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Guidance on
European Social Fund thematic paper
Social Europe
implementing the Youth Employment Initiative
Guidance on implementing the Youth Employment Initiative
European Social Fund thematic paper
European Commission
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
Unit E1
Manuscript completed in September 2014
Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission may be held responsible for the use
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3
GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTING THE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE – EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND THEMATIC PAPER
TABLE OF CONTENTSRelevant Provisions in the Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Target Group of the YEI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Programming of the YEI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
What actions does the YEI support? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
What actions is YEI expected not to support? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
YEI Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
YEI in the Partnership Agreement and Operational Programmes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
YEI Flexibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Youth Measures under the ESF (outside the YEI) and the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
YEI co-financing rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4
Technical Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Ex-ante Conditionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Thematic Concentration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Performance Reserve and Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Monitoring and Evaluation Arrangements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Early Eligibility date of Expenditure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Management and Control and Financial Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Information and Communication Arrangements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Joint Action Plans and Simplified cost options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Annex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5
GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTING THE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE – EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND THEMATIC PAPER
RELEVANT PROVISIONS IN THE LEGISLATIONRegulation Articles
Common Provisions Regulation(1)
Article 20 – Performance ReserveArticle 29 - Procedure for adoption of programmesArticle 65 – Eligibility Article 91 - Resources for economic, social and territorial cohesionArticle 92 - Resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal and for the European territorial cooperation goalArticle 104 – Scope (Joint Action Plan)Article 119 - Technical assistance of the Member StatesArticle 120 - Determination of co-financing ratesAnnex III - Provisions for determining the scope and the level of suspension of commitments or payments referred to in Article 23(11)Annex VI - Annual breakdown of commitment appropriations for 2014 to 2020Annex VII - Allocation methodologyAnnex VIII - Methodology concerning the specific allocation for the YEI referred to in Article 91
European Social Fund Regulation
Article 1Article 3(1)(a)(ii)Article 5Chapter IV (Articles 16-23) – Youth Employment InitiativeAnnex I – ESF Common indicatorsAnnex II – Result Indicators for the YEI
(1) Only articles making direct reference to the YEI have been listed.
6
BACKGROUNDThe Council adopted a Recommendation on establishing a Youth
Guarantee in April 2013(2). Member States committed to ensure
that all young people aged up to 25 receive a good quality offer of
employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a trainee-
ship within four months of leaving formal education or becoming
unemployed. Setting up a Youth Guarantee scheme represents
a long-term structural reform and a positive investment in the
future of young people and the economy. The design and imple-
mentation of a national Youth Guarantee scheme requires a firm
commitment over time and substantial budgetary support in the
mid- to long-term. In addition to national efforts, Member States
can draw on support from the European Social Fund (ESF) and the
resources of the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) during the next
multiannual financial framework for 2014-2020.
Further to the Council Recommendation on establishing a Youth
Guarantee, applicable to all 28 Member States, the implementa-
tion of Youth Guarantee schemes is also referred to in a number of
Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs) made in the context of
the 2013 European Semester. Progress towards the implementa-
tion of the Youth Guarantee Recommendation by Member States
will continue to be monitored through the European Semester also
in 2014 and subsequent years.
(2) http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2013:120:0001:0006:EN:PDF
The YEI resources will comprise of EUR 3.2 billion(3) from
a specific EU budget line dedicated to youth employ-
ment (also referred to as the specific allocation for the
YEI), as well as at least EUR 3.2 billion from the ESF
national allocations (also referred to as corresponding
ESF support). Member States are also required to provide
funds as national co-financing to the ESF part. Where
this guidance note refers to the YEI, the Initiative or the
YEI resources, this includes all 3 sources of financing
described above.
The Initiative will provide financial support to the Member
States worst hit by youth unemployment, as it is allocated
to the regions that have youth unemployment rates (YUR)
of more than 25 % in 2012 and, for Member States where
the YUR has increased by more than 30 % in 2012, NUTS
level 2 regions that have YUR of more than 20 % in 2012.
(Art. 16 ESF Regulation).
The YEI will finance measures that directly help young people
not in employment, education or training (NEETs) (see also fur-
ther below). It will be implemented as part of the Investment
for Growth and Jobs Goal.
(3) Figures are presented in current prices.
7
GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTING THE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE – EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND THEMATIC PAPER
In this regard, there are two relevant aspects: on the one hand
the eligibility of YEI participants (from a legal point of view)
and on the other hand which participants should YEI aim to
target as a priority (from a policy perspective).
