Ministry of Labour and Social Policies Directorate General for Guidance and Training Policies

1. Ministry of Labour and Social PoliciesDirectorate General for Guidance and Training Policies Shaping the future of the ESF ESF and Europe 2020 WORKSHOP 3 – “MORE EFFECTIVE ESF”

2. ESF Management Focus on delivery systemshasimpliedanadministrativeburdennotalwaysjustifiedby the objectiveof “sound financial management”. Socio-economiccrisishighlightssuchasobstacles in the ESF management.

3. Obstacles in the ESF delivery Bureaucratic logic is prevaling: focus on management and papers, more than on efficiency and results achievement. ↓ negative effects also at beneficiaries level: beacuse of the heavy administrative burden they tend to give up in asking ESF resources.

4. Effects • Lack ofconfidence in the concrete applicationofinnovationsintroducedwith the semplification package; • Slowness and/or delayof the answers, that ESF shouldprovideprompltly, especially in crisissituations; • Tendtoprefertraditional training activities, with “safe” targets, in order toreachexpensesthresholdsgivenby the decommittmentrule; • Sometimes, negative perceptionof the realaddedvalueof ESF interventions; • Increasingof the costsrelatedto management and controlactivities.

5. Issues for the future Back to the strategicdimension ofcohesion and ESF policy through • more differentiationofrolesbetween the various key stakeholders (mostlyEuropeanCommission and MemberStates) • More flexibilityofOperationalProgrammes; • Defining a priorityshared “menu” at Europeanlevel and settlementofeffectiveoptions at appropriate level; • Establishingof a periodical forum, also at politicallevel, on the coehesion policy implementation.

6. Issues for the future Increasingsubsidiarity in management and controlfields through • defining a “controlchain”: first and secondlevelcontrols under the responsabilityof the OPs’ Authorities; general supervision of the EuropeanCommission; • simplification and differentiationofcontrolmethods.

7. Issues for the future Make legislative simplifications reallyusable through • more flexibility in the applicationofsimplifications’ rules; • more co-operative role in the repliesfrom the EuropeanCommission or, asan alternative, more responsability and autonomyof the ManagingAuthorities.

8. Issues for the future Strenghteningmutual trust in the relationshipbetweenEuropeanCommission and MemberStates through • continuousimplementationof partnership principle, notonly at politicallevel, butalso at administrativelevel; • goingbeyond a traditional and conservative view, in favourof a more innovative and pro-activerole.

9. Simplifying the programmingarchitecture through put aside some of the currentforeseencompulsoryAuthoritiesforeachOps (i.e. Certifying Authority) Issues for the future

10. Exploit the possibilityofre-orientingprogrammes and interventions, notonlytospending and “paperbased” accomplishments, butalsotoresults through defining and testingan appropriate set ofindicators, tomeasure the results in a transparent and reliablemanner. Issuesfor the future

11. Makeeffective the proportionalityprinciple’s application Notonly in spendingterms, butalso in promotion ofthematicprioritiesterms. Issuesfor the future