What is the ESF Plus?

The European Union has set itself the goal of establishing the same standard of living in all member states, thereby creating equal opportunities for people across Europe.

This solidarity-oriented approach by the community of states is set to be implemented through the EU’s cohesion and structure policies, consequently playing an important role in helping Europe further unite and grow together. It revolves around the idea of generating more growth and more jobs for all regions and cities throughout the European Union.

The European Social Fund (ESF) was founded in 1957, and is aimed at strengthening economic and social cohesion. To this end, the ESF supports measures seeking to prevent unemployment, improve access to employment, and increase participation in professional life. It also supports projects that promote and facilitate people’s qualifications and skills, and which combat discrimination on the job market.

Every member state and region develops its own strategy here, ensuring optimum application of the various results at a local level.

Putting the Plus in the new ESF

Starting from the 2021 funding period and extending through to 2027, the ESF will be working with the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD), the Youth Employment Initiative and the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) to create the ‘ESF Plus’.

The ESF Plus will continue to be the EU’s most important financing, and therefore support, tool for investing in people.

The main objective of the ESF Plus is to help create a more social Europe and to put the European pillars of social rights into practice. The ESF Plus invests locally in measures to help people overcome economic and social challenges.

The ESF Plus in Thuringia

The strategy to apply the European Social Fund Plus in Thuringia between 2021 and 2027 is established in the ‘Programme for Applying the European Social Fund Plus in the Free State of Thuringia from 2021 to 2027’, formulated by the Thuringian Ministry of Employment, Social Affairs, Health, Women and Family as part of a co-operative process between the state government departments, non-governmental organisations, and economic and social partners. It is currently in the process of being approved by the European Commission.

Over the coming years, application of the European Social Fund Plus in Thuringia will focus on the following specific targets:

  • Improving access to employment and initiating measures to encourage all job-seekers, particularly young people, the long-time unemployed, and groups disadvantaged on the job market, as well as the non-working population, and promoting self-employment and the social economy
  • Encouraging workers, businesses and business-owners to adapt to change, promoting active, healthy ageing and a healthy, suitable working environment that takes health risks into account
  • Promoting equal access to high-quality and inclusive general and vocational education, including the relevant qualifications, as well as facilitating mobile learning and accessibility for people with disabilities
  • Encouraging lifelong learning, better anticipation of changes, and new skill requirements based on job-market needs, facilitating career transitions and promoting occupational mobility
  • Promoting active inclusion

The ESF Plus in Thuringia is expected to have a total of 466 million euros’ worth of EU funding to achieve these targets during the 2021-2027 funding period. This amount will be supplemented with additional public and private funding.

Further information on the ESF Plus is available on the European Commission and German federal government websites:

European Commission

German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs – BMAS

German federal government’s ESF portal

Further information on the content of the ESF Plus programme in Thuringia for the 2021-2027 funding period is available here.