Amended proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+)
Date: 2020-05-28
Institutions: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
Subjects: European Social Fund, European social policy, access to education, eligibility criteria, innovation, job access, organisation of health care, poverty, social integration, vocational training

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 28.5.2020  COM(2020) 447 final 2018/0206 (COD)  Amended proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+)   
 
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

• 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

On  30  May  2018,  the  Commission  adopted  its  proposal  for  a  Regulation  on  the  European 
Social  Fund  Plus  (ESF+)1.  Since  then,  the  European  economy  has  faced  a  profound  and 
unprecedented exogenous symmetrical shock with the COVID-19 pandemic, putting a serious 
strain  on  the  economy,  labour  market,  social  and  health  systems  of  Member  States.  Facing 
this challenge, the Union should take appropriate action to recover from the health, social and 
economic shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

On  27  May  2020,  the  Commission  adopted  a  revised  proposal  for  the  next  multi-annual 
financial framework for 2021-20272. The proposal reflects the European response to the social 
and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Both  the  direct  and  indirect  effects  of  the  COVID-19  pandemic  will  continue  to  have  a 
substantial  and  harmful  impact  on  all  Member  States  in  the  medium  to  long-term  with 
increasing  levels  of  social  inequalities,  poverty  and  youth  unemployment.  The  Commission 
therefore finds it necessary to amend its European Social Fund Plus proposal in order to adapt 
it  to  the  new  Recovery  Package  while  enabling  strategic  investments  in  employment  and 
social policies and systems.  

In order for these investments to turn into inclusive and sustainable features of a reinvigorated 
growth  model,  and  in  line  with  the  Union's  commitments  to  implement  the  United  Nations 
Agenda  2030  for  sustainable  Development  and  Paris  Agreement,  the  amendments  to  the 
ESF+  Regulation  focus,  in  accordance  with  the  political  guidelines  of  President  von  der 
Leyen, on: 

Increasing thematic concentration requirements for youth employment. As shown by 
• 
earlier  recessions,  youth  employment  is  more  sensitive  to  the  business  cycle  than  adult 
employment  and  the  economic  recession  triggered  by  the  COVID-19  pandemic  is  likely  to 
bring  back  dramatically  high  youth  unemployment  and  NEET  rates.  To  further  support  an 
inclusive  economic  recovery  and  school  to  work  transitions  in  the  changing  world  of  work 
and  ensure  that  young  people  make  the  most  of  the  opportunities  stemming  from  digital, 
resilient and green transitions, Member States with a NEET rate (age group 15  – 29) above 
the  EU  average  should  programme  at  least  15%  of  their  ESF+  resources  under  shared 
management  to  targeted  actions  and  structural  reforms  to  support  young  people  (increased 
from 10%). 

Addressing child poverty: In a logic of recovery, tackling child poverty will become 
• 
even more important in the coming years in order to ensure that no child is left behind in the 
aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis. It is proposed to include a recital and an article requiring 
that  Member  States  should  allocate  at  least  5%  of  the  ESF+  resources  under  shared 
management to address children in poverty.  

Promoting  the  green  and  digital  transitions  in  line  with  the  EU  Industrial  Strategy3, 
• 
which  will  require  new  skills  for  new  types  of  jobs.  In  the  “new  normal”  following  the 
COVID-19  pandemic  different  skills  set  will  be  needed  and  new  economic  and  business 

1 
2 
3 

COM(2018) 382. 
COM(2020) 443. 
COM(2020) 102. 

EN 

1 

  EN 

 
                                                 
models will emerge in the European industrial ecosystems, including new local value chains, 
which should be supported by the European Social Fund. 

The  COVID-19  pandemic  had  a  disproportionate  socio-economic  effect  on  women. 
Therefore,  Member  States  should  pay  due  account  that  operations  strictly  follow  the 
horizontal principle of gender equality as laid down in Article 6 of the ESF+ Regulation. 
The  Commission  also  proposes  the  establishment  of  a  much  reinforced  Health  Programme4  
that, given its size and scope, should be a stand-alone programme. The Health Programme is 
therefore no longer part of the European Social Fund Plus. As a result it is necessary to amend 
the proposal for the European Social Fund Plus  and remove all the references to the Health 
strand.  Given,  however,  the  need  to  closely  coordinate  the  two  programmes,  the  amended 
ESF+  proposal  includes  provisions  calling  for  ensuring  synergies  and  complementarity  of 
actions between the ESF+ and the new EU Health Programme.  

To  learn  the  lessons  from  the  current  crisis,  it  is  imperative  that  the  legal  framework  for 
cohesion  policy  provides  for  mechanisms  that  can  be  quickly  invoked  should  exceptional 
circumstances  arise  in  the  next  decade.  Therefore,  temporary  measures  for  the  use  of  the 
ESF+ in response to exceptional and unusual circumstances are proposed to ensure that under 
limited and specific circumstances derogations to certain rules may be provided to facilitate 
response to such circumstances.  

These include the possibility to extend the scope for the ESF+, such as support for short-time 
work  schemes  which  are  not  combined  with  active  measures  and  access  to  healthcare 
including  for  people  not  in  immediate  socio-economic  vulnerability  as  well  as  to  allow  for 
easing  thematic  concentration  requirements  where  necessary  as  a  temporary  measure  to 
provide an effective response to such exceptional and unusual circumstances. 

• 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

This proposal is consistent with existing policy provisions in the policy area and is limited to 
a  targeted  amendment  of  the  Commission  proposal  for  the  European  Social  Fund  Plus 
(COM(2018)  382)  in  order  to  allow  for  a  more  effective  contribution  of  the  ESF+  to  the 
recovery of the economy following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economic 
and social situation of Member States. The aim of the ESF+ is to achieve high employment 
levels, fair social protection and a skilled and resilient workforce relevant to the labour market 
needs ready for the future world of work, in line with the principles set out in the European 
Pillar  of  Social  Rights and  thereby  contribute  to  the implementation  of  the  European  Green 
Deal and the new Industrial Strategy. 

• 

Consistency with other Union policies 

The proposal is limited to targeted amendments to the proposal for the European Social Fund 
Plus  Regulation  (COM(2018)  382)  and  maintains  consistency  with  other  Union  policies.  In 
particular,  it  is  consistent  with  the  amendments  to  the  proposal  for  the  Common  Provisions 
Regulation5  and  the  European  Regional  Development  Fund6,  [and,  in  particular,  promotes 
complementarity and  synergies with the new Health  Programme7.] It is  also consistent with 
the amendments proposed by the Commission to the Common Provisions Regulation8  for the 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 

COM(2020) 405. 
COM(2020) 450. 
COM(2020) 452. 
COM(2020) 405. 
COM(2020) 451. 

EN 

2 

  EN 

 
                                                 
programming period of 2014-2020 for fostering crisis repair in the context of the COVID-19 
pandemic and preparing the recovery of the economy.  

2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

It  is  proposed  to  amend  the  Commission  proposal  for  the  European  Social  Fund  Plus 
(COM(2018) 382) to address the current  specific challenges.  

Titles IX (Employment), X (Social policy) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European 
Union (TFEU), in particular, Articles 46, 149, 153, 162 to 166, 174, 175 and 349 of TFEU, 
provide the legal framework for the measures covered by this proposal. 

The ESF+ has two strands. The first strand, implemented under shared management, covers 
the (ex-) ESF, which is based on Articles 162 and 164 TFEU, and basic material assistance to 
the most deprived people, under Article 175(3) TFEU. The second strand, implemented under 
direct and indirect management, covers actions promoting employment and social innovation 
(EaSI), based on Articles 46(d), 149 and Article 153(2)(a) TFEU. 

Article 349 was added to cover the specificities of the outermost regions for the purposes of 
the first strand. 

• 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)  

The  amended  proposal  complies  with  the  subsidiarity  principle.  The  proposal  introduces  a 
crisis-response  mechanism under the shared management rules in the form of implementing 
powers  to  the  Commission  to  ensure  that  under  exceptional  circumstances,  temporary 
derogations  could  be  provided  to  respond  to  such  events.  The  conferral  of  implementing 
powers  is  to  enable  the  Commission  to  act  immediately  without  needing  to  modify  primary 
legislation. 

• 

Proportionality 

The proposal is a targeted change not going beyond what is necessary to achieve the objective 
of adjusting the proposal to the Commission amended proposal for the MFF. 

The  proposed  empowerment  enables  the  Commission  to  take  a  limited  set  of  immediate 
measures,  in  case  of  future  crisis,  for  a  limited  period  of  time  and  under  the  control  of  the 
Council  and  the  Parliament  which  can  object  to  the  proposed  modifications.  It  therefore 
complies with the proportionality principle. 

• 

Choice of the instrument 

The Proposed instrument: amendment of the Commission’s proposal for a regulation. 

The Commission has explored the scope for manoeuvre provided by the legal framework and 
considers it necessary to modify the proposal for the European Social Fund Plus Regulation 
(COM(2018)  382)  in  order  to  remove  the  Health  Programme  and  to  introduce  an 
empowerment in case of a future crisis. 

EN 

3 

  EN 

 
RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation 

3. 

