Proposal for an amendment to the Commission Proposal COM(2011)607 final/2 – Regulation on the European Social Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1081/2006

Summary:

This Regulation establishes the mission of the European Social Fund (ESF), including the Youth Employment Initiative, the scope of its assistance, specific provisions and the types of expenditure eligible for assistance.

In light of the persistent need to make an effort to address youth unemployment in the Union's most affected regions, a Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) should be created. It should support in those regions young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), who are unemployed or inactive, by reinforcing and accelerating the delivery of activities supported by ESF funding. Additional funds should specifically be attributed to the YEI matched with investment from the ESF. By targeting individual persons rather than structures, the YEI should aim to complement other ESF and national actions targeting young NEET with the objective of implementing the Youth Guarantee.