RREUSE teamed up with the European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD) and 354 other organisations from 32 countries in a joint statement on the next EU Budget. We call on the European institutions to safeguard and strengthen a standalone European Social Fund (ESF) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) is the EU’s seven-year budget. Its current framework sets spending priorities and ceilings of close to €2 trillion for 2021-2027. The two most relevant programmes for employment, education and social inclusion are the European Social Fund + and the European Regional Development Fund, which invests hundreds of millions each year into the inclusion of persons with disabilities.
With the current framework set to end in 2027, the European Commission published its proposals for the next 7-year programming period, 2028-2034, last summer. The highlight was a radical change to EU Funding, merging several funding streams (including ESF+ and ERDF) under National and Regional Partnership Plans. Both the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament are now negotiating their own positions on the Commission proposals.
To influence this process, the EUFunds4Social Coalition was established to bring the perspective of those who will ultimately transform funding into concrete initiatives for people across Europe, especially those most excluded. The Coalition now publishes its fourth joint statement that calls on the European Parliament and Council of the European Union to:
- Secure strong and dedicated budgets for ESF and ERDF, at least equal to current budgetary funding levels adjusted for inflation, and provided as grants;
- Maintain the ESF as the EU’s core instrument for people-centred investment, aligned with the European Pillar of Social Rights, the EU Anti-Poverty Strategy, and the Social Economy Action Plan;
- Preserve current ESF earmarking for social inclusion, child poverty, material deprivation, youth employment, and capacity-building for civil society and social partners;
- Strengthen and mainstream the partnership principle across all EU funds, including direct funds, ensuring meaningful participation of social actors at all levels of governance;
- Reinstate and enforce enabling conditions to ensure EU investments uphold fundamental rights and support implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;
- Improve access for small not-for-profit actors through simpler procedures, lighter reporting requirements, stable pre-financing, adequate co-financing, and national helpdesks.
