What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on the European Social Fund Plus post-2027

Removed:(2024/xxxx(INI))

Added:(2024/2077(INI))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Articles 46(d), 149, 153(2)(a), 164, 175 and 349 thereof,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1057 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 establishing the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+),

Removed:– having regard to the Commission communication of 27 March 2024 on the 9th Cohesion Report (COM(2024)0149),

Added:– having regard to the Regulation (EU) 2024/3236 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2024 amending Regulations (EU) 2021/1057 and (EU) 2021/1058 as regards Regional Emergency Support to Reconstruction (RESTORE),

Added:– having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which entered into force on 21 January 2011 in accordance with Council Decision 2010/48/EC of 26 November 2009 concerning the conclusion, by the European Community, of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,

– having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) proclaimed and signed by the Council, Parliament and the Commission on 17 November 2017,

Removed:– having regard to the Commission communication of 4 March 2021 entitled ‘The European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan’ (COM(2021)0102) and its proposed 2030 headline targets on employment, training and reducing poverty,

– having regard to the La Hulpe Declaration on the Future of the European Pillar of Social Rights signed by Parliament, the Commission, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Council on 16 April 2024,

Removed:– having regard to its resolution of 29 April 2021 on the European Child Guarantee,

Added:– having regard to the Liège Declaration of 5 March 2024 entitled ‘Affordable, decent and sustainable housing for all’,

Added:– having regard to the Commission communication of 27 March 2024 on the 9th Cohesion Report (COM(2024)0149),

Added:– having regard to the Communication Commission of 20 March 2024 entitled ‘Labour and skills shortages in the EU: an action plan’,

Added:– having regard to the Council recommendation of 12 March 2021 on Roma equality, inclusion and participation,

Added:– having regard to the Commission communication of 4 March 2021 entitled ‘The European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan’ (COM(2021)0102) and its proposed 2030 headline targets on employment, training and reducing poverty,

Added:– having regard to the Commission communication of 7 October 2020 entitled ‘A Union of Equality: EU Roma strategic framework for equality, inclusion and participation’ (COM(2020)0620),

Added:– having regard to the annual reports of the European Court of Auditors on the performance of the EU budget for 2019 and 2021,

Added:– having regard to its resolution of 23 November 2023 on job creation – the just transition and impact investments,

– having regard to its resolution of 21 November 2023 entitled ‘Children first – strengthening the Child guarantee, two years on from its adoption’,

Removed:– having regard to its resolution of 8 October 2020 on the Youth Guarantee,

Removed:– having regard to its resolution of 5 July 2022 entitled ‘Towards a common European action on care’,

Removed:– having regard to its resolution of 18 June 2020 on the European Disability Strategy post-2020,

– having regard to its resolution of 13 December 2022 entitled ‘Towards equal rights for persons with disabilities’,

Changed:– having regard to its resolution of 2429 NovemberApril 20202021 on tackling homelessness ratesthe inEuropean theChild EU,Guarantee,

Added:– having regard to its resolution of 10 February 2021 on reducing inequalities with a special focus on in-work poverty,

– having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2021 on access to decent and affordable housing for all,

Removed:– having regard to its resolution of 23 November 2023 on job creation – the just transition and impact investments,

– having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2021 on the EU Strategy for Gender Equality,

Added:– having regard to its resolution of 24 November 2020 on tackling homelessness rates in the EU,

Added:– having regard to its resolution of 8 October 2020 on the Youth Guarantee,

Added:– having regard to its resolution of 5 July 2022 entitled ‘Towards a common European action on care’,

Added:– having regard to its resolution of 18 June 2020 on the European Disability Strategy post-2020,

Added:– having regard to the report by Mario Draghi of 9 September 2024 on the future of European competitiveness,

Added:– having regard to the report by Enrico Letta of 10 April 2024 entitled ‘Much more than a market’,

– having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Regional Development,

Changed:– having regard to the report of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A100000/2024),(A10-0014/2025),

Change 1

Changed:A. whereas the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) supports, complements and adds value to the policies of the Member States in order to ensure equal opportunities, equal access to the labour market, fair and high-quality working conditions, social protection and inclusion;inclusion, in particular focussing on quality and inclusive education and training, lifelong learning, investment in children and young people and access to basic services;