• 

N/A 

• 

Stakeholder consultations 

There  was  no  consultation  of  external  stakeholders  due  to  the  extreme  urgency  of  the 
situation. However, the proposal follows extensive consultations with Member States and the 
European  Parliament  over  recent  weeks  related  to  the  economic  consequences  of  the  crisis 
caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Collection and use of expertise 

• 

N/A 

• 

Impact assessment 

An  impact  assessment  has  been  carried  out  to  prepare  the  proposal  for  a  Regulation 
COM(2018) 382 of 30 May 2018. These current limited and targeted changes do not require a 
separate impact assessment. 

Regulatory fitness and simplification 

Fundamental rights 

• 

N/A 

• 

N/A 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

The budgetary appropriations linked to Health strand have been removed.  

5. 

• 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

The implementation of the measures will be monitored and reported upon in the framework of 
the reporting mechanisms established in the proposal for a Regulation COM(2018) 375 of 29 
May 2018 and the proposal for a Regulation COM(2018) 382 of 30 May 2018. 

• 

N/A 

• 

Explanatory documents (for directives) 

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal 

It is proposed to amend the proposal for a Regulation on the European Social Fund Plus of 30 
May 2018 as follows: 

- 

- 

- 

amending the legal basis by deleting Article 168 TFEU related to the removal of the 
Health strand; 

amendments to recitals 5, 14, 15, 16 and 23 related to the recovery of the economy; 

inserting a new recital 22a related to addressing child poverty; 

EN 

4 

  EN 

 
- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

_ 

- 

- 

amendments to recitals 9, 10, 11, 12, 21, 35 to 45, 47 and 51 related to the removal of 
the Health strand; 

inserting a new recital (20a) related to synergies with the new Health Programme;  

amendments to Article 2(1), points 2 and 9; Article 3, second subparagraph and point 
(b) of the third subparagraph; Article 4(1), first sentence and (3); Article 5(1), (3), (4) 
and (5); Article 6(1); Article 7(1), second subparagraph; Articles 26 to 29; the title of 
Article 30, (1) first sentence and (2); Article 31(1), (2), (4) and (5); Article 32; Article 
33(1) and (3); Article 37(2); Article 38(2), (3) and (6); the title of Article 42, (1) and 
(2) all related to the deletion of the Health strand; 

amendment  to  Article  2(1),  point  10  for  reasons  of  consistency  across  Union 
instruments; 

amendment to Article 5(2) as the budget for the ESF+ under shared management has 
decreased; 

amendments  to  Article  7  by  introducing  a  new  paragraph  3a  for  a  thematic 
concentration  requirement  to  support  children  in  poverty  and  amending  paragraph  5 
related to the increased thematic concentration requirement for youth employment; 

inserting a new recital (54) and a new Article 37a related to temporary measures for 
the use of the ESF+ in response to exceptional and unusual circumstances;  

deleting Annex III related to the Health strand. 

The legislative financial statement has also been updated. 

EN 

5 

  EN 

 
2018/0206 (COD) 

Amended proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) 

Commission proposal COM(2018) 382 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

The legal basis is amended as follows: 

“Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in 
particular Article 46(d), Article 149, Article 153(2)(a), Article 164, Article 175(3) and 
Article 349 thereof,”; 

(2) 

recital (5) is replaced by the following: 

“(5)  Recent  and  ongoing  developments  have  aggravated  the  structural  challenges 
arising  from  economic  globalisation,  the  management  of  migration  flows  and  the 
increased  security  threat,  clean  energy  transition,  technological  change  and  an 
increasingly  ageing  workforce  as  well  as  stemming  from  growing  mismatches 
between  demand  and  supply  of  skills  and  labour  in  some  sectors  and  regions, 
experienced  especially  by  SMEs.  The  green  and  digital  transitions  and  the 
transformation of European industrial ecosystems will entail many new opportunities, 
if accompanied by the right set of skills, employment and social policies and actions. 
Taking into account the changing realities of the world of work, the Union should be 
prepared for the current and future challenges by investing in relevant skills, making 
growth more inclusive and by improving employment and social policies, while taking 
into account economic and industrial sustainability, labour mobility and aiming for a 
gender balanced labour market.”; 

(3) 

recitals (9) and (10) are replaced by the following: 

“(9)  In  order  to  streamline  and  simplify  the  funding  landscape  and  create  additional 
opportunities for synergies through integrated funding approaches, the actions which 
were supported by the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived ('FEAD') and the 
European  Union  Programme  for  Employment  and  Social  Innovation  should  be 
integrated into one ESF+. The ESF+ should therefore include two strands: the ESF+ 
strand  under  shared  management  and  the  Employment  and  Social  Innovation  strand 
implemented  under  direct  and  indirect  management.  This  should  contribute  to 
reducing  the  administrative  burden  linked  to  the  management  of  different  funds,  in 
particular for Member States, whilst maintaining simpler rules for simpler operations 
such as the distribution of food and/or basic material assistance. 

(10) In view of the wider scope of the ESF+, it is appropriate that the aims to enhance 
the  effectiveness  of  labour  markets, promote  access  to  quality  employment,  improve 
access to and quality of education and training, promote social inclusion and access to 
healthcare  for  vulnerable  persons  and  reduce  poverty,  are  not  only  implemented 
through  shared  management,  but  also  through direct  and  indirect  management  under 
the Employment and Social Innovation strand for actions required at Union level.”; 

EN 

6 

  EN 

 
 
(4) 

(5) 

recital (11) is deleted; 

recital (12) is replaced by the following: 

“(12)  This  Regulation  lays  down  a  financial  envelope  for  the  ESF+.  Parts  of  this 
financial envelope should be used for actions to be implemented in direct and indirect 
management under the Employment and Social Innovation strand.”; 

(6) 

recitals (14) to (16) are replaced by the following: 

“(14) The ESF+ should provide support to improving the quality, effectiveness, labour 
market  relevance  of  education  and  training  systems,  including  through  promoting 
digital  learning,  the  professional  development  of  teaching  staff,  in  order  to  facilitate 
the  acquisition  of  key  competences  notably  as  regards  basic  skills,  including  health 
literacy,  media  literacy,  digital  skills  and  competences  for  sustainable  development 
which  all  individuals  need  for  personal  fulfilment  and  development,  employment, 
social  inclusion  and  active  citizenship.  The  ESF+  should  help  progression  within 
education  and  training  and  transition  to  work,  support  lifelong  learning  and 
employability, and contribute to competitiveness including through graduate tracking, 
and  to  societal  and  economic  innovation  by  supporting  scalable  and  sustainable 
initiatives in these fields and adapted to  different target  groups such as persons with 
disabilities. This could be achieved for example through online learning, work-based 
training,  traineeships  and  apprenticeships,9  lifelong  guidance,  skills  anticipation  in 
close  cooperation  with  industry,  up-to-date  training  materials  and  delivery  methods, 
forecasting  and  graduate  tracking,  training  of  educators,  validation  of  learning 
outcomes and recognition of qualifications and industry-based certifications. 

(15)  Support  through  the  ESF+  should  be  used  to  promote  equal  access  for  all,  in 
particular for disadvantaged groups, to quality, non-segregated and inclusive education 
and training, from early childhood education and care through general and vocational 
education and training, notably apprenticeships, and to tertiary level, as well as adult 
education and learning. The ESF+ should provide targeted support to learners in need 
and reduce educational inequalities, including the digital divide, prevent early school 
leaving,  foster  permeability  between  education  and  training  sectors,  reinforce  links 
with  non-formal  and  informal  learning  and  facilitate  learning  mobility  for  all. 
Synergies  with  the  Erasmus  programme,  notably  to  facilitate  the  participation  of 
disadvantaged learners in learning mobility, should be supported within this context. 

(16)  The  ESF+  should  promote  flexible  opportunities  for  upgrading  of  skills  and 
acquiring  new  and  different  skills  by  all,  notably  digital  skills  and  skills  for  key 
enabling  technologies  as  well  as  skills  for  the  green  economy  as  well  as  industrial 
ecosystems in line with the EU Industrial Strategy10. In line with the Skills Agenda for 
Europe  and  the  Upskilling  Pathways  Recommendation11,  the  ESF+  should  support 
flexible  pathways,  including  accessible  short  targeted  modular  training  leading  to 
credentials, with a view to providing people with skills adjusted to labour market and 
industrial  ecosystems  needs,  green  and  digital  transitions,  innovation  and  social  and 
economic  change,  facilitating  reskilling  and  upskilling  and  employability,  career 
transitions,  geographic and sectoral  mobility and supporting in  particular low-skilled 
and/or  poorly  qualified  adults.  The  ESF+  should  also  facilitate  the  provision  of 

9 

10 
11 

As defined in Council Recommendation of 15 March 2018 on a European Framework for Quality and 
Effective Apprenticeships. 
COM(2020) 102. 
Council Recommendation of 19 December 2016 on upskilling pathways: new opportunities for adults. 