Who is eligible for YEI?
From the outset, the YEI has been intended as a financial
resource providing concentrated support to young persons in
Europe’s regions that were worst affected by youth unem-
ployment(4), namely those young persons that are not in any
employment, education or training activity (NEET).(5)
According to article 16 ESF Regulation, the YEI shall target “all
young persons under the age of 25 not in employment, educa-
tion or training, residing in eligible regions, who are inactive or
unemployed including the long term unemployed, and whether
or not registered as seeking work.” On a voluntary basis, MS
may decide to extend the target group to include young per-
sons under the age of 30”. The YEI will support, inter alia, the
implementation of the Youth Guarantee Council Recommenda-
tion (Recital 11 ESF Regulation).
In light of the above, from a legal point of view, no specific
definition of NEET is stipulated in the YEI legal base. Therefore,
in line with Art. 65 CPR MS may decide on the national rules on
eligibility for the YEI, but should ensure that the YEI participants
they consider as eligible (in line with art. 65 CPR) fall within the
YEI target group as defined in art.16 ESF Regulation.
The definition of the NEET target group that the MS will apply
should be clearly stipulated in the Operational Programmes or
the selection criteria for the YEI operations.
Whom should the YEI target as a matter of policy priority?
It should be noted that the YEI is intended to enhance the sup-
port the ESF already provides for wider groups of young people
(4) See also COM(2013) 144 final.
(5) A detailed analysis on the situation of NEETs in the EU is available in the Commission Staff Working Document accompanying the proposal for a Council Recommendation on establishing a Youth Guarantee, SWD(2012) 409 final. See in particular pages 2-10.
by ensuring that YEI targets young persons who would not nor-
mally be receiving any employment or education support.
From a policy perspective, the objective is to ensure that YEI
provides good quality offers, i.e. packages of interventions that
would facilitate the person’s transition to the labour market,
by achieving the targets set under the result indicators as
listed in Annex II of the ESF Regulation. Respectively, Member
States should ensure adequate financial support per person
targeted. It should be noted that clearly, in no MS would the
YEI resources alone be sufficient to provide a Youth Guarantee
offer to each and every young person NEET.
The question then arises: on the basis of the much wider pool
of potentially eligible persons as outlined/defined above, how
the MS should select and prioritise the actual YEI participants
and where it should put the focus.
The MS could choose to target a mix of more- or less- edu-
cated NEETs including those leaving education without quali-
fications, harder and easier- to reach participants, including
disadvantaged persons and those from marginalised commu-
nities (as such, the NEETs are a heterogeneous category). The
YEI target group is expected to also include inactive persons
who are not involved in any education or training activities(6).
Borderline cases of young people who are unemployed but are
also participating in training on the side (e.g. evening classes)
may also enter that group. The MS can choose how to consti-
tute this target group mix.
Identifying the target population
The YEI can only target young persons aged under 25 years, or
where the MS chooses, persons aged under 30 years. Where
the latter is the case, an explanation in the OP (needs analysis
section) will be expected, to motivate this choice. In order to
ensure compliance with the age limit requirement, the partici-
pants should meet the age criterion at the moment of entering
the YEI operation.
(6) “Inactive, not in education or training” does not exclude young people with a higher education but encompasses persons currently not part of the labour force (in the sense that they are not employed or are unemployed and not participating in education or training at the moment of being inactive). The definitions of the common indicator “inactive, not in education or training” is set out in the EC guidance on ESF monitoring and evaluation.
TARGET GROUP OF THE YEI
8
Member States will themselves have to identify the informa-
tion sources about potential participants in YEI interventions –
the act of registration with the PES could be one such source
(and in the case of hard-to-reach group, this registration would
typically follow after social and motivation work to get the
person to register – activities which inter alia can be funded
through other ESF operations)(7). School system records for
the purpose of monitoring early school leaving (absenteeism)
could be another tool to screen and identify the target group
for YEI activities.
As the YEI can support NEETs(8) who can be unemployed (defi-
nition of corresponding common indicator given in Annex of
the EC guidance on ESF monitoring and evaluation), it should
be noted that the national arrangements in a number of MS
allow for registered unemployed persons to also be involved
in certain types of education or training activities of limited
(7) It is important to remember that young people not registered at a PES also fall under the scope of the Youth Guarantee. The Youth Guarantee applies to all young people below 25. Those who are not registered with the PES, or who registered prior to the introduction of the Youth Guarantee Scheme should not be at a disadvantage with respect to those already registered. It is on to the MS to ensure this balanced approach among the target population for YEI.
