Activities of Csaba SÓGOR related to 2018/0206(COD)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+)
Amendments (33)
Amendment 61 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
Amendment 64 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) The Council of […] adopted revised guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States to align the text with the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights, with a view to improving Europe's competitiveness and making it a better place to invest, create jobs and foster social cohesion. In order to ensure the full alignment of the ESF+ with the objectives of these guidelines, particularly as regards employment, education, training and the fight against social exclusion, poverty and discrimination, the ESF+ should support Member States, taking account of the relevant Integrated Guidelines and relevant country-specific recommendations adopted in accordance with Article 121(2) TFEU and Article 148(4) TFEU, the post-2020 EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies and, where appropriate, at national level, the national reform programmes underpinned by national strategies. The ESF+ should also contribute to relevant aspects of the implementation of key Union initiatives and activities, in particular the "Skills Agenda for Europe" and the European Education Area, relevant Council Recommendations and other initiatives such as the Youth Guarantee, Upskilling Pathways and on Integration of the long- term unemployed.
Amendment 65 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) The Union is confronted with structural challenges arising from economic globalisation, the management of migration flows and the increased security threat, clean energy transition, technological change and, an increasingly ageing society and workforce and growing skills and labour shortages in some sectors and regions, experienced especially by SMEs. Taking into account the existing economic and social disparities among regions and the changing realities of the world of work, the Union should be prepared for the current and future challenges by investing in relevant skills, making growth more inclusive and by improving education and training policies and employment and social policies, including in view of labour mobility.
Amendment 74 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) The ESF+ should aim to promote employment through active interventions enabling (re)integration into the labour market, notably for youth, the long-term unemployed and the inactive, with special emphasis on disadvantaged or vulnerable social groups, such as people with disabilities, older people, the Roma, and people with a low level of educational attainment or basic skills, as well as through promoting self–employment and the social economy. The ESF+ should aim to improve the functioning of labour markets by supporting the modernisation of labour market institutions such as the Public Employment Services in order to make them more effective, improve their capacity to provide intensified targeted counselling and guidance during the job search and the transition to employment with special regard to disadvantaged social groups and to enhance workers’ mobility. The ESF+ should promote women's participation in the labour market through measures aiming to ensure, amongst others, improved work/life balance and access to childcarequality and affordable childcare and dependent care services. The ESF + should also aim to provide a healthy and well-adapted working environment in order to respond to health risks related to changing forms of work and the needs of the ageing workforce.
Amendment 76 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) The ESF+ should provide support to improving the quality, accessibility, inclusiveness, effectiveness and labour market relevance of education and training systems in order to facilitate the acquisition of key competences notably as regards digital skills which all individuals need for personal fulfilment and development, employment, social inclusion and active citizenship. The ESF+ should help progression within education and training and transition to work, support lifelong learning and employability, and contribute to competitiveness and societal and economic innovation by supporting scalable and sustainable initiatives in these fields. This could be achieved for example through work-based learning and apprenticeships, support for enterprises to employ people with disabilities, lifelong guidance, skills anticipation in cooperation with industry, up-to-date training materials, forecasting and graduate tracking, training of educators, especially on working with students from disadvantaged backgrounds, Roma and students with learning difficulties, validation of learning outcomes and recognition of qualifications.
Amendment 78 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) Support through the ESF+ should be used to reduce and prevent early school leaving, promote equal access for all, in particular for disadvantaged groups, to quality, non-segregated and inclusive education and training, from early childhood education and care through general and vocational education and training and to tertiary level, as well as adult education and learning, thereby fostering permeability between education and training sectors, preventing early school leaving, improving health literacy, reinforcing links with non-formal and informal learning and facilitating learning mobility for all. Synergies with the Erasmus programme, notably to facilitate the participation of disadvantaged learners in learning mobility, should be supported within this context.
Amendment 81 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15 a (new)
Recital 15 a (new)
(15 a) ESF should support educational schemes that offer adults with a low level of skills the possibility to acquire a minimum level of literacy, numeracy and digital competence in line with Council Recommendation No. 2016/C 484/01 on Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults.