EN 

7 

  EN 

 
                                                 
integrated  skills  support  to  individuals,  whether  in  employment,  the  unemployed  or 
self-employed through instruments such as individual learning accounts.” ; 

(7) 

the following recital (20a) is inserted: 

“(20a)  Due  to  the  importance  of  access  to  healthcare,  the  ESF+  should  ensure 
synergies  and  complementarities  with  the  Health  Programme,  and  the  ESF+  scope 
should include access to health care for people in vulnerable situations.”; 

(8) 

recital (21) is replaced by the following: 

“(21)  The  ESF+  should  support  policy  and  system  reforms  in  the  fields  of 
employment,  social  inclusion,  access  to  healthcare  for  vulnerable  persons,  long-term 
care, and education and training. In order to strengthen alignment with the European 
Semester, Member States should allocate an appropriate amount of their resources of 
the  ESF+  strand  under  shared  management  to  implement  relevant  country-specific 
recommendations  relating  to  structural  challenges  which  it  is  appropriate  to  address 
through  multiannual  investments  falling  within  the  scope  of  the  ESF+.  The 
Commission  and  the  Member  States  should  ensure  coherence,  coordination  and 
complementarity between the shared-management strand of ESF+ , the [Recovery and 
Resilience  Facility,  and  the  Technical  Support  Instrument].  In  particular,  the 
Commission  and  the  Member  State  should  ensure,  in  all  stages  of  the  process, 
effective  coordination 
the  consistency,  coherence, 
complementarity  and  synergy  among  sources  of  funding,  including  technical 
assistance thereof.”; 

in  order 

safeguard 

to 

(9) 

the following recital (22a) is inserted: 

“(22a)  With  a  view  to  addressing  the  persistently  high  level  of  child  poverty  in  the 
Union,  and  in  line  with  principle  11  of  the  European  Pillar  of  Social  Rights  which 
states  that  children  have  the  right  to  protection  from  poverty,  and  children  from 
disadvantaged  backgrounds  have  the  rights  to  specific  measures  to  enhance  equal 
opportunities,  the ambition should be that  Member States allocate at least  5%  of the 
ESF+  resources  under  shared  management  to  support  activities  addressing  child 
poverty  in  line  with  the specific  objectives  of  the  ESF+  that  allow  for  programming 
resources towards actions directly supporting children with regards to early childcare, 
education, healthcare, decent housing and adequate nutrition.”; 

(10) 

recital (23) is replaced by the following: 

“(23)  In  order  to  facilitate  an  inclusive  economic  recovery  after  a  major  crisis,  and 
support youth employment in a changing world of work and in the light of persistently 
high levels of youth unemployment and inactivity in a number of Member States and 
regions,  it  is  necessary  that  Member  States  continue  to  invest  sufficient  ESF+ 
resources in measures to support youth employment and skills, including through the 
implementation  of  Youth  Guarantee  schemes.  Building  on  the  actions  supported  by 
the  Youth  Employment  Initiative  in  the  2014-2020  programming  period  targeting 
individual  persons  and  the  lessons  learnt,  Member  States  should  further  promote 
employment and education reintegration pathways and invest in early prevention and 
outreach  by  prioritising,  where  relevant,  long-term  unemployed,  inactive  and 
disadvantaged  young  people  including  through  youth  work.  Member  States  should 
also  invest  in  measures  aimed  at  facilitating  school-to-work  transition  as  well  as  
adequate capacities of employment services so as to provide  tailor-made and holistic 
support and better targeted offers to young people.  

EN 

8 

  EN 

 
Upgrading  of  skills  and  acquiring  new  and  different  skills  shall  help  young  people 
seize the opportunities of growing sectors and prepare them for the changing nature of 
work,  while  also  harnessing  the  opportunities  arising  from  the  digital  and  green 
transitions and the transformation of the European industrial ecosystems. 

Therefore,  Member  States  having  a  rate  of  young  people  aged  15  to  29  not  in 
employment,  education  or  training  above  the  Union  average  in  2019  on  the  basis  of 
Eurostat  data,  should  allocate  at  least  15%  of  their  ESF+  resources  under  shared 
management to those actions.” ; 

recitals (35) to (45) are deleted; 

recital (47) is replaced by the following: 
“(47)  Pursuant  to  Article  [94  of  Council  Decision  2013/755/EU12],  persons  and 
entities established in Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) are to be eligible for 
funding subject to the rules and objectives of the Employment and Social Innovation 
strand and possible arrangements applicable to the Member State to which the relevant 
OCTs are linked.”; 

(11) 

(12) 

(13) 

recital (51) is replaced by the following: 

“(51)  Since  the  objective  of  this  Regulation,  namely  enhancing  the  effectiveness  of 
labour markets and promoting access to quality employment, improving the access to 
and  the  quality  of  education  and  training,  promoting  social  inclusion  and  reducing 
poverty  as  well  as  the  actions  under  the  Employment  and  Social  Innovation  strand, 
cannot  be  sufficiently  achieved  by  the  Member  States  but  can  rather,  be  better 
achieved  at  Union  level,  the  Union  may  adopt  measures,  in  accordance  with  the 
principle  of  subsidiarity  as  set  out  in  Article  5  of  the  Treaty  on  European  Union.  In 
accordance  with  the  principle  of  proportionality,  as  set  out  in  that  Article,  this 
Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.”; 

(14) 

the following recital (54) is inserted: 

“(54) In order to allow for a rapid response to exceptional and unusual circumstances 
as referred to in the Stability and Growth Pact that may arise during the programming 
period, temporary measures should be provided for to facilitate the use of the support 
from  the  ESF+  in  response  to  such  circumstances.  Furthermore,  the  implementing 
powers in relation to the temporary measures for the use of the Funds in response to 
exceptional  and  unusual  circumstances  should  be  adopted  without  committee 
procedures  given  that  the  scope  of  application  is  determined  by  the  Stability  and 
Growth Pact and limited to the measures set out in this Regulation.”; 

(15) 

Article 2(1) is amended as follows: 

(a) 

point 2 is replaced by the following: 

“(2)‘associated country’ means a third country which is party to an agreement with 
the Union allowing for its participation in the Employment and Social Innovation 
strand of the ESF+ in accordance with Article 30;” ; 

(b)  point 9 is deleted; 

12  

Council Decision 2013/755/EU of 25 November 2013 on the association of the overseas countries and 
territories with the European Union ( ‘Overseas Association Decision’) (OJ L 344, 19.12.2013, p. 1). 

EN 

9 

  EN 

 
 
                                                 
(c) 

point 10 is replaced by the following: 

“(10)  'legal entity'  means any natural or  legal  person created and recognised as  such 
under  national  law,  Union  law  or  international  law,  which  has  legal  personality  and 
which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an 
entity without a legal personality in accordance with Article 197(2)(c) of the Financial 
Regulation;”; 

(16) 

Article 3 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

the second subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

“The  ESF+  shall  support,  complement  and  add  value  to  the  policies  of  the  Member 
States  to  ensure  equal  opportunities,  access  to  the  labour  market,  fair  working 
conditions, social protection and inclusion.” ; 

(b) 

in the third subparagraph, point (b) is replaced by the following: 

under  direct  and  indirect  management  for  the  part  of  the  assistance  which 
“(b) 
corresponds to the objectives indicated in Articles 4(1) and 23 (the ‘Employment and 
Social Innovation strand’).”; 

(17) 

Article 4 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

in paragraph 1, the introductory sentence is replaced by the following: 

“1.  The  ESF+  shall  support  the  following  specific  objectives  in  the  policy  areas  of 
employment, education and social inclusion and thereby also contributing to the policy 
objective  for  “A  more  social  Europe  –  Implementing  the  European  Pillar  of  Social 
Rights” set out in Article [4] of the [future CPR]”; 

(b)  paragraph 3 is deleted; 

(18) 

Article 5 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

paragraphs 1 to 3 are replaced by the following: 

“1. The total financial envelope for the ESF+ for the period 2021-2027 shall be EUR 
97 332 282 000 in current prices. 

 2. The part of the financial envelope for the ESF+ strand under shared management 
under  the  Investment  for  Jobs  and  Growth  goal  shall  be  EUR  96  571  282  000  in 
current  prices  of  which  EUR  200 000 000  in  current  prices  shall  be  allocated  for 
transnational cooperation supporting innovative solutions as referred to in Article 23(i) 
and EUR 400 000 000 in current prices as additional funding to the outermost regions 
identified in Article 349 TFEU and the NUTS level 2 regions fulfilling the criteria laid 
down in Article 2 of Protocol No 6 to the 1994 Act of Accession. 