Change 2

Changed:B. whereas the ESF+ is the only EU fund primarily focused on social policies, and is therefore unique in itself and is strongly effective and necessary in achieving social inclusion, together with the cohesion policy; whereas the ESF+ must be used in the most efficient way in order to achieve systemic changes via structural reforms, focussing on its complementarity with Member States’ budgets in order to motivate the Member States to use the fund for these reforms, notwithstanding that it is crucial also to develop more holistic social policies at EU level to tackle inequalities and exclusion;

Change 3

Removed:C. whereas different vulnerable groups have different needs, such as women in poverty, labour migrants, children, people with disabilities and elderly people; whereas the digital and green transition is much needed but also brings challenges for all people and all workers, and whereas to succeed in this endeavour, the EU must ensure a just transition that does not lose sight of workers and vulnerable people;

Added:C. whereas cohesion policy, the European Structural and Investment Funds and, in particular, the ESF+, are strong tools for cohesion between Member States, regions and areas, including urban and rural areas;

Removed:D. whereas the availability and affordability of decent housing is decreasing because of over-liberalisation of the market; whereas the EU will have its first ever Commissioner for tackling the housing crises, and the first ever European affordable housing plan, expected in 2025;

Added:D. whereas the situation and needs of each region in the EU are different; whereas local communities are the direct beneficiaries of the ESF+, and it is a precondition that regional and local stakeholders are directly involved in shaping this instrument; whereas community-led local development is a tool for involving citizens at local level in developing responses to the social, environmental and economic challenges faced today and thus it is an important tool to facilitate the implementation of the ESF+; whereas the implementation of the ESF+ at national level is often accompanied by unnecessary administrative burdens and complicated or ineffective rules;

Removed:E. whereas the European Child Guarantee aims to prevent and combat the social exclusion of children by guaranteeing effective and free access to high-quality early childhood education and care, education and healthcare, and effective access to healthy nutrition and adequate housing;

Added:E. whereas different people in vulnerable situations have different needs, such as children, single parent and large families, women in poverty, unemployed people and those in precarious jobs, migrants, labour migrants and victims of human trafficking, children, persons with disabilities, young and elderly people, homeless people and Roma people; whereas the digital and green transition is much needed and brings many opportunities but also challenges for everyone, such as the digital skills gap and the digital gender divide, and the need to reskill the workforce, and whereas to succeed in this endeavour, the EU must ensure a just transition that does not leave anyone behind; whereas there are people in vulnerable situations in the EU who are left on the margins of social policies and ESF+ funded programmes; whereas extraordinary efforts and structural changes are needed to reach all people in vulnerable situations and to prevent the number of people in these situations from increasing;

Added:F. whereas around 100 million people in the EU have some form of disability; whereas only half of persons with disabilities are employed; whereas 28.8 % of persons with disabilities are at risk of poverty or social exclusion; whereas persons with disabilities living in the EU continue to face multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination in all areas of their life, including the denial of decent accommodation; whereas persons with disabilities are entitled to enjoy their fundamental rights on an equal basis and are entitled to full and effective participation in all areas of life and society;

Added:G. whereas 22.3 % of women live in poverty, compared to 20.3 % of men, and whereas women continue to be more affected by poverty and the risk of social exclusion than men; whereas women in the EU earn 12.7 % less than men on average and this gender pay gap has over decades resulted in a 29.5 % gender pension gap, creating an unequal level of economic independence between elderly women and men; whereas almost half of single mothers live in poverty or are at risk of poverty or social exclusion;

Added:H. whereas in 2023, 94.6 million people in the EU, some 21.4 % of the population, were living in households at risk of poverty or social exclusion, with an at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate of 24.8 % for the EU-27; whereas in 2020, approximately 14 % of households with children (7.8 million households) consisted of single parents; whereas almost half (48 %) of single mothers and a third (32 %) of single fathers are at risk of poverty or social exclusion; whereas almost one in four children in the EU as a whole is therefore at risk of poverty or social exclusion; whereas the youth unemployment rate in the EU is nearly 15 %; whereas being unemployed, in particular at a young age, can lead to financial problems, as well as social isolation, mental health issues and less happiness;

