The European Social Fund celebrates its 60th anniversary: 6 decades of investment in people

Summary:

On 22 March 2017 the European Social Fund (ESF) celebrated its 60th anniversary. The European Social Fund is the European Union's oldest fund, and was established together with the Treaty of Rome in 1957, with the aim to improve job opportunities for workers and to raise their standard of living. At first, it was a relatively simple instrument for reimbursing to Member States half of the costs of vocational training and resettlement allowances for workers affected by economic restructuring. Today the ESF has become ever more targeted and strategic, focusing increasingly on systemic reforms, which can benefit as many people as possible.

Celebrations of the Fund's achievements and debates on the future of human capital funding in Europe will kick off on 22 March 2017 with the conference "European Social Fund: past, present and future", hosted by the Maltese Presidency of the EU, ahead of the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome and the meeting with the EU Social Partners in Rome which will be attended by President Juncker, Vice-President Dombrovskis and Commissioner Thyssen. Throughout the year, Member States are organising similar events and debates to look back at what the ESF has achieved, to take stock of the performance of the Fund and to make the case for strong investment in human capital in the future. During the month of May 2017, thousands of EU-funded projects will open their doors to the public in the frame of the Europe in my Region campaign.

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ESO Records

European Social Fund http://www.europeansources.info/record/website-european-social-fund/

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