(8) There is a Eurostat definition of young persons neither in employment, education or training (NEET). This definition has been agreed by the Employment Committee (EMCO) in April 2010 for use in the context of the Europe 2020 Integrated Guidelines. This definition of NEET includes: - Unemployed persons (according to ILO definition) not in any education
and training; - Inactive persons (ILO definition) not in any education and training. “Not employed” includes both unemployed and inactive, with “not in any
education or training” meaning that persons who are employed and/or follow formal or non-formal education are not considered to be NEET. It is important to note, however, that from a policy perspective, the Eurostat NEET definition may be too restrictive. If Member States decided to apply this definition in the context of YEI actions, it may prove difficult for them to ensure compliance of all YEI participants with the definition (e.g. certifying that a person who is registered as unemployed has not followed any training during the 4 weeks preceding the YEI) and/or could lead to undesirable exclusion of certain young people from YEI support.
duration, such as part-time studies. Where this is the case,
some of the YEI participants may fall into the category of
unemployed participants while also being involved in part-
time education and training activities, thus also falling within
the YEI target population. Full-time students are excluded
from YEI support.
The NEET eligible target population for YEI actions will have to
be residing in the YEI eligible regions. Regarding establishing
the residence status Member States could draw on local or
national residence registers or other relevant sources. It should
be noted that the geographical location of YEI activities can be
in other regions or even MS, if it benefits a NEET residing in an
eligible region at the start of the operation. In other words, it is
not compulsory of the participant in a YEI operation to stay in
the region they are residents of, especially in the context of job
and training mobility measures.
9
GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTING THE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE – EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND THEMATIC PAPER
PROGRAMMING OF THE YEIMS can only programme the YEI measures under the invest-
ment priority on NEET (Article 3 (1)(a)(ii) - “Sustainable integra-
tion into the labour market of young people, in particular those
not in employment, education or training, including young peo-
ple at risk of social exclusion and young people from margin-
alised communities, including through the implementation of
the Youth Guarantee”. All YEI resources should be programmed
under this investment priority. In addition, this investment pri-
ority can also be used for programming ESF funds outside the
YEI, including for regions that do not qualify for the YEI.
The YEI resources are integrated within the programming of
the ESF. The YEI can be programmed in the following ways:
• A dedicated operational programme.
• A dedicated priority axis.
• A part of one or more priority axes.
Where the YEI is implemented through a dedicated priority axis,
this implies that the priority axis is composed only of the spe-
cific allocation for the YEI and the ESF corresponding support.
Where the YEI is implemented as part of a priority axis, this
entails a priority axis where the specific allocation for YEI and
the ESF corresponding support are programmed as a separate
part within a priority axis which also includes additional funding
outside of YEI. A dedicated YEI OP would consist exclusively of
dedicated YEI priority axes, with the exception of a possible
technical assistance priority axis, which can not be financed
by YEI and should be financed solely by technical assistance
resources from the ESF.
Art. 29 of the CPR contains a derogation with regard to dedi-
cated YEI Operational programmes which may be approved by
the Commission before the formal submission of the Partner-
ship Agreement. This derogation, together with the frontload-
ing of the resources from the YEI dedicated budget line (for
which no national co-financing is required) and the earlier start
of eligibility for the YEI (expenditure under the YEI shall be eli-
gible as from 1 September 2013) constitute a set of measures
intended to promote the swift implementation of the YEI.
Each programming option has merits, depending on the MS
context and the financial volume that the YEI entails in that
MS. For the major YEI beneficiary countries a more consoli-
dated approach to programming is encouraged (a dedicated
priority axis or operational programme). MS should consider
what would be the best arrangements that would provide for
quick results from YEI investments (possibly not scattering the
YEI too much across OPs).
10
The ESF Regulation does not specify which activities are eli-
gible under the YEI. However, there is a clear link to the Youth
Guarantee Recommendation made in recital 11 of the ESF
Regulation. This together with the result indicators for the
YEI in Annex II of the ESF Regulation provide a clear focus on
the integration to be achieved through quality interventions
directly on the target group.