Added:I. whereas Europe’s overall increase in life expectancy and demographic ageing is generating a growing demand for care across all age groups; whereas 80 % of long-term care is provided by informal carers, predominantly women; whereas the care sector faces a growing shortage of workers in all Member States; whereas the European care strategy aims to ensure quality, affordable and accessible care services with better working conditions and work-life balance for carers across the EU; whereas programmes, projects and actions that promote active ageing and intergenerational ties are supported through the ESF+; whereas the ESF+ is the main EU funding instrument to support the Member States in the implementation of the EU-wide rules on the work-life balance for parents and carers;

Added:J. whereas the availability and affordability of decent housing is decreasing because of reasons that may differ from one Member State to another, such as over-liberalisation of the market, real-estate speculation, unregulated short-term rentals, the drop in purchasing power of people in poverty and the lack of social and public housing, and is one of the major challenges Europeans are facing today; whereas we are far from reaching the target of ending homelessness by 2030; whereas the EU will have its first ever Commissioner for tackling the housing crises, and the first ever European affordable and sustainable housing plan is expected in 2025; whereas homeless children should be specifically targeted in this plan; whereas such proposals, in line with the principle of subsidiarity, need to go hand in hand with national measures in order to improve access to sustainable and affordable housing and the quality of everyday life, such as measures concerning short-stay rentals or other market interventions in highly stressed areas;

Added:K. whereas one child in four is still at risk of poverty and social exclusion in the EU, and whereas the current trend will not meet the target of reducing the number of children in poverty by at least 5 million by 2030; whereas the European Child Guarantee aims to prevent and combat child poverty and the social exclusion of children in need, by guaranteeing effective and free access to high-quality early childhood education and care, education, school-based activities, at least one free healthy meal each school day, as well as healthcare, and effective access to healthy nutrition and adequate housing; whereas the Executive Vice-President of the Commission for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness is responsible for strengthening the Child Guarantee; whereas ESF+ resources alone are not sufficient for addressing the challenge of child poverty in the EU and, therefore, a significant increase in funding for the European Child Guarantee as well as synergies with other European and national funds are of the utmost importance;

Added:L. whereas the social and economic integration of migrants, including labour migrants, refugees and victims of human trafficking, should be improved in order to ensure that they are included in our societies; whereas successful inclusion requires not only equal access to the labour market, but also complete participation in society; whereas special attention should be given to migrants coming from non-EU countries and undocumented migrants; whereas different EU funds, including ESF+ and the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, play their own role in this regard;

Added:M. whereas the population of the EU is decreasing; whereas depopulation is taking place in some regions and there is an increasing concentration of the population in certain urban areas; whereas efforts should be made to increase development and cohesion in these areas; whereas demographic changes will lead to a smaller workforce, requiring the upskilling, reskilling and expansion of the workforce;

Added:N. whereas the report on the future of European competitiveness by Mario Draghi warns of the significant skills gap the EU is facing, with 77 % of EU companies reporting that even newly recruited employees do not have the required skills, and 42 % of Europeans lacking digital basic skills; whereas the report deplores the insufficient number of workers benefiting from training and the lack of progress in this area, with more than 50 million workers requiring training to meet the headline target of adults participating in training every year; whereas vocationally trained professionals and people with practical skills are crucial to European societies; whereas the further building of European competitiveness cannot be achieved without strengthening human capital; whereas timely investments in the reskilling and upskilling of workers that are at risk of losing their jobs or whose skills have become obsolete can among others help prevent them from becoming trapped in poverty;

Added:O. whereas particular attention, including specific measures targeting the needs on the ground where relevant, should be paid to rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition, the outermost regions and regions that suffer from severe and permanent natural, economic or demographic disadvantages, such as sparsely populated regions, islands, mountainous areas and cross-border regions;

Added:P. whereas the Commission has proposed minimum targets for 2030 to ensure progress towards Roma equality, inclusion and participation under the 10-year plan to support Roma in the EU; whereas these targets include, among others, reducing the gap in housing deprivation by at least one third, cutting the proportion of Roma children who attend segregated primary schools by at least half in Member States with a significant Roma population, and reducing the poverty gap between Roma and the general population by at least half; whereas the ESF+ will remain the main financial tool for reaching the 2030 Roma targets;