 billion under the European stability mechanism and EUR 1 billion from the IMF), the country is under an economic adjustment programme covering the 2013-2016 period. In the context of a still-challenging economic environment, Cyprus is losing ground on some of its national targets for the Europe 2020 strategy. For example, its current employment and poverty rates deviate considerably from the national targets. While the two education indicators of the Europe 2020 strategy improved in 2014 and are both in line with the national targets, Cyprus has the lowest employability rate for recent graduates in the EU (64.9 % as against the EU average of 80.7 % for 2013). The percentage of GDP that Cyprus spends on R&D remains slightly below the national target. The climate indicators of the Europe 2020 strategy remain on course: the energy efficiency indicator for 2013 exceeded the interim annual target and the renewable energy sources indicator performed satisfactorily. However, Cyprus’ environmental performance remains very poor, in particular on solid waste management, where there are low levels of recycling. Main priorities and results ESIF programmes in 2014-2020 are designed around three key priorities: 1) competitiveness; 2) employment and social inclusion; and 3) the sustainable use and protection of natural resources. The ESI Funds will be used to diversify the structure of the economy and make it more competitive by strengthening business innovation and encouraging cooperation between businesses and research facilities in the areas identified in the smart specialisation strategy. Entrepreneurship and the competitiveness of SMEs will be promoted, in particular in the tourism, food and aquaculture (production to be increased by 46%) sectors. ESI Funds are expected to support more than 600 SMEs and create 1 200 new jobs, while the proportion of GDP spent on R&D should increase from 0.47 % of GDP in 2012 to 0.5 % in 2020, while also leveraging private investments. ESIF will also support investment in fisheries to reduce the negative impact of fishing activities on the marine environment and support SMEs working in the aquaculture and processing sector. Cyprus expects to boost e-governance and digital entrepreneurship through investment in ICT and to increase ICT use by SMEs. It also expects high-speed broadband coverage to reach 50 % of households, while ICT use among the public and SMEs is expected to increase by 10 % and 6 % respectively. ESIF will invest in employment and social cohesion, helping to increase employment opportunities, focusing on vulnerable groups such as the unemployed, long-term unemployed and especially young people. The Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) will also be used to support this latter group. More than 14 000 unemployed people are expected to benefit from ESIF interventions the majority of which (9 000) are young people. From those 5 800 will receive support under the YEI and the remaining from the ESF. Due to the ESIF support, labour market participation and employment rate are expected to increase to meet the target of 75-77 % in 2020 (2014 figure: 67.3 %). ESI funding is also expected to improve public administration. In addition, it will improve social inclusion by helping vulnerable people to participate in the labour market and supporting the creation of 180 social enterprises. This will help Cyprus to meet its target of reducing poverty to 19.3 % in 2020 (from 27.8 % in 2013). ESIFs are expected also to help improve lifelong learning and vocational education and training, particularly by aligning the provision of skills with the needs of the labour market. The funds will help Cyprus shift to a low-carbon and resource-efficient economy by promoting energy efficiency (2020 target 14.3 %, compared with 12.3 % in 2011) and renewable energy consumption (13 % in 2020, compared with 7.7 % in 2011). In addition, some 3 500 households will be helped to improve their energy consumption, moving them into a more energy-efficient classification. ESI Funds will be spent on addressing Cyprus’ pressing need to comply with EU requirements on the management of solid and liquid waste. Cyprus is expected to increase its recycling rate to 50 %, while 2 300 households (in terms of equivalent population) will receive improved waste water treatment. ESIF will also be used to complete the investments in Cyprus’ TEN-T port and its connections. As a result, goods transport is expected to increase from 300 000 to 1 million TEU. Improvements to urban transport mobility, in particular in Nicosia, should result in twice as many people using public transport. EAFRD support will be focused on investments to promote the sustainable management and use of natural resources, the conservation of biodiversity, adaptation to climate change and the creation of new jobs in rural areas. EMFF support