Has the European Social Fund been effective in supporting young people?

Abstract

The European Social Fund (ESF) constitutes a somewhat exceptional and paradoxical part of European Union policy. The division of decisionmaking powers or jurisdiction between EU-level bodies and the member states has meant that national governments have been reluctant to let the EU increase its powers in the wide area of employment and social policies (Ashiagbor, 2005). For many observers, the EU’s primary contribution in the realm of social protection and employment has been one of ‘social regulation’ rather than ‘social redistribution’. Briefly, social regulation is public action to promote social goals by influencing the functioning of markets and the behaviour of non-public actors (Majone, 1993). However, under the headings of EU regional (‘cohesion’) policy, there were always elements of social redistribution at the European level (Allen, 2005). Nonetheless, policymakers perceived such redistribution of resources not as a goal in itself but mainly as an instrument for achieving macro-level objectives: economic growth, modernization, restructuring, and enhancing the four EU freedoms (free movement of goods, capital, services and labour). Currently, the ESF contributes to the achievement of ‘a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in the EU’, as defined in the Europe 2020 strategy (Regulation [EU] 1304/2013). Furthermore, the widely spread ‘social investment’ rationale makes economic redistribution through the ESF a means to achieve societal objectives that go beyond ensuring or improving the current well-being of citizens. Still, high unemployment