3.  The  financial  envelope  for  the  Employment  and  Social  Innovation  strand  for  the 
period 2021-2027 shall be EUR 761 000 000 in current prices.”; 

(b)  paragraph 4 is deleted; 

(c) 

paragraph 5 is amended as follows: 

“5.  The  amount  referred  to  in  paragraph  3  may  also  be  used  for  technical  and 
administrative  assistance  for  the  implementation  of  the  programme,  such  as 
preparatory,  monitoring,  control,  audit  and  evaluation  activities  including  corporate 
information technology systems.”; 

EN 

10 

  EN 

 
 
(19) 

in Article 6, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: 

“1. All programmes implemented under the ESF+ strand under shared management, as 
well  as  the  operations  supported  by  the  Employment  and  Social  Innovation  strand 
shall  ensure  equality  between  men  and  women  throughout  their  preparation, 
implementation,  monitoring  and  evaluation.  They  shall  also  promote  equal 
opportunities  for  all,  without  discrimination  based  on  sex,  racial  or  ethnic  origin, 
religion  or  belief,  disability,  age  or  sexual  orientation  throughout  their  preparation, 
implementation, monitoring and evaluation.”; 

(20) 

Article 7 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

in paragraph 1, the second subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

“Member  States  and,  where  appropriate  the  Commission,  shall  foster  synergies  and 
ensure  coordination,  complementarity  and  coherence  between  the  ESF+  and  other 
Union  funds,  programmes  and  instruments  such  as  Erasmus,  the  Health  Programme, 
the  Asylum  and  Migration  Fund,  the    Recovery  and  Resilience  Facility  and  the 
Technical Support Instrument, both in the planning phase and during implementation. 
Member  States  and,  where  appropriate  the  Commission,  shall  optimise  mechanisms 
for coordination  to  avoid duplication of effort and ensure  close cooperation between 
those  responsible  for  implementation  to  deliver  coherent  and  streamlined  support 
actions.”; 

(b) 

the following paragraph 3a is inserted: 

“3a.  Member  States  shall  allocate  at  least  5%  of  their  ESF+  resources  under  shared 
management  to  support  targeted  actions  and  structural  reforms  to  tackling  child 
poverty  under  the  specific  objectives  set  out  in  points  (v)  and  (vii)  to  (x)  of  Article 
4(1).”; 

(c) 

paragraph 5 is replaced by the following: 

“5. Member States having a rate of young people aged 15 to 29 not in employment, 
education or training above the Union average in 2019 on the basis of latest available 
Eurostat  data,  shall  allocate  at  least  15%  of  their  ESF+  resources  under  shared 
management for the years 2021 to 2025 to targeted actions and structural reforms to 
support  youth  employment,  vocational  education  and 
in  particular 
apprenticeships, and school-to-work transition, pathways to reintegrate into education 
or training and second chance education, in particular in the context of implementing 
Youth Guarantee schemes.  

training, 

When reviewing the ESF+ programmes at mid-term in accordance with Article [14] of 
[the future CPR], Member States having a rate of young people aged 15 to 29 not in 
employment,  education  or  training  above  the  Union  average  in  2024  on  the  basis  of 
Eurostat  data,  shall  allocate  at  least  15%  of  their  ESF+  resources  under  shared 
management for the years 2026 to 2027 to those actions. 

Outermost regions meeting the conditions set out in the first and second subparagraphs 
shall  allocate  at  least  15%  of  the  ESF+  resources  under  shared  management  in  their 
programmes  to  the  targeted  actions  set  out  in  the  first  subparagraph.  This  allocation 
shall be taken into account for verifying compliance with the minimum percentage at 
national level set out in the first and second subparagraphs. 

When  implementing  such  actions,  Member  States  shall  give  priority  to  inactive  and 
long-term unemployed young people and put in place targeted outreach measures.”; 

EN 

11 

  EN 

 
(21) 

(22) 

(23) 

(24) 

(25) 

in Part III – Implementation under direct and indirect management, the title “Chapter 
I - Specific rules for the Employment and Social Innovation strand” is deleted; 

the  title  “Section  I:  General  Provisions”  is  replaced  by  “Chapter  I  -  Operational 
objectives” ; 

the title “Section II: Eligibility” is replaced by “Chapter II - Eligibility”;  

Chapter II and its Articles 26 to 29 are deleted; 

the  title  “Chapter  III  -  Common  Rules  applicable  to  the  Employment  and  Social 
Innovation and Health Strands” is deleted;  

(26) 

Article 30 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

the title of Article 30 is replaced by the following: 

“Participation of third countries”; 

(27) 

(28) 

(b) 

in paragraph 1, the introductory sentence is replaced by the following: 

“The  Employment  and  Social  Innovation  strand  shall  be  open  to  the  following 
associated countries:”; 

(c) 

paragraph 2 is deleted; 

the title “Chapter III - General Provisions” is inserted before Article 31; 

Article 31 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: 

“1. The Employment and Social Innovation strand may provide funding in any of the 
forms laid down in the Financial Regulation, in particular grants, prizes, procurement 
and  voluntary  payments  to  International  Organisations  of  which  the  Union  is  a 
member or in whose work it participates.”; 

(b) 

in paragraph 2, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

“2.  The  Employment  and  Social  Innovation  strand  shall  be  implemented  directly  as 
provided  for  by  the  Financial  Regulation  or  indirectly  with  bodies  referred  to  in 
Article [62(1)(c)] of the Financial Regulation.”; 

(c) 

 paragraphs 4 and 5 are deleted; 

(29) 

Article 32 is replaced by the following: 

“Article 32 

Work programme 

The  Employment  and  Social  Innovation  strand  shall  be  implemented  by  work 
programmes  referred  to  in  Article  [110]  of  Financial  Regulation.  Work  programmes 
shall set out, where applicable, the overall amount reserved for blending operations.”; 

(30) 

Article 33 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: 

“1.  Indicators  to  monitor  implementation  and  progress  of  the  strand  towards  the 
achievement  of  the  specific  objectives  set  out  in  Article  4  and  the  operational 
objectives set out in Article 23 shall be set.”; 

(b)  paragraph 3 is deleted; 

EN 

12 

  EN 

 
(31) 

in Article 37, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: 

“2. The Commission shall implement information and communication actions relating 
to  the  Employment  and  Social  Innovation  strand,  and  their  actions  and  results. 
Financial  resources  allocated  to  the  Employment  and  Social  Innovation  strand  shall 
also contribute to the corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union, 
as far as they are related to the objectives referred to in Articles 4 and 23.”; 

(32) 

the following Article 37a is inserted in Part IV - Final provisions:  

“Article 37a  

Temporary measures for the use of the ESF in response to exceptional and unusual 
circumstances 

Where  the Council after  [date of  entry into  force of  this  Regulation], has  recognised 
the occurrence of an unusual event outside the control of one or more Member States 
which  has  a  major  impact  on  the  financial  position  of  the  general  government  or  a 
severe economic downturn for the euro area or the Union as a whole, as referred to in 
the  tenth  sub-paragraph of Article 5(1), the fourth sub-paragraph  of Article  6(3), the 
tenth  sub-paragraph  of  Article  9(1)  and  the  fourth  sub-paragraph  of  Article  10(3)  of 
Regulation  (EC)  No  1466/97(*)  or  the  occurrence  of  unexpected  adverse  economic 
events with major unfavourable consequences for government finances, as referred to 
in  Articles 3(5)  and  5(2)  of  Regulation  (EC) No  1467/97(**),  the  Commission  may, 
by way of implementing decision and for the period defined in that decision: 

extend  the  scope  of  support  of  the  ESF+,  by  way  of  derogation  from  Article 
(a) 
4(1),  by  allowing  to  support  measures  that  are  strictly  necessary  to  respond  to  such 
exceptional or unusual circumstances, in particular to allow for financing of short-time 
work  schemes  without  the  requirement  that  they  should  be  combined  with  active 
measures  and  of  access  to  healthcare  including  for  people  not  in  immediate  socio-
economic vulnerability; 

reduce thematic concentration requirements by way of derogation from Article 

(b) 
7. 

____________ 

(*)  Council Regulation (EC) No 1466/97  of 7 July  1997 on the strengthening of the 
surveillance of budgetary positions and the surveillance and coordination of economic 
policies (OJ L 209, 2.8.1997, p. 1).  

(**)  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1467/97  of  7  July  1997  on  speeding  up  and 
clarifying the implementation of the excessive deficit procedure (OJ L 209, 2.8.1997, 
p. 6).”; 

(33) 

Article 38 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

paragraphs 2 and 3 are replaced by the following: 

“2.  The  power  to  adopt  delegated  acts  referred  to  in  Article  15(6)  and  Article  21(5) 
shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from date of 
entry into force of this Regulation. 

3.  The  delegation  of  power  referred  to  in  Article  15(6)  and  Article  21(5)  may  be 
revoked  at  any  time  by  the  European  Parliament  or  by  the  Council.  A  decision  to 
revoke  shall  put  an  end  to  the  delegation  of  the  power  specified  in  that  decision.  It 

EN 

13 

  EN 

 
 
shall  take  effect  the  day  following  the  publication  of  the  decision  in  the  Official 
Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the 
validity of any delegated acts already in force.”; 

(b)  paragraph 6 is replaced by the following: 

“6.   A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 15(6) and Article 21(5) shall enter 
into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament 
or  by  the  Council  within  a  period  of  two  months  of  notification  of  that  act  to  the 
European  Parliament  and  the  Council  or  if,  before  the  expiry  of  that  period,  the 
European  Parliament  and  the  Council  have  both  informed  the  Commission  that  they 
will  not  object.  That  period  shall  be  extended  by  two  months  at  the  initiative  of  the 
European Parliament or of the Council.”; 

(34) 

Article 42 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

the title is replaced by the following: 

“Transitional provisions for the Employment and Social Innovation strand”; 

(b)  paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced by the following: 

Regulation  (EU)  No  1296/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 

“1. 
Council13 is repealed with effect from 1 January 2021. 