will be focused on the protection and rehabilitation of marine biological resources. Use of financial instruments and territorial tools Cyprus has indicated an amount of EUR 15 million to be allocated to financial instruments for SME support., Ex ante assessments have been launched in order to assess the scope for equity, loan and guarantee schemes in SME support, ICT, the energy sector and investment in the environment and transport. Cyprus has allocated a considerable amount (20 % of ERDF funding, approximately EUR 60.2 million) to sustainable urban development. The aim is to promote integrated action to tackle the economic, environmental, and social challenges affecting the country’s four main cities. This is far above the minimum 5 % required by EU legislation. Integrated territorial investments will not be implemented. On the other hand, community-led local development will be carried under EAFRD and EMFF programmes. Key information Cohesion policy (ESF, ERDF, CF, YEI) EAFRD EMFF ETC No of programmes 2 (national) 1 1 5 Available funds (EUR) 702 401 708 132 244 377 39 715 209 526 153 917 2. Pre-conditions for effective and efficient use of ESIFs EMFF-specific ex ante conditionality (EAC) on fishing capacity reports has been partially fulfilled and an action plan is developed. Of 11 thematic EACs, five have not been fulfilled. The most important relate to broadband network, water pricing and river basin planning including waste recycling and re-use. Action plans are developed and deadlines for delivery are set. General EAC related to statistics and indicators has not been fulfilled, but an action plan has been drawn up to implement it by December 2015. 3. ESIF management The number of programmes in Cyprus remains unchanged from the 2007-2013 programming period. The country has set up a single managing authority (the Directorate-General for European Programmes, Coordination, and Development) and a joint monitoring committee to coordinate ERDF/cohesion fund and ESF programmes, while a single information system is used for all programmes. 4. Simplification for beneficiaries

The Cypriot authorities intend to make more extensive use of simplified cost methodologies and upgrade the dedicated information system. They also plan to improve use of electronic forms and the interoperability among the national administrative services for the automatic issuance and reduce the number of documents and certificates needed.

1. ESIFs in the Czech Republic Economic and social challenges in the ESIF context Current macroeconomic trends are positive: the Czech economy returned to growth in 2014, following two years of contraction. Nevertheless, negative demographic trends are expected to lead to increases in both pension and healthcare spending in the long term. The economy currently belongs to the group of ‘moderate innovators’ and is expected to move up in the addedvalue chain. Unemployment has been on the decline, but the labour market is characterised by low participation of certain groups and a mismatch between skills supply and demand. Analysis of Europe 2020 strategy targets for the Czech Republic shows significant gaps at national and regional level on increasing R&I spending (especially private investment), improving energy efficiency, reforming tertiary education, fighting corruption and proper application of public procurement rules. EU policy recommendations as part of the European Semester propose establishing a central register of public contracts, proper implementation of an anti-corruption plan, adopting higher education reform and increasing the participation in education of disadvantaged (particularly Roma) children. Main priorities and results In the 2014-2020 period, the ESIF will be used to make the Czech economy more competitive and innovative by investing EUR 2.5 billion in research, technological development and innovation. The country has been catching up on its R&D investment lag following increased allocations from ESIF and is expected to increase spending on R&D as a percentage of GDP to 2.97 % in 2020. The investment will be used to boost R&I structures and capacity and improve cooperation between the research sector, businesses and tertiary education. More than EUR 2 billion (1.4 % of GDP) will be used as the main source of funding to support the shift to a low-carbon economy. The energy and resource intensity of Czech industry (mainly from coal) is one of the highest in the EU. The main achievements in this area are expected to be an increase in the production of energy from renewable resources (by 83 MW) and a reduction in the level of greenhouse gases (by 920 000 tonnes CO2/year). The ESIF will contribute EUR 2.8 billion to environmental protection and the efficient use of resources. The investment will be spent on: improving water quality (e.g. 150 000 additional people served by improved water supply), waste management (e.g. an annual increase of 700 000 tonnes in waste recycling capacity), air quality, improving biodiversity, bringing 400 000 ha of land into the organic farming circuit and helping farmers to meet agrienvironmental and climate-related commitments relating to 870 000 ha of land. The EMFF will make the Czech fisheries and aquaculture sector more sustainable by using more efficient and environmentally friendly production methods. On transport, an allocation of EUR 6.2 billion will support sustainable transport and help to remove bottlenecks in key network infrastructures. This will also help to close gaps in the TEN-T networks and improve the interoperability of the rail network. 