The Commission has granted €285 million in total to European Social Fund (ESF) operational programmes (OPs) of France, Germany and Romania under the Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe (REACT-EU).
- 17 February 2022
The additional resources will support people in finding new jobs, strengthen education, employment and healthcare systems, and help to speed up the recovery from the pandemic crisis.
France receives an additional €24 million for the ESF OP of its overseas department of Guiana. The funds will help pupils at risk of dropping out of school, for instance with tailored intensive support programmes and through dual education in businesses and in vocational schools. The additional funding will also support the unemployed and those furthest away from the labour market with social-inclusion measures, and it will help workers to acquire the skills needed in a changing world of work.
In Germany, the ESF OP in Baden-Württemberg receives an additional €27 million to support more than 16,000 people particularly impacted by the pandemic. The new funds will help people in need to access and use digital tools and services. Specific initiatives will also support the socio-economic empowerment of women with a migrant background. Long-term unemployed people will receive public employment support to help them find new jobs. The new funds will also support vocational training for workers on short-time work schemes, as well as tailor-made training for cultural professionals.
Romania receives an additional €234 million for its Human Capital OP. The new funds will help provide classes for 168,000 disadvantaged pupils to compensate for school hours lost during the pandemic. In addition, the new funds will support new jobs through hiring incentives for people who became unemployed during the pandemic, and through support for 295 new social enterprises for people from vulnerable groups. The additional funding will also support bonuses for 97,000 healthcare workers at the frontline of the pandemic.
REACT-EU is part of NextGenerationEU and provides €50.6 billion additional funding (in current prices) over the course of 2021 and 2022 to the 2014-2020 cohesion policy programmes.