2.  
The financial envelope for the Employment and Social Innovation strand may 
also  cover  technical  and  administrative  assistance  expenses  necessary  to  ensure  the 
transition  between  the  ESF+  and  the  measures  adopted  under  its  predecessor:  the 
Employment and Social Innovation programme.”; 

(35) 

Annex III is deleted. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

13 

Regulation (EU) No 1296/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on 
a European Union Programme for Employment and Social Innovation ("EaSI") and amending Decision 
No  283/2010/EU  establishing  a  European  Progress  Microfinance  Facility  for  employment  and  social 
inclusion (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 238). 

EN 

14 

  EN 

 
 
 
                                                 
LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 

1. 

FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE  

1.1. 

Title of the proposal/initiative  

Amended proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council 
on  the  European  Social  Fund  Plus  (ESF  +)  and  repealing  Regulations  (EU)  No. 
1296/2013] 

1.2. 

Policy area(s) concerned (Programme cluster) 

Investing in People, Social Cohesion & Values 

Title 07 

Chapter 07 02 – ESF+ 

1.3. 

The proposal/initiative relates to:  

 a new action  
 a new action following a pilot project/preparatory action14  

 the extension of an existing action  

 a merger or redirection of one or more actions towards another/a new action  

1.4. 

Grounds for the proposal/initiative  

1.4.1.  Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term including a detailed timeline for 

roll-out of the implementation of the initiative 

The  ESF+  is  the  main  EU  instrument  to  invest  in  people  and  makes  a  significant 
contribution  to  a  more  social  Europe,  bringing  Europe  close  to  the  citizens  and 
delivering every day results for the people who are most in need in our societies. The 
ESF+  contributes  to  increasing  socio-econcomic  convergence  between  Member 
States  which  is  a  necessary  condition  for  the  proper  functionning  of  the  EU  as  a 
stable and viable economic and political union.  

Following  the  adoption  of  the  ESF+  Regulation    Member  States  will  programme 
their  budgetary  allocations  in  line  with  guidance  received  in  the  context  of  the 
European Semester in the previous year. The new programming period will start on 1 
January  2021  and  the  Commission  has  taken  measures  to  speed  up  the  Fund’s 
implementation  as  much  as  possible,  for  example  by  dropping  the  requirement  to 
notify the designation of Managing authorities to the Commission, thus avoiding the 
delays of the 2014-2020 period. 

Implementation in direct management will also start immediately after the entry into 
force of the programme. 

1.4.2.  Added  value  of  Union  involvement  (it  may  result  from  different  factors,  e.g. 
coordination gains, legal certainty, greater effectiveness or complementarities). For 
the purposes of this point 'added value of Union involvement' is the value resulting 

14 

As referred to in Article 58(2)(a) or (b) of the Financial Regulation. 

EN 

15 

  EN 

 
 
                                                 
from  Union  intervention  which  is  additional  to  the  value  that  would  have  been 
otherwise created by Member States alone. 

Reasons  for  action  at  European  level  (ex-ante):  EU  added  value  is  generated  by 
providing investments in areas and target groups that would not take place otherwise, 
by  widening  the  scope  of  existing  actions,  supporting  the  mainstreaming  of 
innovations and by enhancing the capacity of Member States administrations. Ample 
evidence  demonstrates  that  EU  policies  aiming  at  promoting  social  cohesion  and 
social  rights  would  not  have  been  implemented  without  complementary  EU 
investment.  Thanks  to  European  funding,  Member  States  have  invested  in  areas, 
targert groups and reforms in a way that would have been impossible with national 
funding only. While the competence to deal with employment and social affairs rests 
mainly  at  national  level,  given  the  scale  and  effect  of  the  challenges,  action  has 
proven  more  effective  and  efficient  if  the  EU  level  supports  the  efforts  made  by 
Member States and helps promote reforms beneficial to individual countries and the 
EU as a whole. 

Expected generated Union added value (ex-post): The challenges faced by European 
economies  and  societies  in  particular  as  regards  employment,  education,  skills  and 
social issues call for continued investments in these areas. The initiative is expected 
to  contribute  to  implement  EU  policies  and  priorities  in  these  areas  (such  as  the 
employment  guidelines  and  the  European  pillar  of  social  rights),  promote  best 
practices  and  cooperation  (to  improve  policy-making  and  implementation  capacity, 
facilitate  transantional  cooperation)  and  promote  EU  values  (such  as  equality  and 
social justice).  In the long term, the initiative is expected to contribute to the socio-
economic  convergence  of  Member  States  and  to  make  the  European  economy  and 
societies more resilient. 

1.4.3.  Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past 

Evaluations  of  current  and  previous  programming  periods  and  related  studies  all 
confirm  the  effectiveness,  efficiency,  relevance,  EU  added  value  and  coherence  of 
the funds covered by this Regulation. Member States have invested in policy areas, 
target groups and reforms in a way that would not have been possible with national 
funding only. In particular:  

the  2000-2006  and  2007-2013  ESF  ex-post  evaluations  recognise  ESF 
• 
investments  as  relevant,  efficient  and  effective.  The  ESF's  alignment  with  EU 
policies  and  priorities  under  the  Lisbon  Strategy  and  the  Europe  2020  strategy  for 
smart,  sustainable  and  inclusive  growth  was  strengthened  over  time.  At  the  same 
time, being one of the structural funds, the ESF contributes to the Treaty's goals of 
economic,  social  and  territorial  cohesion  through  increased  concentration  of 
resources. For example, the ESF (with the associated national funding) accounts for 
70 % of active measures in 11 Member States.  

• 
through its support for young people not in employment, education or training 
(NEETs) in specific EU regions, the YEI raised the visibility of youth employment 
policies,  but  also  brought  about  a  shift  in  policy-making  in  a  number  of  Member 
States by supporting the setting-up and implementation of youth guarantee schemes;   

• 
preliminary results of the FEAD mid-term evaluation, including feedback from 
stakeholders,  indicate that the food, material aid and social inclusion operations that 
it has supported make a difference to the most deprived, including those who might 
otherwise be left out of mainstream social assistance or who need immediate support; 

EN 

16 

  EN 

 
• 
the mid-term evaluation of the EaSI  shows that its objectives are still relevant, 
in particular in a challenging socio-economic context characterised by the aftermath 
of the financial and economic crisis and that it was effective in reaching the relevant 
stakeholders, generating outcomes and achieving its objectives.  

However, evaluations and studies  also provide evidence of a number of challenges, 
mostly  regarding the need for greater coherence and synergy, flexibility and  policy 
alignment,  performance  and  results orientation, and  simplification.  In  particular the 
funding landscape and, to a greater or lesser degree, the implementation of the funds, 
need  to  be  simplified.  The  areas  to  be  addressed  are  summarised  in  the  Impact 
Assessment accompanying the legislative proposal. 

1.4.4.  Compatibility and possible synergy with other appropriate instruments 

The  initiative  aims  at  improving  synergies  and  coherence  between  ESF+  and  other 
funds investing in human capital development.  

With the ERDF the ESF+ shares in particular the objective of economic and social 
cohesion. Coordination is ensured through common rules for shared management in 
areas such as programming and financial managament. Multi-fund programmes will 
continue  to  be  possible  to  allow  integrated  approaches  in  programming  and 
implementation. Common rules will also ensure compatibility between ERDF, ESF+ 
and EAFRD and EMFF programmes. 

The  ESF+  and  Erasmus+  cooperation  as  well  as  the  cooperation  with  the  Health 
programme  will  be  supported  more  actively  by  including  suitable  provisions  in  the 
regulations to be worked out in detail in work programmes and programme guides.  

The ESF + will continue to support the long term integration of migrants while the 
AMIF  will  cover  short  term  needs.  As  the  main  EU  instrument  for  investing  in 
human capital and skills, the ESF+ will continue to make an important contribution 
to  human  capital  development  in  research  and  innovation  (R&I)  in  synergy  with 
Horizon Europe. 

EN 

17 

  EN 

 
1.5. 

Duration and financial impact  

 limited duration  

–    in effect from 01/01/2021 to 31/12/2027  

–    Financial impact from 2021 to 2027 for commitment appropriations and from 

2021 to 2030 for payment appropriations.  

 unlimited duration 

–  Implementation  with  a  start-up  period  from  YYYY  to  YYYY,followed  by  full-scale 

operation. 

1.6.  Management mode(s) planned15  

 Direct management by the Commission 

–   by its departments, including by its staff in the Union delegations;  

–   

by the executive agencies  

 Shared management with the Member States  

 Indirect management by entrusting budget implementation tasks to: 

–   third countries or the bodies they have designated; 

–   international organisations and their agencies (to be specified); 

–  the EIB and the European Investment Fund; 

–   bodies referred to in Articles 70 and 71 of the Financial Regulation; 

–   public law bodies; 

–   bodies governed by private law with a public service mission to the extent that 

they provide adequate financial guarantees; 

–   bodies governed by the private law of a Member State that are entrusted with 
the  implementation  of  a  public-private  partnership  and  that  provide  adequate 
financial guarantees; 

–    persons  entrusted  with  the  implementation  of  specific  actions  in  the  CFSP 

pursuant to Title V of the TEU, and identified in the relevant basic act. 

