Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 of 11 July 2006 laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund (4) establishes the framework for action by the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund and lays down, in particular, the objectives, principles and rules concerning partnership, programming, evaluation and management. It is therefore necessary to define the mission of the European Social Fund (ESF) in relation to the tasks prescribed under Article 146 of the Treaty and in the context of the work by Member States and the Community towards developing a coordinated strategy for employment under Article 125 of the Treaty.
(2)
Specific provisions concerning the type of activities which may be financed by the ESF under the objectives set out in Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 should be laid down.
(3)
The ESF should strengthen economic and social cohesion by improving employment opportunities within the framework of the tasks entrusted to the ESF by Article 146 of the Treaty and of the tasks entrusted to the Structural Funds by Article 159 of the Treaty, in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006.
(4)
This is all the more important in the light of the challenges arising from the enlargement of the Union and the phenomenon of economic globalisation. In this connection, the importance of the European social model and its modernisation should be acknowledged.
(5)
In accordance with Articles 99 and 128 of the Treaty, and with a view to refocusing the Lisbon strategy on growth and jobs, the Council has adopted an integrated package comprising Broad Economic Policy Guidelines and Employment Guidelines, the latter setting out employment objectives, priorities and targets. In this regard, the Brussels European Council of 22 and 23 March 2005 called for the mobilisation of all appropriate national and Community resources, including cohesion policy.
(6)
New lessons have been learnt from the Community initiative EQUAL, especially in respect of the combination of local, regional, national and European action. These lessons should be integrated into ESF support. Particular attention should be paid to the participation of target groups, the integration of migrants, including those seeking asylum, the identification of policy issues and their subsequent mainstreaming, innovation and experimentation techniques, methodologies for transnational cooperation, outreach to groups marginalised in relation to the labour market, the impact of social issues on the internal market, and access to and management of projects taken on by non-governmental organisations.
(7)
The ESF should support the policies of Member States which are closely in line with the guidelines and recommendations under the European Employment Strategy and the relevant objectives of the Community in relation to social inclusion, non-discrimination, the promotion of equality, and education and training, in order to better contribute to the implementation of the objectives and targets agreed at the Lisbon European Council of 23 and 24 March 2000 and at the Goteborg European Council of 15 and 16 June 2001.
(8)
The ESF should also act to tackle the relevant dimensions and consequences of demographic changes in the active population of the Community, in particular through lifelong vocational training.
(9)
With a view to better anticipating and managing change and increasing economic growth, employment opportunities for both women and men, and quality and productivity at work under the Regional competitiveness and employment and Convergence objectives, assistance from the ESF should focus, in particular, on improving the adaptability of workers and enterprises, enhancing human capital and access to employment and participation in the labour market, reinforcing the social inclusion of disadvantaged people, combating discrimination, encouraging economically inactive persons to enter the labour market and promoting partnerships for reform.
(10)
In addition to these priorities, in the least developed regions and Member States, under the Convergence objective and with a view to increasing economic growth, employment opportunities for both women and men, and quality and productivity at work, it is necessary to expand and improve investment in human capital and to improve institutional, administrative and judicial capacity, in particular to prepare and implement reforms and enforce the acquis.
(11)
Within the range of these priorities, the selection of ESF interventions should be flexible in order to address the specific challenges in each Member State, and the types of priority action financed by the ESF should allow for a margin of flexibility to respond to these challenges.
(12)
The promotion of innovative transnational and interregional activities is an important dimension which should be integrated in the scope of the ESF. In order to foster cooperation, Member States should programme transnational and interregional actions using a horizontal approach or through a dedicated priority axis.
(13)
It is necessary to ensure that the action of the ESF is consistent with the policies provided for under the European Employment Strategy and to concentrate ESF support on the implementation of the guidelines and recommendations under that strategy.
(14)
Efficient and effective implementation of actions supported by the ESF depends on good governance and partnership between all relevant territorial and socio-economic actors, and in particular the social partners and other stakeholders, including those at national, regional and local level. The social partners have a central role in the broad partnership for change, and their commitment to strengthening economic and social cohesion by improving employment and job opportunities is essential. In this context, where employers and workers collectively contribute to financially supporting ESF actions, this financial contribution, although private expenditure, would be included for the purposes of calculating ESF co-financing.
(15)
The ESF should support actions in line with the guidelines and relevant recommendations under the European Employment Strategy. However, changes to the guidelines and recommendations would require the revision of an operational programme only where a Member State, or the Commission in agreement with a Member State, considered that the operational programme should take account of significant socioeconomic changes or take greater or different account of major changes in Community, national or regional priorities, or in the light of evaluations or following implementation difficulties.
(16)
The Member States and the Commission are to ensure that the implementation of the priorities financed by the ESF under the Convergence and Regional competitiveness and employment objectives contribute to the promotion of equality and the elimination of inequalities between women and men. A gender mainstreaming approach should be combined with specific action to increase the sustainable participation and progress of women in employment.
(17)
The ESF should also support technical assistance, with a particular focus on encouraging mutual learning through exchanges of experience and dissemination of good practice and on highlighting the contribution of the ESF to the policy objectives and priorities of the Community in relation to employment and social inclusion.
(18)
Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 provides that rules on eligibility of expenditure are to be established at national level, with certain exceptions for which it is necessary to lay down specific provisions. Specific provisions should therefore be laid down for the exceptions related to the ESF.
(19)
In the interest of clarity, Regulation (EC) No 1784/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 1999 on the European Social Fund (5) should therefore be repealed,