Amendment 84 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) The ESF+ should support Member States’ efforts to tackle poverty with a view to breaking the cycle of disadvantage across generations and promote social inclusion by ensuring equal opportunities for all, tackling discrimination and addressing health inequalities. This implies mobilising a range of policies targeting the most disadvantaged people regardless of their age, including children, marginalised communities such as the Roma, and the working poor. The ESF+ should promote the active inclusion of people far from the labour market with a view to ensuring their socio-economic integration. The ESF+ should be also used to enhance timely and equal access to affordable, sustainable and high quality services such as healthcare and long-term care, in particular family and community-based care services. The ESF+ should contribute to the modernisation of social protection systems with a view in particular to promoting their accessibility. The ESF should also address rural poverty stemming from the specific disadvantages of rural areas, such as an unfavourable demographic situation, a weak labour market, limited access to or lower quality of education and training services, lack of healthcare and social services.
Amendment 88 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) The ESF+ should contribute to the reduction of poverty by supporting national schemes aiming to alleviate food and material deprivation and promote social integration of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion and the most deprived. With a view that at Union level at least 4% of the resources of the ESF+ strand under shared management supports the most deprived, Member States should allocate at least 24% of their national resources of the ESF+ strand under shared management to address the forms of extreme poverty with the greatest social exclusion impact, such as homelessness, child poverty and food deprivation. Due to the nature of the operations and the type of end recipients, it is necessary that simpler rules apply to support which addresses material deprivation of the most deprived.
Amendment 105 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) In the light of persistently high levels of youth unemployment and inactivity in a number of Member States and regions, in particular affecting young people who are neither in employment, nor in education or training, it is necessary that those Member States continue to invest sufficient resources of the ESF+ strand under shared management towards actions to promote youth employment including through the implementation of Youth Guarantee schemes. Building on the actions supported by the Youth Employment Initiative in the 2014-2020 programming period targeting individual persons, Member States should further promote employment and education reintegration pathways and outreach measures for young people by prioritising, where relevant, long-term unemployed, inactive and disadvantaged young people including through youth work. Member States should also invest in measures aimed at facilitating school-to-work transition as well as reforming and adapting employment services with a view to making them more active in providing tailor-made support to young people. Member States concerned should therefore allocate at least 10% of their national resources of the ESF+ strand under shared management to support youth employability.
Amendment 106 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 25 a (new)
Recital 25 a (new)
(25 a) In accordance with article 174 TFEU, the Union should pay particular attention to rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition, and regions which suffer from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps such as the northernmost regions with very low population density and island, cross- border and mountain regions.
Amendment 107 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) Efficient and effective implementation of actions supported by the ESF+ depends on good governance and partnership between all actors at the relevant territorial levels and the socio- economic actors, in particular the social partners and civil society. It is therefore essential that Member States encourage the participation of social partners and civil society in the implementprogramming, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the ESF+ under shared management.
Amendment 113 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 28
Recital 28
(28) The Member States and the Commission should ensure that ESF+ contributes to the promotion of equality between women and men in accordance with Article 8 TFEU to foster non- discrimination and equality of treatment and opportunities between women and men in all areas, including regarding participation in the labour market, terms and conditions of employment and career progression. They should also ensure that the ESF+ promotes equal opportunities for all, without discrimination in accordance with Article 10 TFEU and promotes the inclusion in society of persons with disabilities on equal basis with others and contributes to the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. These principles should be taken into account in all dimensions and in all stages of the preparation, monitoring, implementation and evaluation of programmes, in a timely and consistent manner while ensuring that specific actions are taken to promote gender equality and equal opportunities. The ESF+ should also promote the transition from residential/institutional care to family and community-based care, in particular for those who face multiple discrimination. The ESF+ should not support any action that contributes to segregation or to social exclusion.Regulation (EU) No [future CPR] 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 with regard to the ESF+ strand under shared management.
Amendment 127 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2
Article 3 – paragraph 2
The ESF+ shall support, complement and add value to the policies of the Member States to ensure equal opportunities, equal access to the labour market and education, fair working conditions, social protection and inclusion, poverty eradication and a high level of human health protection.