– 

If more than one management mode is indicated, please provide details in the ‘Comments’ section. 

Comments  

The  ESF+  will  be  split  under  two  main  strands,  one  in  shared  management  covering  the 
previous  ESF,  FEAD  and  YEI  programmes,  and  the  other  one  in  direct  and  indirect 
management,  regrouping  the  activities  from  the  former  Employment  and  Social  Innovation 
(EaSI) programme. 

For  the  implementation  of  ESF+,  the  current  activities  with  international  organisations  like 
UN agencieor OECD and ILO will be continued.  

Besides  the  new  transnational  cooperation  activities  foreseen  might  be  implemented  under 
indirect management, relying on ESF managing authorities. 

15 

Details of management modes and references to the Financial Regulation may be found on the 
BudgWeb site: 
https://myintracomm.ec.europa.eu/budgweb/EN/man/budgmanag/Pages/budgmanag.aspx  

EN 

18 

  EN 

 
                                                 
2. 

MANAGEMENT MEASURES  

2.1.  Monitoring and reporting rules  

Specify frequency and conditions. 

Under shared management, common outputs and result indicators will be defined at 
programme  level.  Data on  common  output  and result  indicators  will  be  transmitted 
electronically  by  the  Member  States  authorities  to  the  Commission  6  times  a  year. 
Their  consistency  will  be  checked.  The  reliability  of  the  system  for  collecting, 
recording  and  storing  data  for  monitoring,  evaluation,  financial  management  and 
verification will be audited. 

Under Direct and indirect management, performance frameworks will be developed 
building on the relevant practices of the former EaSI framework to ensure that data is 
collected efficiently, effectively and timely. 

2.2.  Management and control system(s)  

2.2.1. 

Justification of the management mode(s), the funding implementation mechanism(s), 
the payment modalities and the control strategy proposed 

The  Draft  CPR  foresees  payments  from  the  Commission  taking  the  form  of  pre-
financing, interim payments and payments following the cleareance of accounts.The 
prefinancing is paid annually following the percentages forseen in the CPR. Interim 
payments are calculated following the agreed co-financing rates by priority agreed in 
the operational programme. Unlike for the current programming period, the number 
of  interim  payment  applications  is  limitted  to  4  per  year  submitted  on  a  quarterly 
basis.  

The  draft  CPR  foresees  different  modalities  for  disclosing  interim  payments 
depending  on  whether  the  implementation  of  the  programme  is  based either  on  the 
real  costs  declared  by  the  Member  State  or  based  on  "simplified  costs  option"  or 
upon the achievement of conditions. 

The  draft  CPR  proposal  (shared  management)  builds  on  the  one  in  place  for  the 
2014-2020 programming period. However, there are certain measures proposed that 
aim  at  simplifying  the  implementation  and  at  reducing  the  audit  burden  upon 
Member  States  and  their  beneficiaries.  These  measures  are  related  to  both  the 
management of the funds by the Managing Authority which, as proposed, shall base 
the management verifications on a risk analysis. Secondly, under certain conditions, 
the Managing Authority may decide to apply enhanced control arrangements in line 
with national procedures without prior authorisation from the Commission. Also, the 
designation process has been deleted which should speed up the implementation of 
the programmes. 

The  draft  proposal  for  CPR  does  not  forsee  a  Certifying  Authority  but  rather  the 
presence of an accounting function. The reasoning behind this is that it would lead to 
less administration at national level. 

As far as the audit of declared expenditure is concerned, the CPR proposal contains 
certain  elements 
same 
that  aim  at  avoiding  multiple  audits 
operation/expenditure. 

the 

for 

Under  the  draft  CPR  rules,  interim  payments  will  be  certified  to  the  Commission 
after management checks - on a risk based sample of expenditure claims submitted 

EN 

19 

  EN 

 
by beneficiaries  - have been  carried out,  but  frequently before on the spot in-depth 
management checks or subsequent audit activities took place.  

In order to mitigate the risk of reimbursing ineligible expenses due to this, a number 
of measures have been foreseen in the proposals  

1)  Interim  payments  by  the  Commission  continue  to  be  capped  at  90%  of  the 
amount due to Member States, as at this point only part of the national controls 
have  been  carried  out.  The  remaining  balance  will  be  paid  following  the  annual 
clearance  of  accounts  once  audit  evidence  and  reasonable  assurance  has  been 
provided  by  the  managing  authority  and  the  audit  authority.  Any  irregularities 
detected by the Commission or the European Court of Auditors after the transmission 
of annual certified accounts by the managing/certifying authority may lead to a net 
correction.  

2) continuation of an annual clearance of accounts and of an annual closure of 
completed  operations  or  expenditure,  which  will  create  additional  incentives  for 
national and regional authorities to undertake quality controls in a timely manner in 
view of the annual certification of accounts to the Commission.  

The  Employment  and  Social  Innovation  strand  of  the  programme  will  be 
implemented  through  direct  and  indirect  management,  using  the  implementation 
modes  offered  by  the  Financial  Regulation,  mainly  being  grants  and  procurement. 
Direct management allows to establish direct contacts with beneficiaries/contractors 
directly  engaged  in  activities  that  serve  Union  policies.  The  Commission  ensures 
direct monitoring over the outcome of the actions financed. The payment modalities 
of  the  actions  funded  will  be  adapted  to  the  risks  pertaining  to  the  financial 
transactions.  In  order  to  ensure  the  effectiveness,  efficiency  and  economy  of  the 
Commission controls, the strategy will be oriented towards a balance of ex-ante and 
ex-post checks. 

Regarding direct and indirect management Ex-post audits will also be carried out on-
the-spot  by  external  auditors  for  a  sample  of  transactions.  The  selection  of  these 
transactions will combine a risk assessment and and a random selection. 

2.2.2. 

Information concerning the risks identified and the internal control system(s) set up 
to mitigate them 

The  reduced  control  environment  may  lead  to  an  increase  in  error.  It  is  anticipated 
that  this  risk  is  mitigated  by  the  capping  of  reimbursements  and  by  the  annual 
clearance  of accounts. It is  however  likely that corrections at national level will be 
higher, thus leading to a degree of frustration at Member State level. This frustration 
may also be fueled by the fact that the current drafting of the CPR actually obliges 
the Managing Authorities to carry out controls on a risk based approach rather than 
on  the  100%  basis  as  in  the  past.  This  requirement  may  also  be  in  conflict  with 
existing national legislation that requires an exhaustive verification of costs declared 
(also for the national matching funding). This may be an element which has not been 
sufficiently considered in the proposal. 

The elimination of the Certifying Authority reduces an extra filter in the management 
and  control  of  the  incurred  expenditure.  During  the  previous  two  programming 
periods,  Certifying  Authorities  played  an  important  role  in  filtering  out  ineligible 
expenditure  and  in  making  additional  financial  corrections  where  needed.  The 
current CPR proposal does not mitigate this risk. 

EN 

20 

  EN 

 
The  reduced  audit  work  may  lead  to  non-identification  of  residual  errors  and  may 
hence undermine the assurance process of the Commission. In our view, this risk is 
not mitigated, especially since the proportionate control arrangements also limit the 
Commission's  powers  in  respect  of  auditing.  We  consider therefore  that  this  risk  is 
accepted by the legislator. 

As  regards  the  budget  implemented  through  direct  and  indirect  management,  the 
implementation  focuses  on  the  attribution  of  public  procurement  contracts  while  a 
number of grants for specific activities and organisations are foreseen. 

The public procurement contracts will mainly be concluded in areas such as studies, 
data  collection,  evaluation  contracts,  training,  information  campaigns,  IT  and 
communication  services,  facilities  management  etc.  The  contractors  are  mainly 
consultancy firms and other private companies of which many SMEs.    

Grants  will  mainly  be  awarded  for  support  activities  to  non-governmental 
organisations,  national  agencies,  universities  etc.  The  period  of  execution  of  the 
subsidised projects and activities varies from one to three years mostly. 

The main risks are the following: 

•  Risk  of  inefficient  or  non-economic  use  of  funds  awarded,  both  for  grants 
(complexity  of  funding  rules,  especially  for  small  operators)  and  for  procurement 
(limited  number  of  economic  providers  with  the  required  specialist  knowledge 
entailing insufficient possibilities to compare price offers in some sectors); 

• Reputational risk for the Commission, if fraud or criminal activities are discovered; 
only  partial assurance  can  be  drawn  from  the  third  parties'  internal  control  systems 
due to the rather large number of heterogeneous contractors and beneficiaries, each 
operating their own control system, often rather small in size. 

