News

The Commission has granted an additional €1.1 billion to Spain under the Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe (REACT-EU). The new resources for the Spanish operational programme on Employment, Training and Education of the European Social Fund support short-time work schemes ("expedientes de regulación temporal de empleo"). This helps more than 125.000 people to keep their jobs, and supports businesses.

A family-therapy service project, funded by the European Social Found, is offered to families who experience issues. Families with complex needs do not often engage with office-based support: that’s why the project aims at working with families in their homes, along with offering services at a number of community centres.

Four new Flash Reports prepared by the European Social Policy Network (ESPN) are now available and provide information on recent social policy developments in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

An housing scheme, co-funded by the European Social Fund, provided a permanent home for vulnerable people in the Municipality of Trieste. This project is called ‘Housing First’ because it treats housing as the start (rather than the end) point in the journey out of homelessness. It was awarded the Ending Homelessness Award which is given to outstanding projects that aim to reintegrate homeless people into society.

The Commission has allocated a total of €285 million to the European Social Fund (ESF) Operational Programs (OPs) of France, Germany and Romania as recovery support for cohesion and territories of Europe (REACT-EU). The additional resources will help unemployed people find new jobs, strengthen education, employment and healthcare systems and help accelerate recovery from the pandemic crisis.

Nicolas Schmit, Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, took part in the informal meeting of employment and Social Policy Ministers in Bordeaux, under the French Presidency of the Council of the EU. The plenary session focused on the impact of the digital and green transitions on the European labour market, as well as on how these can positively contribute to a new European growth model.

Sign up for our survey on the European Union Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Your opinion matters and will help shape our upcoming campaign on the Strategy. It takes a few minutes to complete: the survey is available in 24 languages and in easy-to-read English.

The latest episode of the Real Economy magazine from Euronews is devoted to Europe's Recovery and Resilience Facility, with a focus on the social aspects of the recovery plan in Spain, worth EUR 69,5 billion. This represents the biggest public investment plan in the country's recent history.

On 9 February 2022, the European Alliance for Apprenticeships (EAfA) organised the webinar ‘Apprenticeships and permeability’ to discuss the educational paths linked to apprenticeships, and how apprentices can continue to higher education.