140 km of railway lines will be rebuilt or upgraded, contributing to a major shift to sustainable mobility. The improvement of infrastructure will make the country’s regions more accessible and result in more people using public transport in cities. The ESIF funding of EUR 200 million have been earmarked for upgrading and securing high-voltage transmission grids. Almost EUR 1.4 billion will be dedicated to promoting sustainable and quality employment and supporting labour mobility, with a particular focus on disadvantaged groups such as lowskilled, older and young people (support for 585 000 people, 230 000 of whom are expected to gain a new qualification). The ESIF will also be spent on social inclusion and education, with allocations of EUR 2 billion each going towards helping people in difficulties and disadvantaged people, to improving the quality of social and health services and investing in education. On public services, 30 new mobile healthcare teams and 83 healthcare institutions will be set up and education will be supported at all levels, providing equal access to highquality pre-school, elementary and secondary schools. ESIF will be used also to develop universities by improving their human resources management and facilitating access to tertiary education (869 students in new bachelor study programmes). About EUR 180 million will be spent on making public administration and the justice system more effective and transparent, reducing administrative burdens, improving the skills of staff in public administration and making human resources management more efficient. Use of financial instruments and territorial tools Around EUR 763 million under cohesion policy programmes are planned to be channelled through financial instruments. This more than doubles the amounts in the previous programming period. The main areas of intervention are support for SMEs, transport infrastructure, investment in energy efficiency and, to a lesser extent, resource efficiency. The regulatory requirement of 5 % of the ERDF to be spent on sustainable urban development will be met by investments from the Prague growth pole programme and seven integrated territorial investments (ITIs) in the largest metropolitan areas. The total ITI allocation is EUR 1 billion from the ERDF and EUR 223 million from the Cohesion fund. The Community-led local development will be particularly important for the development of rural areas through the ‘multi-fund’ approach. This will involve funding from the ERDF (EUR 418 million), the EAFRD (EUR 115 million) and the ESF (EUR 64 million) which can be used in integrated, multi-sectoral local development strategies by local communities, organised in around 160 local action groups covering 55 % of the population. Key information Cohesion policy (ESF, ERDF, CF, YEI) EAFRD EMFF ETC No of programmes 8 (national) 1 1 7 Available funds (EUR) 21 643 218 575 2 305 673 996 31 108 015 1 144 024 031 2. Pre-conditions for effective and efficient use of ESIFs Strategic frameworks for certain areas of investment (i.e. R&D, ICT) have not been completed. Action plans have been adopted for 11 thematic and three general ex ante conditionalities (EACs).

3. ESIF management The Czech Republic has streamlined the way it manages the ESIF and centralised it more by reducing the number of programmes (from 17 in 2007-2013 to 8 cohesion policy programmes) and intermediate bodies. The Ministry for Regional Development is the national coordination authority. Additional coordination between funds is ensured through monitoring committees, coordinated calls for proposals and working groups. The 2014 Civil Service Act shall contribute to improvement of the administrative capacity. 4. Simplification for beneficiaries The Czech Republic aims to reduce the administrative burden for beneficiaries and public administration by reducing the number of programmes and intermediate bodies, creating a new monitoring system for the entire implementation structure and establishing a single methodological environment for all programmes. Financial instruments and options such as advance payments and simplified costs will be used more widely.