The  Commission  put  in  place  internal  procedures  that  aim  at  covering  the  risks 
identified  above.  The  internal  procedures  are  in  full  compliance  with  the  Financial 
Regulation  and  include anti-fraud  measures  and cost-benefit  considerations.  Within 
this  framework,  the  Commission  continues  to  explore  possibilities  to  enhance  the 
management and to realise efficiency gains. Main features of the control framework 
are the following:  

Controls before and during the implementation of the projects:  

• Model grant agreements and service contracts are being used, developed within the 
Commission.  They  provide  for  a  number  of  control  provisions  such  as  audit 
certificates, financial guarantees, on-site audits as well as inspections by OLAF. The 
rules  governing  the  eligibility  of  costs  are  being  simplified,  for  example,  by  using 
unit costs, lump sums, contributions not linked to costs and other possibilities offered 
by the Financial Regulation. This will reduce the cost of controls and put the focus 
on checks and controls in high risk areas. 

•  All  staff  sign  up  to  the  code  of  good  administrative  behaviour.  Staff  who  are 
involved 
the  grant 
agreements/contracts  (also)  sign  a  declaration  of  absence  of  a  conflict  of  interest. 
Staff is regularly trained and uses networks to exchange best practices.  

the  selection  procedure  or 

the  management  of 

in 

in 

• Technical implementation of a project is checked at regular intervals at the desk on 
the basis of technical progress reports of the contractors and beneficiaries; in addition 
contractors'/beneficiaries' meetings and on-site-visits are foreseen on a case by case 
basis. 

EN 

21 

  EN 

 
Controls at the end of the project:  Ex-post audits are performed to verify on-the-
spot the eligibility of cost claims. The aim of these controls is to prevent, detect and 
correct material errors related to the legality and regularity of financial transactions. 
With a view to achieving a high control impact, the selection of beneficiaries to be 
audited  foresees  to  combine  a  risk based  selection  with  a  random  sampling,  and  to 
pay attention to operational aspects whenever possible during the on-site audit. 

2.2.3.  Estimation and justification of the cost-effectiveness of the controls (ratio of "control 
costs ÷ value of the related funds managed"), and assessment of the expected levels 
of risk of error (at payment & at closure)  

The option to have an accounting function, which could allow the Member State to 
save a substantial part of the 4% of the current costs relating to certification due to a 
reduction in the functions of the management and control systems; 

-the  use  of  simplified  costs  and  SCOs  not  linked  to  costs,  which  reduces 
administrative  costs  and  burdens  at  all  levels,  for  both  administrations  and 
beneficiaries; 

-proportionate  control  arrangements  for  management  verifications  (risk  based)  and 
for audits; 

-annual  closure,  which  will  reduce  the  cost  of  retention  of  documents  for  control 
purposes for public administrations and beneficiaries. 

Therefore overall it is expected that proposals will lead to a redistribution of control 
costs (remaining around 2% of the total funding managed), rather than an increase or 
a reduction. 

Against  the  background  of  the  experience  gained  with  the  implementation  of  the 
previous  (strands  of  the)  programme  in  direct  management  and  the  main  design 
features  of  the  new  programme,  the  risks  of  the  programme  implementation  are 
assessed  to  remain  relatively  stable.  Thanks  to  the  combination  of  grants  and 
procurement, ex-ante and ex-post controls as well as desk checks and on-site audits, 
the quantifiable average residual error rate is expected to remain below 2%. 

For direct and indirect management, the yearly cost of the suggested level of controls 
represents approximately 3 to 7% of the yearly budget of the operational expenditure. 
This  is  justified by the high  amount  of transactions  to  be controlled.  Indeed, in  the 
area  of  employment  and  social  affairs  and  health,  direct  management  involve  the 
attribution  of  numerous  contracts  and  grants  for  actions,  and  the  payment  of 
numerous operating grants to non-governmental organisations and trade unions. The 
risk  related  to  these  activities  concerns  the  capacity  of  (especially)  smaller 
organisations to effectively control expenditure. 

On  a  5  years  basis,  the  error  rate  for  the  on-the-spot  audits  of  grants  under  direct 
management  was  1.8%.  and  globally  taking  into  account  the  low  risk  level  for 
procurement below 1 %. This level of error is considered acceptable, as  it is under 
the materiality level of 2%.  

The proposed changes for the programme will not affect the way the appropriations 
are  currently  managed.  The  existing  control  system  proved  to  be  able  to  prevent 
and/or to detect errors and/or irregularities, and in case of errors or irregularities, to 
correct  them.  Therefore,  historical  error  rates  are  expected  to  remain  at  the  same 
levels. 

EN 

22 

  EN 

 
2.3.  Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities  

Specify existing or envisaged prevention and protection measures, e.g. from the Anti-Fraud Strategy. 

As for its activities in direct, indirect and shared management, the Commission shall 
take appropriate measures ensuring that the financial interests of the European Union 
are protected by the application of preventive measures against fraud, corruption and 
any other illegal activities, by effective checks and, if irregularities are detected, by 
the  recovery  of  the  amounts  wrongly  paid  and,  where  appropriate,  by  effective, 
proportional and deterrent penalties.  

The  Commission  or  its  representatives  and  the  Court  of  Auditors  shall  have  the 
power  of  audit,  on  the  basis  of  documents  and  on-the-spot,  over  all  grant 
beneficiaries, contractors and subcontractors who have received Union funds. OLAF 
shall  be  authorised  to  carry  out  on-the-spot  checks  and  inspections  on  economic 
operators concerned directly or indirectly by such funding. 

The Commission also implements a series of measures such as: 

-  decisions,  agreements  and  contracts  resulting  from  the  implementation  of  the 
programme will expressly entitle the Commission, including OLAF, and the Court of 
Auditors to conduct audits, on-the-spot checks and inspections; 

-  during  the  evaluation  phase  of  a  call  for  proposals/tender,  the  applicants  and 
tenderers are checked against the published exclusion criteria based on declarations 
and the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES); 

- the rules governing the eligibility of costs will be simplified in accordance with the 
provisions of the Financial Regulation; 

-  regular  training  on  issues  related  to  fraud  and  irregularities  is  given  to  all  staff 
involved  in  contract  management  as  well  as  to  auditors  and  controllers  who  verify 
the beneficiaries' declarations on the spot. 

DG  EMPL  pursues  actions  in  the  framework  of  the  Commission’s  Anti-Fraud 
Strategy (CAFS).  

In the case of direct management, the Fraud-Risk-Assessment (FRA) was updated in 
2019.  The  procedure  to  award  grants  comprises  several  fraud-detection  elements, 
such  as  the  widespread  use  of  the  4-eyes  principle,  verifying  the  correctness  and 
transparency  of  award  procedures,  having  detailed  procedures  to  avoid  conflicts  of 
interests, verifying whether applicants have been ‘blacklisted’ pursuant to Regulation 
1605/2002, use of IT-tools like EDES and ARACHNE and looking out for other ‘red 
flags’ (fraud indicators). 

In the case of the shared management of Structural Funds there is the more specific 
Joint Anti-Fraud Strategy (JAFS) 2015-2020 of DG Regional and Urban Policy, DG 
Employment,  Social  Affairs  and  Inclusion  and  DG  Maritime  Affairs  and  Fisheries. 
For  the  Structural  Funds  there  is  a  specific  regulatory  anti-fraud  requirement  for 
2014-2020 in the Common Provisions Regulation (Article 125(4)c CPR). DG EMPL 
through it control and audit obligations verifies that the Member States have set up, 
and  effectively  run  management  and  control  systems  which  make  sure  funds  are 
efficiently and correctly used so as to ensure legality and regularity of expenditure. 
Member States are obliged to notify problems through the Irregularity Management 
System  (IMS).  DG  EMPL  tracks  the  national  actions  to  combat  fraud  and  if 

EN 

23 

  EN 

 
 
necessary sanctions a lack of action by Financial Correction Decisions regarding the 
ESF support granted to the programme concerned, for example in the framework of 
the  follow-up  to  OLAF  reports  and  recommendations.  In  addition,  DG  EMPL 
provides  guidance  to  managing  authorities,  including  a  fraud  risk  assessment  tool. 
DG EMPL actively disseminates the ARACHNE risk scoring tool to Member States. 

Following a study by an external contractor that is to be finalised in mid-2018, the 
JAFS will be reviewed and DG EMPL’s contribution to the CAFS updated. 

Finally,  horizontal  measures  like  internal  training  regarding  fraud-awareness  (red 
flags) and fraud-prevention round-off the measures taken by DG EMPL. 

EN 

24 

  EN 

 
 
3. 

3.1. 

Heading of 
multiannual 
financial 
framework 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE  

Heading  of  the  multiannual  financial  framework  and  new  expenditure  budget 
line(s) proposed  

Budget line 

Type of  
expenditure 

Contribution  

Investing  in  People,  Social  Cohesion  and 
Values 

Diff./Non-
diff. 

07  01  01  01  Support  expenditure  for 
the “European Social Fund+ (ESF+) – 
shared management” 

07 01 01 02 – Support expenditure for 
the 
Social 
Innovation” strand 

“Employment 

and 

Non-
diff. 

Non-
diff. 

from 
EFTA 
countries
16 

from 
candidate 
countries17 

from third 
countries 

within the 
meaning of 
Article [21(2)(b)] 
of the Financial 
Regulation  

No 

No 

No 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

07 02 01 – ESF+ Shared Management 
strand – Operational expenditure 

Diff. 