The YEI (meaning both the resources from the dedicated
budget line, the corresponding ESF support and its national
co-financing) supports directly individuals, and not structures
or systems. Thus, with regard to the link between YEI and
Youth Guarantee schemes, the YEI can financially support only
certain aspects of the implementation of Youth Guarantee
schemes, namely actions targeting the direct provision of jobs,
apprenticeships, traineeships, or continued education for the
target group in the YEI eligible regions.
Therefore, the focus is on providing YEI-targeted individuals
with pathways/packages of measures with the objective of
active labour market integration, thus putting the individual
and his/her needs at the core of the intervention and tailoring
the interventions accordingly. Under YEI each individual would
receive an appropriate range of interventions and ultimately
an offer of employment and/or continued education and train-
ing, a traineeship or an apprenticeship. Interventions/actions
should thus be aimed at the sustainable activation of the tar-
get group. Furthermore, as mentioned above, the design of the
interventions should be guided by the goal of achieving the
targets YEI under the result indicators as listed in Annex II of
the ESF Regulation.
Typical examples of YEI-supported interventions as part of an
individual plan/pathway could include:
• Provision of traineeships and apprenticeships
• Provision of first job experience
WHAT ACTIONS DOES THE YEI SUPPORT?
• Reduction of non-wage labour costs
• Targeted and well-designed wage and recruitment subsidies
• Job and training mobility measures
• Start-up support for young entrepreneurs
• Quality vocational education and training courses
• Second chance programmes for early school leavers
The examples of actions above are in line with the interven-
tions on young persons referred to in the Recommendation
on Establishing a Youth Guarantee(9). The YEI will therefore be
a key financial instrument to support the implementation of
the relevant actions set out in the national Youth Guarantee
Implementation Plans of all YEI eligible Member States.
As regards eligible cost items under YEI, these are the same
as those that are typically supported by ESF (training fees,
equipment, stipends and scholarships, relocation allowance,
hiring costs, etc.). However, the objective and the context of the
design of the YEI interventions are of utmost importance and
should directly be linked with the results concerning the person
targeted (see above).
With regard in particular to wage subsidies, these are eligible
under the ESF Regulation and indeed are often applied in a num-
ber of Member States as a measure for labour market integra-
tion and providing access to employment and social inclusion.
However, from a policy perspective, wage subsidies should be
temporary and well-targeted, in view of aiming to achieve sus-
tainable labour market integration as part of an overall policy
approach (as opposed to short-term and isolated, piecemeal
projects). Wage or other types of recruitment subsidies are
expensive measures: this means that they need to be designed
in the most efficient and effective way from the outset. It should
be noted that recruitment subsides are state-aid relevant and
thus when designing recruitment subsidies, Member States must
take State Aid Regulations into consideration.(10)
(9) OJ C 120/01, 26.04.2013.
(10) See: http://ec.europa.eu/competition/consultations/2013_gber/
11
GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTING THE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE – EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND THEMATIC PAPER
WHAT ACTIONS IS YEI EXPECTED NOT TO SUPPORT?Structural measures to reform the PES to better assist NEETs
would not be funded under YEI (recital 11 of the ESF Regula-
tion states that YEI will support actions targeted towards indi-
viduals and not systems reforms). The latter can of course be
supported by the ESF outside YEI, by programming the respec-
tive measure under the relevant IP, e.g. Modernising labour
market institutions.
The YEI should not be focused on simply supporting isolated
operations that do not feed into an individual, tailor-made plan
for the YEI participant. Such operations should be avoided as
these may not be relevant or sufficiently tailored to the needs
of the participants.
Likewise, similar to ESF interventions, operations that in
themselves exclusively consist of passive financial transfers
into the participants’ accounts, e.g. setting up an emer-
gency income support fund to help young persons meet their
monthly living expenses, cannot be considered as measures
that the YEI can support. Such operations would not stand the
test for being tailored to the needs of the participants(11). Sec-
ond, such operations could not be directly linked to results for
the target group, from the perspective of the YEI result indi-
cators. As a matter of principle, any passive measure should
always be combined with an active measure. Furthermore,
income support measures should be exceptional (as has been
the case at the height of the recent economic crisis) and lim-
ited in duration to the length of the activation measure. The
Member State would have to demonstrate why these passive
measures need to be combined with the active measures and
are considered as having a direct impact on the activation of
the participant.
(11) Note that the NEET group is diverse and ranges from socially disadvantaged persons with no education background to persons with university degree.
