PURPOSE: to establish a European Union Programme for Employment and Social Innovation ("EaSI") for the period 1st January 2014 to 31st December 2020.
LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) No 1296/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council 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.
CONTENT: The EaSI aims to assist the Member States to engage in activities relating to employment and social policy at the European, national, regional, and local levels through political coordination and the identification, the analysis and sharing of best practices.
The programme provides financial support for the Union's objectives in terms of promoting a high level of quality and sustainable employment, guaranteeing adequate and decent social protection, combating social exclusion and poverty and improving working conditions. In all its actions, it aims to pay particular attention to vulnerable groups, notably young people, and to promote equality between women and men, and to combat discrimination.
The EaSI integrates and extends three existing Programmes: Progress (Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity), EURES (European Employment Services) and the European Progress Microfinance Facility for employment and social inclusion.
Budget: for the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020, the financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme amounts to EUR 919 469 000, in current prices, of which:
· 61% to the Progress axis;
· 18% to the EURES axis;
· 21% to the Microfinance and Social Entrepreneurship axis.
Thematic axes:
1) The Progress axis shall support actions in the following areas:
· employment, in particular, to fight youth unemployment: 20%;
· social protection, social inclusion and the reduction and prevention of poverty: 50%;
· working conditions: 10%.
From the overall allocation for the Progress axis, 15% to 20% would be allocated to the promotion of social experimentation as a method for testing and evaluating innovative solutions with a view to up-scaling them.
Where they are financed following a call for proposals, activities may receive Union co-financing which shall not exceed, as a general rule, 80% of the total eligible expenditure.
2) The EURES axis shall support actions in the following areas:
· transparency of job vacancies, applications and any related information for applicants and employers: 32%;
· development of services for the recruitment and placing of workers in employment through the clearance of job vacancies and applications at Union level, in particular targeted mobility schemes: 30%;
· cross-border partnerships: 18 %.
Where they are financed following a call for proposals, activities may receive Union co-financing which shall not exceed, as a general rule, 95% of the total eligible expenditure.
3) The Microfinance and Social Entrepreneurship axis shall support actions in the following areas:
· microfinance for vulnerable groups and micro-enterprises: 45%;
· social entrepreneurship: 45%.
This axis can provide support to microfinance and social enterprises, including for institutional capacity building, in particular through the financial instruments.
Consistency and complementarity: with the aim of adding value and achieving substantial impact through Union funding, close synergies should be developed between the Programme, other Union programmes and the Structural Funds, especially the European Social Funds (ESF) and the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI).
Cooperation with relevant bodies: the Commission should establish the necessary links with the Employment Committee, the Social Protection Committee, the Advisory Committee on Health and Safety at Work, the Group of Directors-General for Industrial Relations and the Advisory Committee on Freedom of Movement of Workers in order to ensure that they are regularly and appropriately informed of progress in implementing the Programme.
The results of the Programme should be disseminated among social partners and civil society organisations.
Evaluation: the Programme should be the object of a mid-term evaluation by 1 July 2017. Before submitting any proposal for a prolongation of the Programme beyond 2020, the Commission shall present an evaluation of the conceptual strengths and weaknesses of the Programme in the period 2014 to 2020. By 31 December 2022, the Commission shall evaluate ex-post the impact and Union added value of the Programme and report on this evaluation.
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 21.12.2013.
DELEGATED ACTS: the Commission may adopt delegated acts in order to adapt the Programme to the changing needs and political priorities arising therefrom. The power to adopt delegated acts shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of seven years as from 1 January 2014. The European Parliament or the Council may object to a delegated act within a period of two months from the date of notification (this period can be extended for two months). If the European Parliament or the Council make objections, the delegated act will not enter into force.