1. ESIFs in Denmark Economic and social challenges in the ESIF context The Danish economy was hit relatively hard by the financial crisis, which led to a substantial increase in unemployment, in particular among young people and those from a non-Danish background. Even though Denmark has a business-friendly environment, few SMEs are growing; this is due in part to limited success in turning innovation into profit, disappointing development of entrepreneurial skills and, the primary sector's need for increased innovation towards more sustainable production. However, Denmark continues to face some challenges over the skills of its work force. These include a falling proportion of people taking vocational training, a decreasing proportion of people from migrant backgrounds (especially men) receiving an education and a persistently high educational drop-out rate. These issues were addressed by one of the EU’s 2014 policy recommendations to Denmark in the context of the European Semester. Generally, Denmark has a good environmental performance, although it does not seem to be keeping up with its targets on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. There is still a lot of pressure on habitats and water bodies, mainly due to intensive landuse and fisheries, the leaching of nutrients out of the land, etc. Denmark is a rich country with relatively small internal socioeconomic differences compared with other Member States and is addressing most of the challenges it faces through national schemes. As the ESIF allocation to Denmark is modest, the programmes are focused on addressing the challenges referred to above. Main priorities and results EUR 300 million in ESI Funds will help SMEs in industry, services, agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries to be more innovative and better at turning innovation into profit. ESI Funds are also being invested in making businesses more competitive, with support focusing on clusters and cooperation networks. In addition, much of the country’s environmental and climate-related investments are aimed at improving businesses’ competitiveness and growth. Denmark will also use ESI Funds to develop potential areas of growth identified both within individual businesses and for regional smart specialisation strategies. Some 3 200 businesses are expected to enter cooperation networks, including networks involving knowledge institutions, and more than 4 000 are expected to launch innovative solutions or products. Denmark will also spend EUR 270 million in ESI Funds on social inclusion to help people on the margins of the labour market and improve employability by helping more people to complete vocational training and higher education (national funds will be available to help people who are further away from the labour market). In this way, ESI Funds will be used to address the European Semester policy recommendations. Around 5 500 jobs will be created in total and investments in training are expected to help 52 000 people to become more employable. Denmark will invest more than EUR 635 million in ESI Funds in the environment and climate. Its environmental investments will focus on protecting and preserving natural assets, improving water quality and biodiversity, and using cultivated land and fish stocks (including aquaculture) in an environmentfriendly and sustainable way, in line with the new common fisheries policy. In fisheries, the ESI Funds will, for example, help reducing unwanted catches by 5 000 t and increasing organic aquaculture production by 3 000 t by 2023. In farming, ESI Funds will include support to preserve landscapes and biodiversity covering an area of at least 3 400 km² (or more than 10 % of the country’s agricultural land). Of Denmark’s total investments in the environment and climate, EUR 91 million will be invested in the transition to a lowcarbon economy, leading to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 51 000 t and a 905 000 GJ reduction in energy consumption. This will help Denmark to meet its Europe 2020 strategy target of reducing GHG emissions by 20 %. Improved resource efficiency is part of Denmark’s strategy to increase business competitiveness, and the funds spent on competitiveness will also contribute to its transition to a low-carbon economy. In all, Denmark plans to spend approximately EUR 577 million (46 % of its total ESIF allocation) on combating climate change. Use of financial instruments and territorial tools In the period between 2007 and 2013, Denmark allocated EUR 28 million to financial instruments. For 2014-2020 it has made it possible for the regions to use funding from financial instruments for investments in business development and improving energy and resource efficiency in businesses. Denmark will spend 5 % of its ERDF allocation on sustainable urban development, concentrating on business development through innovation and energy/resource efficiency. These urban development measures will be integrated into larger strategies addressing the social, economic, demographic, and environmental and/or climate challenges of certain urban areas. Overall 26 Local action groups covering both rural and coastal areas are supported through the LEADER method. These will work on boosting existing tourism-related activities, developing small businesses, creating services, and supporting sustainable fishing. This will create jobs and improve living conditions for the local population. Key information Cohesion policy (ESF, ERDF, CF) EAFRD EMFF ETC No of programmes 2 (national) 1 1 5 Available funds (EUR) 413 231 682 918 803 690 208 355 420 748 186 649 2. Pre-conditions for effective and efficient use of ESIFs

Denmark fulfils all ex ante conditionalities for ESIF support. 3. ESIF management ERDF and ESF programmes are delivered through six regional growth fora, with the Danish Business Authority as the managing authority. The programmes are managed by the same managing authorities at regional level. The EAFRD and EMFF are both managed by the Danish AgriFish Agency, with the Leader actions implementation delegated to Danish Business Authority, ensuring close coordination between the Funds. In addition, the two national managing authorities sit on each other’s monitoring committee (for ERDF/ESF and EAFRD/EMFF respectively). Furthermore, the two managing authorities envisage coordinating meetings between the two sets of funds in order to increase efficiency in the implementation. Although the ESF and the Fund for European Aid for the Most Deprived both have social inclusion objectives, the ESF is more labour market-related. The two funds avoid overlap thanks to the clear division between their respective objectives and by the two managing authorities being members of each other’s monitoring committee. 4. Simplification for beneficiaries Potential beneficiaries will have electronic access to the management of the fund (in line with the eCohesion initiative). Those who do not have immediate access to e-Cohesion will still be able to access the fund using alternative means. Denmark also envisages extending the use of the simplified costs options.