12
The annual breakdown of the specific allocation for the YEI
per Member State will be set out in the Commission decision
referred to in art. 91(2) of the CPR, which will also specify the
global resources for each MS for the Investment for Growth
and Jobs Goal and resources for the European Territorial Coop-
eration Goal. The decision will also include the list of eligible
regions under the YEI for each Member State, but will not pro-
vide allocations at regional level. Member States have the dis-
cretion of allocating the funds between the eligible regions.
However, there are several issues, which should be taken
into account:
• While Member States are free to allocate the funds at
regional level, the proposed distribution should be based on
objective criteria, including, where appropriate, through the
use of data from an official data source.
• The resources from the specific allocation for the YEI should
be at least matched by the same amount of ESF funds
(Art. 22 (1) ESF Regulation). Member States are encouraged to
include additional ESF resources as part of the YEI, particularly
if they extend the YEI target group to young people under the
age of 30 or include additional sub-regions within the scope
of the YEI. In this way the available resources per person are
not reduced as a result of the extended target group.
• While the specific allocation for the YEI is not allocated by
category of region, the ESF resources are. Art. 23 of the ESF
Regulation contains a specific mechanism for the reimburse-
ment of the YEI (described in detail below) based on an auto-
matic allocation of the ESF support by category of region
based on a pre-defined ratio. Such a mechanism implies the
intention of the legislator to allow Member States to imple-
ment the YEI without breaking down the resources actually
invested by category of region.
• During the programming stage Member States have to
ensure that for each YEI (part of) priority axis the corre-
sponding ESF support comes from the category(ies) of the
YEI target regions.
• When regions from different categories are grouped in
a single (part of) priority axis, the share of the foreseen
ESF matching support for each category of regions should
be consistent with the national allocation methodology
and should correspond to the share of YEI funds, which the
Member State wants to allocate to each category of regions.
However, once the resources of the YEI (part of) priority axis
have been fixed, they can be spent on activities targeting
eligible young people residing in any of the eligible regions
targeted by the priority axis without taking into account the
origin of the ESF matching support across the different cat-
egories of regions.
Example: A Member State has 3 regions, eligible for the
YEI – 1 less developed and 2 more developed. The YEI
will be implemented through a dedicated priority axis. The
national methodology for allocating the specific allocation
for the YEI foresees that 35 % of the YEI should be allocated
to the less developed region, 45 % to one of the more devel-
oped regions and 20 % to the other more developed region.
In this case 35 % of the corresponding ESF support should
come from ESF (less developed regions) and 65 % should be
from ESF (more developed regions). However, as regards the
amounts actually spent and a fortiori the number of persons
targeted in these regions, this ratio (35 %/65 %) does not
necessarily have to be followed.
• The MFF commitments for the YEI specific allocation are
frontloaded over the first two years of the programming
period, 2014 and 2015, instead of over the full cycle. The
split between the two annual commitments for each Mem-
ber State will be provided for in the Commission decision
mentioned above.
• The frontloading is a result of the urgent need to mobilize
the resources allocated to the YEI to support its immediate
implementation. It entails that both the specific allocation
for the YEI and the corresponding ESF support will have to be
committed and spent over a shorter period of time (taking
YEI RESOURCES
13
GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTING THE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE – EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND THEMATIC PAPER
YEI IN THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT AND OPERATIONAL PROGRAMMESThe information related to the programming of the YEI should
be included in all relevant sections of the PA template and
the OP template. Managing Authorities should bear in mind in
particular the following:
1) PA template
• 1.1: where appropriate, the analysis should also identify the
need to allocate YEI funds for young persons residing in sub-
regions which experience high youth unemployment levels
and which are outside the eligible NUTS2 level regions and
provide a justification. This only applies to the MS which
want to make use of the 10 % flexibility;
• 1.4: this section contains a table with the resources from
the specific allocation for the YEI, the corresponding ESF
resources, and the YEI resources making use of the flexibility
option; it should be noted that table 1.4.1 will not include
the YEI specific allocation, but only the ESF corresponding
support under thematic objective 8;
• 1.10: the YEI resources are excluded from the performance
reserve: the YEI specific allocation should not be included
in this table at all, while the ESF corresponding support
should be included as part of all ESF funds in column 3 and
then be separately presented by category of regions in
column 4 in order to be excluded from the calculation of
the reserve.
account of the N+3 rule). That is why there should be suf-
ficient ESF amounts for 2014 and 2015 in the respective
programme(s) to be used as corresponding ESF support.