No 

No 

No 

No 

07 02 02 – ESF+ Shared Management 
-  Operational  Technical 
strand 
Assistance 

Diff. 

07  02  04  –  ESF+  -  Employment  and 
Social Innovation strand 

Diff. 

No 

No 

No 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

16 
17 

EFTA: European Free Trade Association.  
Candidate countries and, where applicable, potential candidates from the Western Balkans. 

EN 

25 

  EN 

 
 
 
                                                 
3.2. 

Estimated impact on expenditure  

3.2.1. 

Summary of estimated impact on expenditure  

Heading of multiannual financial  
framework  

2 

Investing in People, Social Cohesion and Values 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

TOTAL 

2021 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

Post 
2027 

TOTAL 

07  02  01  –  ESF+  Shared  Management 
strand – Operational expenditure 

07  02  02  –  ESF+  Shared  Management 
strand 
technical 
assistance  

–  Operational 

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

07 01 01 01 Support expenditure for the 
“European  Social  Fund+  (ESF+)  – 
shared management” 

Commitments = 
Payments 

07  02  04  –  ESF+  -  Employment  and 
Social Innovation strand 

Commitments 

Payments 

(1) 

(2) 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(1) 

(2) 

Covered in the Proposal for Common Provision Regulation COM(2018)375 

99,944  101,993  104,083  106,214  108,389  110,606  112,271 

743,500 

28,093 

59,077 

76,826 

81,534 

83,939 

85,782 

87,369 

240,880 

743,500 

EN 

26 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
07 01 01 02 – Support expenditure for 
the “Employment and Social 
Innovation” strand 18  

Commitments = 
Payments 

(3) 

2,500 

2,500 

2,500 

2,500 

2,500 

2,500 

2,500 

17,500 

TOTAL appropriations for the envelope 
of the programme 

Commitments 

=1+3 

102,444  104,493  106,583  108,714  110,889  113,106  114,771 

0,000 

761,000 

Payments 

=2+3 

30,593 

61,577 

79,326 

84,034 

86,439 

88,282 

89,869 

240,880 

761,000 

The  appropriations  for  the  shared  management  part  of  the  ESF+  are  detailed  in  the  LFS for  the  Common  Provision  Regulation  (CPR) 
COM(2018)375 

Heading of multiannual financial  
framework  

7 

‘Administrative expenditure’ 

TOTAL 

2021 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

Post 
2027 

TOTAL 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

18 

Technical and/or administrative assistance and expenditure in support of the implementation of EU programmes and/or actions (former ‘BA’ lines), indirect research, 
direct research. 

EN 

27 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Human resources  

91,207 

91,207 

91,207 

91,207 

91,207 

91,207 

91,207 

Other administrative expenditure  

5,073 

5,073 

5,073 

5,073 

5,073 

5,073 

5,073 

TOTAL appropriations under HEADING 
7 of the multiannual financial framework 

96,280 

96,280 

96,280 

96,280 

96,280 

96,280 

96,280 

96,280 

638,448 

35,514 

673,962 

2021 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

Post 
2027 

TOTAL 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

TOTAL appropriations  
across HEADINGS  
of the multiannual financial framework  

Commitments 

198,724  200,773  202,863  204,994  207,169  209,386  211,051 

1.434,963 

Payments 

126,873  157,857  175,606  180,314  182,719  184,562  186,149  240,880 

1.434,963 

EN 

28 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.2.2. 

Summary of estimated impact on appropriations of an administrative nature 

–    The  proposal/initiative  does  not  require  the  use  of  appropriations  of  an 

administrative nature  

–  The  proposal/initiative  requires  the  use  of  appropriations  of  an  administrative 

nature, as explained below: 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Years 

2021 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

TOTAL 

For  human  resources,  the  figures  presented  below  are  based  on  the  allocation  as  granted  to 
DG  EMPL  in  2018  (SEC(2017)528),  from  which  are  deducted  the  staff  allocated  to  the 
European Globalisation Fund, subject to a separate proposal COM(2018)380. 
For  other  administrative  expenditure,  the  whole  global  envelope  is  shown  below,  including 
EGF related expenditure.  

HEADING 7 
of the multiannual 
financial framework 

Human resources  

91,207 

91,207 

91,207 

91,207 

91,207 

91,207 

91,207 

638,448 

Other administrative 
expenditure  

Subtotal HEADING 7 
of the multiannual 
financial framework  

5,073 

5,073 

5,073 

5,073 

5,073 

5,073 

5,073 

35,514 

96,280 

96,280 

96,280 

96,280 

96,280 

96,280 

96,280 

673,962 

Years 

2021 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

TOTAL 

TOTAL 

Outside HEADING 719 
of the multiannual 
financial framework  

Human resources  

Other expenditure  
of an administrative 
nature 

Subtotal  
outside HEADING 7 
of the multiannual 
financial framework  

TOTAL 

2,500 

2,500 

2,500 

2,500 

2,500 

2,500 

2,500 

17,500 

2,500 

2,500 

2,500 

2,500 

2,500 

2,500 

2,500 

17,500 

98,780 

98,780 

98,780 

98,780 

98,780 

98,780 

98,780 

691,460 

The  appropriations  required  for  human  resources  and  other  expenditure  of  an  administrative  nature  will  be  met  by 
appropriations from the DG that are already assigned to management of the action  and/or have been redeployed within the 

19 

Technical  and/or  administrative  assistance  and  expenditure  in  support  of  the  implementation  of 
EU programmes and/or actions (former ‘BA’ lines), indirect research, direct research. 

EN 

29 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
                                                 
DG,  together  if  necessary  with  any  additional  allocation  which  may  be  granted  to  the  managing  DG  under  the  annual 
allocation procedure and in the light of budgetary constraints. 

The  appropriations  for the  shared  management  part  of  the ESF+  are  detailed in  the  LFS for 
the Common Provision Regulation (CPR)  COM(2018)375 

EN 

30 

  EN 

 
 
 
3.2.2.1.  Estimated requirements of human resources 

–    The proposal/initiative does not require the use of human resources.  

–    The  proposal/initiative  requires  the  use  of  human  resources,  as  explained 

below: 

Estimate to be expressed in full time equivalent units 

Years 

2021 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

 Establishment plan posts (officials and temporary staff) 

TOTAL Establishment plan posts (Officials and temporary staff) 

Headquarters and Commission’s 
Representation Offices 

Delegations 

599 

0 

599 

0 

599 

0 

599 

0 

599 

0 

Research 
 External staff (in Full Time Equivalent unit: FTE) – AC, AL, END, INT and JED 20 
Heading 7 
DG EMPL 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Financed from 
HEADING 7 of 
the multiannual 
financial 
framework  

Financed from the 
envelope of the 
programme 21 

Other (specify) 

- at Headquarters 

- in Delegations  

- at Headquarters 

- in Delegations  

TOTAL External Staff (in FTE) 

GRAND TOTAL 

71 

n.a. 

n.a. 

n.a. 

71 

670 

71 

n.a. 

n.a. 

n.a. 

71 

670 

71 

n.a. 

n.a. 

n.a. 

71 

670 

71 

n.a. 

n.a. 

n.a. 

71 

670 

71 

n.a. 

n.a. 

n.a. 

71 

670 

599 

599 

0 

0 

71 

n.a. 

n.a. 

n.a. 

71 

670 

0 

0 

71 

n.a. 

n.a. 

n.a. 

71 

670 

The human resources required will be met by staff from the DG who are already assigned to management of the action and/or 
have  been  redeployed  within  the  DG,  together  if  necessary  with  any  additional  allocation  which  may  be  granted  to  the 
managing DG under the annual allocation procedure and in the light of budgetary constraints. 

Description of tasks to be carried out: 

Officials and temporary staff 

Programme management, finance and audit 

External staff 

Programme management, finance and audit 

20 

21 

AC=  Contract  Staff;  AL  =  Local  Staff;  END  =  Seconded  National  Expert;  INT  =  agency  staff; 
JPD= Junior Professionals in Delegations.  
Sub-ceiling for external staff covered by operational appropriations (former ‘BA’ lines). 

EN 

31 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
3.2.3.  Third-party contributions  

The proposal/initiative: 

–    does not provide for co-financing by third parties 

–    provides for the co-financing by third parties estimated below: 

Appropriations in EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Years 

2021 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

TOTAL 

EEA/EFTA  

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

Candidate countries 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

Third countries 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

TOTAL appropriations 
co-financed  

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

p.m. 

3.3. 

Estimated impact on revenue  

–    The proposal/initiative has no financial impact on revenue. 

–    The proposal/initiative has the following financial impact: 

–    on own resources  

–     on other revenue 

      please indicate, if the revenue is assigned to expenditure lines  

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Impact of the proposal/initiative22 

2021 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

Budget revenue line: 

Article …………. 

For assigned revenue, specify the budget expenditure line(s) affected. 

[…] 

Other  remarks  (e.g.  method/formula  used  for  calculating  the  impact  on  revenue  or  any  other 
information). 

[…] 

22 

As regards traditional own resources (customs duties, sugar levies), the amounts indicated must be net 
amounts, i.e. gross amounts after deduction of 20 % for collection costs. 

EN 

32 

  EN