Amendment 131 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point i
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point i
(i) improving access to employment of all jobseekers, in particular youth and long- term unemployed, and of inactive people, with special measures for disadvantaged or vulnerable social groups, such as people with disabilities, older people, the Roma and people with a low level of educational attainment or basic skills, promoting self-employment and the social economy;
Amendment 135 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point ii
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point ii
(ii) modernising labour market institutions and services to assess and anticipate skills needs, strengthen cooperation with enterprises and ensure timely and inclusive tailor-made assistance and support to labour market matching, transitions and mobility;
Amendment 138 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point iii
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point iii
(iii) promoting women’s labour market participation, a better work/life balance including access to childcare and dependent care, a healthy and well– adapted working environment addressing health risks, adaptation of workers, enterprises and entrepreneurs to change, and active and healthy ageing;
Amendment 140 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point iv
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point iv
(iv) improving the quality, effectiveness, inclusiveness and labour market relevance of education and training systems, to support acquisition of key competences including digital skills;
Amendment 142 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point v
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point v
(v) reducing and preventing early school leaving, promoting equal access to and completion of, quality and inclusive education and training, in particular for disadvantaged groups, including pupils from disadvantaged and/or isolated rural areas from early childhood education and care through general and vocational education and training, and to tertiary level, as well as adult education and learning, including facilitating learning mobility for all;
Amendment 143 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point vi
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point vi
(vi) promoting lifelong learning for all age groups, notably flexible upskilling and reskilling opportunities for all and in particular people with low educational attainment and basics kills, taking into account digital skills, better anticipating change and new skills requirements based on labour market needs, facilitating career transitions and promoting professional mobility;
Amendment 148 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point viii
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point viii
(viii) promoting socio-economic integration of third country nationals andcombating all forms of discrimination and promoting the socio- economic integration of marginalised communities such as the Roma;
Amendment 153 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point viii a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point viii a (new)
(viii a) supporting the socio-economic integration and inclusion of third-country nationals, including through dedicated measures in the field of education;
Amendment 154 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point ix
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point ix
(ix) enhancing the equal and timely access to quality, sustainable and affordable services, with special regard to poor and isolated rural areas; modernising social protection systems, including promoting access to social protection; improving accessibility, effectiveness and resilience of healthcare systems and long- term care services;
Amendment 157 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point x
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point x
(x) promoting social integration of people experiencing or at risk of poverty or social exclusion, including the most deprived and children;
Amendment 162 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Amendment 164 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. All programmes shall promote equal opportunities for all, without discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation throughout their preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The ESF+ shall also support targeted actions within any of the specific objectives referred to in Article 4. Such actions shall likewise improve accessibility for persons with disabilities with a view to improving their inclusion in employment, education and training, thereby enhancing social inclusion, reducing inequalities in terms of educational attainment and health status, and facilitating the transition from residential/institutional to family and community-based care, in particular for those who face multiple discrimination.
Amendment 168 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Member States and, where appropriate the Commission, shall foster synergies and ensure coordination, complementarity and coherence between the ESF+ and other Union funds, programmes and instruments such as Erasmusthe European Regional Development Fund, Erasmus, the Justice, Rights and Values Fund, the Asylum and Migration Fund and the Reform Support Programme, including the Reform Delivery Tool and the Technical Support Instrument, both in the planning phase and during implementation. Member States and, where appropriate the Commission, shall optimise mechanisms for coordination to avoid duplication of effort and ensure close cooperation between those responsible for implementation to deliver coherent and streamlined support actions.
Amendment 174 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 3
Article 7 – paragraph 3
3. Member States shall allocate at least 25% of their ESF+ resources under shared management to the specific objectives for the social inclusion and fight against material deprivation policy areas set out in points (vii) to (xi) of Article 4(1), including the promotion of the socio- economic integration of third country nationals.
Amendment 177 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Member States shall allocate at least 24% of their ESF+ resources under shared management to the specific objective of addressing material deprivation set out in point (xii) of Article 4(1).
Amendment 182 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1
Article 8 – paragraph 1
1. Each Member State shall ensure adequate participation of social partners and civil society organisations in the delivery of eprogramming, imployement, education and social inclusion policiation, monitoring and evaluation of all programmes supported by the ESF+ strand under shared management.
Amendment 188 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 4
Article 17 – paragraph 4
4. The delivery of food and/or material assistance mayshall be complemented with re-orientation towards competent services and other accompanying measures aiming at the social inclusion of the most deprived persons.
Amendment 190 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 23 – paragraph 1 – point e
Article 23 – paragraph 1 – point e
e) to support the development of the market eco-system related to the provision of microfinance for micro-enterprises in start-up and development phases, in particular those that employ vulnerable people or are set up by people in vulnerable situations;
Amendment 197 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 40 – paragraph 2
Article 40 – paragraph 2
2. Each Member State shall appoint one government representative, one representative of the workers' organisations, one representative of the employers' organisations, one representative of the civil society organisations involved in the preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of ESF+ programmes and one alternate for each member for a maximum period of seven years. In the absence of a member, the alternate shall be automatically entitled to take part in the proceedings.