The European Commission has published the mid-term evaluation of the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), covering the period from June 2021 to the end of 2024. The ESF+ is the EU’s main funding instrument for investing in people, supporting employment, education and social inclusion policies across Europe.

The ESF+ remains relevant for EU and national priorities

The evaluation confirms that the ESF+ continues to respond to key challenges in the labour market and social policy fields.

• Investments address the main needs in employment, skills and social inclusion
• Relevance extends to future challenges, including green and digital transitions
• Flexibility allows funding to be redirected to emerging needs
• Stakeholder involvement at all stages helps ensure responsiveness on the ground.

Implementation is gaining speed

While the rollout of ESF+ was delayed due to the COVID-19 crisis and overlapping EU funding instruments, implementation has accelerated and is on track to meet targets.

• ESF+ only became fully operational in 2023, due in part to the COVID-19 response, extended use of the 2014–2020 programmes, and the launch of the Recovery and Resilience Facility
• By the end of 2024, around 7.6% of ESF+ funding have been spent
• The achievement of output and result targets is broadly in line with financial implementation.

Merging of funds brings added value

ESF+ brings together four previously separate instruments: the European Social Fund (ESF), Youth Employment Initiative (YEI), Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD), and Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI).

• The merger worked best where funds had similar target groups and delivery models
• The integration of ESF and YEI showed clear benefits, especially for youth employment measures
• The merger with FEAD brought positive results in most Member States
• The integration of EaSI is still too recent to assess its full impact
• Importantly, areas previously covered by a separate fund did not see a drop in support.

Simplification has reduced administrative burden

The evaluation confirms that managing ESF+ remains efficient, with administrative costs kept low.

• Simplified payment models have reduced costs for programme authorities
• Other simplification measures include fewer audits and verifications, streamlined monitoring, and lighter reporting requirements
• Administrative costs remain reasonable, estimated between 2.0% and 2.7% of total spending

Stronger coordination with other EU funds

ESF+ works in synergy with other EU instruments that invest in human capital.

• Under shared management, ESF+ and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) show the strongest complementarity
• For centrally managed actions, the EaSI strand complements InvestEU.