1. ESIFs in Estonia Economic and social challenges in the ESIF context Estonia has shown remarkable flexibility in coping with the economic crisis. Real GDP is expected to return to pre-crisis levels in 2016. Although the economy as a whole has improved, serious structural challenges remain. These should be addressed if the Estonian economy is to become more knowledge-based and innovative, more inclusive and more sustainable. Public funding for R&I seems to lack coordination and should focus on a limited number of smart specialisation areas. The higher education system still needs to do more to meet the needs of business and research institutions. Innovation capacity is low, and few companies collaborate with research institutions. The shrinking labour force, combined with low labour productivity, is set to become a problem in the medium to long term. Estonia only recently began implementing its ambitious Work Capacity Reform. A shortage of childcare facilities makes it more difficult for parents to return to work. The availability and quality of public services at local level is variable. Estonia needs to do more to improve the attractiveness of vocational education, training and apprenticeships. The country also needs to promote entrepreneurship and job creation across the country to prevent gaps in economic development from widening. Estonia’s resource intensity is still very high. The country is unlikely to meet its energy efficiency target for 2020. Efforts to improve residential and industrial energy efficiency need to be increased. Estonia should also work towards introducing more sustainable forms of transport. These challenges are reflected in policy recommendations made in the context of the European Semester. Main priorities and results Estonia aims to use ESI Funds to increase private sector expenditure on R&D to 2 % of GDP by 2023 (from 1.26 % in 2012). The R&D funding programmes will be aligned with Estonia’s smart specialisation framework. Estonia will also use ESI Funds to boost the competitiveness of SMEs, and aims to increase the number of exporting businesses to 15 700 (from 11 281 in 2012). Rural development funding will be better targeted to achieve positive changes in rural economy. Special schemes are foreseen to develop small farms, and to assist the young farmers to set up farming businesses. Estonia will encourage the creation of short food supply chains, and invest in processing and marketing of agricultural products, Estonia will also use ESIFs to boost the digital economy, aiming to provide 60 % of the country with broadband speeds of at least 100 Mb/s (from 3.6 % in 2012). Estonia will invest in employment with the aim of increasing the employment rate to 76 % (from 73.3 % in 2013). It plans to achieve this by, for example, reforming the work capacity assessment. The aim is also to maintain the proportion of GDP generated in areas other than Tallinn and Tartu at 30 %. In the field of education, the aim is to raise the apprenticeship completion rate to 75 % (from 50 % in 2013). This equates to about 8 000 people. In addition, over 350 000 career advice sessions will be offered to young people and others of working age. Funding for social inclusion will be used to reduce the number of children in the waiting list for childcare and nursery places to an estimated 300 from 4 430 in 2012. Youth work services will assist around 200 000 participants. Existing health infrastructure will be optimised and primary care and disease prevention strengthened. Funding for administrative capacity building is to be used to increase satisfaction levels with the quality of public services to around 85 % (from 67 % in 2012). Support for transport will be used to develop the TEN-T network and environment-friendly and low-carbon transport systems. For example, Estonia plans to increase the annual number of train passengers to 8.4 million from 4.2 million in 2013. Investment in the low-carbon economy is expected to achieve energy savings of up to 45 % for 40 000 homes. Estonia plans to use the funds dedicated to the environment and adaptation to climate change to meet the essential requirements of the acquis in the water sector and ensure disaster resilience. The funds will also be used to preserve biodiversity through supporting the maintenance of semi-natural habitats (2.6 % of farmland) and organic farming (14 % of farmland). Over 70 % of utilised agricultural area should be covered by schemes to improve biodiversity and soil management. Water protection in agriculture and abandoned peat production areas will be targeted. The Estonian fisheries and aquaculture sector will be made more sustainable, marine ecosystems and aquatic biodiversity will be improved and unwanted catches are expected to be reduced by 21 tonnes. Use of financial instruments and territorial tools Estonia will increase allocations to financial instruments by approximately 50% compared with the previous period, to a value of EUR 215.5 million. Loan, guarantee and equity instruments are to be used to support SMEs and R&I. According to the ex ante assessment, there is no scope for ESIF-funded financial instruments in the area of energy efficiency and environmental infrastructure. Of the ERDF allocation 5% is dedicated to integrated actions for sustainable urban development. Community-led local development strategies in rural areas will be implemented by 34 local action groups, eight of which are in the fisheries sector. Key information

