The European Commission has launched a public consultation in the context of ex-post evaluation of the European Social Fund (ESF) during the 2007-2013 programming period.

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The consultation seeks feedback from the direct stakeholders of the ESF during the 2007-2013 programming period in the 28 EU member states as well as of the wider public. It complements the analysis and findings of a series of thematic studies commissioned by the DG EMPL in the framework of the ESF ex-post evaluation.

The results of this consultation will be analysed and summarised in a synopsis report and will be reflected in the Staff Working Document presenting the results of the evaluation.

The public consultation is open until 27 April 2016.

Background

The European Social Fund (ESF) is the major financial instrument in support of human capital in the EU and exists since the 1957 Treaty of Rome. The views that are sought for this consultation relate to the 2007-2013 programming period, during which €115 billion (of these €77 billion from the EU budget, the remainder from national public and private contributions) were dedicated to ESF programmes.

Actions supported by the ESF were organised around priorities. For the purposes of the ex-post evaluation these were grouped into five themes:

• Access to Employment
• Social Inclusion
• Human Capital
• Promoting Partnerships
• Strengthening institutional capacity