Cohesion Policy (ESF, ERDF, CF) EAFRD EMFF ETC No of programmes 1 1 1 4 Available funds (EUR) 3 534 560 285 823 341 558 100 970 418 449 819 256 2. Pre-conditions for effective and efficient use of ESIFs Out of the 29 applicable ex ante conditionalities (EACs), 15 were not met at the time the Partnership Agreement was adopted. Estonia has since reported the completion of action plans to meet 11 of these. It is expected that it will meet the remaining four EACs in 2016: Risk prevention and management, Other modes of transport, Active inclusion and Statistical systems and result indicators. 3. ESIF management Estonia has only one multi-fund cohesion policy programme for 2014-2020, compared with three in the previous period. The Ministry of Finance acts as the managing authority, certifying authority (its functions were merged with those of the managing authority) and the audit authority. Five other ministries perform the tasks of first-level intermediate bodies and 13 central agencies or other organisations act as second-level intermediate bodies (two were added for the new period). No significant changes were made as regards the EAFRD and EMFF delivery systems. At government level, the State Budget Strategy is used to coordinate all sources of funding. 4. Simplification for beneficiaries A number of laws and guidelines have been amended to reduce the administrative burden for beneficiaries. Data exchange with applicants and beneficiaries will be made fully electronic, expenses will be reimbursed on the basis of simplified cost options where possible, and there is also a possibility of combining grants and financial instruments.

1. ESIFs in Finland Economic and social challenges in the ESIF context Restoring growth and competitiveness while creating employment is a key challenge for the Finnish economy. Business R&D intensity is on a downward trend which makes it challenging to reach the national target for R&D expenditure (4% of GDP). Risks relating to weak export performance in the context of industrial restructuring need to be addressed. Finland is still struggling to translate R&D investment into successful exports. It should provide more financing for start-ups and offer them more help with doing business abroad. Furthermore, in view of the ageing population and shrinking working-age population, it is important that the labour market make use of the full potential of the workforce. The unemployment rate was 8.7 % in 2014 and is rising, particularly among young people and older workers. Another challenge for Finland is the weakening balance of public finances and the threat posed by demographic trends to their longterm sustainability. The European Semester policy recommendations are designed to address these issues. Main priorities and results Finland aims to improve the competitiveness of SMEs by investing EUR 644 million in diversifying business structures and increasing the number of companies that are growing, innovative and expanding internationally. Measures will therefore be focused on start-ups and the development of new business operations. The EAFRD will target on-farm investment, investments in food processing and the diversification of farm activities. Over EUR 1 billion of investment support is to be provided. Around 15 000 farms will be supported. R&I investments of EUR 398 million will focus on boosting innovation activity, especially in growth companies and start-ups in the selected smart specialisation fields. Finland aims to improve its ability to translate R&I into commercial products and services. Furthermore, with the help of these investments and EAFRD funding for cooperation and innovation, Finland aims to increase R&I expenditure in relation to GDP to 4.0 % by 2020 (3.31% in 2013). Finland will allocate EUR 219 million to the transition to a low-carbon economy. This will contribute significantly to the goal of increasing the share of energy derived from renewables from 33 % (2011) to 38 % (2020). The ESIF funding will mainly support R&I activities in the low carbon sector, the introduction of new technologies, and the development and commercialisation of low-carbon products, services and production methods. To protect the environment and promote resource efficiency, the EMFF will contribute to making fisheries and aquaculture more sustainable and improve marine ecosystems and aquatic biodiversity. From the EAFRD, EUR 1.6 billion has been allocated to agri-environment-climate measures. The aim is to reduce the harmful environmental impact of agricultural activities on the soil, surface water, ground water and air by promoting the use of environment-friendly practices and managing growing conditions. Over 81 % of agricultural land is expected to be covered by management contracts to improve water management. EUR 1.8 billion has been allocated to agricultural areas with natural constraints to encourage agricultural biodiversity. EUR 347 million is to be invested in employment and reducing unemployment. ESF funding will focus especially on young people and those with a less favourable labour market position and aims to assist around 40 000 unemployed people. The funding will be used to extend working life, balance labour demand and supply, and increase labo