That is also in line with the provision that the Commission
will reimburse payment claims from Member States equally
between the YEI and the ESF.
• While the specific allocation for the YEI is frontloaded in the
MFF, there is no frontloading of the corresponding ESF credits
foreseen in the MFF. Therefore, the frontloading of the cor-
responding ESF support in 2014 and 2015 induces a propor-
tionate reduction of the ESF commitments in other non-YEI
(part of) priority axes/programmes for 2014 and 2015 so as
to ensure full compliance with the financial profile notified to
each MS in total yearly amounts and by category of region.
• For instance, since a YEI-specific OP will only contain ESF
commitments for 2014 and 2015 (including in the case of
a possible Technical Assistance priority axis), a MS should
make sure that the ESF commitments for 2014 and 2015 in
other programmes are reduced accordingly in order to com-
ply with the financial profile notified (stemming from the
MFF) and with the ESF share at national level.
• Annex VIII CPR and Art. 16 of the ESF Regulation also envis-
ages the possibility for the YEI resources to be revised
upwards for the years 2016 to 2020 in the framework of the
budgetary procedure in accordance with Art. 14 of the MFF
Regulation (1311/2013). Margins left available below the
MFF ceilings for commitment appropriations for the years
2014-2017 shall constitute a Global MFF Margin for com-
mitments, to be made available over and above the ceilings
established in the MFF for the years 2016 to 2020 for policy
objectives related to growth and employment, in particular
youth employment.
14
YEI FLEXIBILITY• Art. 16 of the ESF regulation provides for 10 % flexibility
for YEI resources, which can be used to target young per-
sons residing in sub-regions which experience high youth
unemployment levels and are outside the eligible NUTS
level 2 regions. Note, however, that the burden is on the MS
to demonstrate and justify this choice. The Commission will
have to agree and approve this element as part of the PA/OP
adoption. The sub-regional entity could be a city, municipality,
a NUTS-3 level entity (but not a NUTS 2 entity) – as long as
the MS can demonstrate clearly the gravity of the problem on
the basis of data produced by EU or national statistical offices.
• The flexibility provision applies to the YEI resources at Mem-
ber State level, which is why Member States are asked to
specify in their PAs if they intend to make use of it, identify
the sub-regions concerned and provide a justification. In the
relevant OPs MS are expected to specify the amount of YEI
resources planned to make use of the flexibility arrangement,
while the funds actually spent outside the eligible regions
will be reported in the annual implementation reports. The
funds from the specific allocation for the YEI should be at
least matched by ESF resources from the category of region
where the sub-regions in question are located.
2) OP model/template
• Section 2.A.6.1 should specify, where appropriate, the
amount of resources allocated from the priority axis to make
use of the flexibility arrangement for the YEI.
• Tables 4, 4a, 5, and 6 have to be completed for the YEI
resources. It is not required to have a breakdown by cat-
egory of region.
• The information in Tables 7-11 should be presented for the
YEI resources without a breakdown between the specific
allocation for the YEI and the ESF. It is not required to have
a breakdown by category of region.
• Table 17: in the table the resources from the specific alloca-
tion for YEI (row 9) should be presented separately from the
corresponding ESF support. The corresponding ESF support
should be presented as part of the overall ESF resources per
category of regions (rows 5-8). The columns for the perfor-
mance reserve in this table should not include the matching
ESF support for the YEI, as this is excluded from the perfor-
mance reserve.
• Table 18a: in this table the YEI specific allocation and the
corresponding ESF resources for each (part of) priority axis
should be presented together as a sum. At the bottom of
the table in the total ESF funds for each category of region
cells the ESF corresponding resources should not be taken
into account, but should be included in the sum of the total
YEI funds.
• Table 18b: this table should be completed for every (part
of) a priority axis implementing the YEI and should be used
to determine the co-financing rates, the total allocation
between the specific allocation for the YEI and the corre-
sponding ESF support, and the ratio between the categories
of regions for the corresponding ESF support.
• Table 18c: information about the YEI (specific allocation and
corresponding ESF support) should be presented separately
from the remaining ESF credits in the OP.
15
GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTING THE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE – EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND THEMATIC PAPER
YOUTH MEASURES UNDER THE ESF (OUTSIDE THE YEI) AND THE EUROPEAN GLOBALISATION ADJUSTMENT FUND (EGF)Independently of YEI or where not benefiting from YEI, Member
States are also entitled and encouraged to programme meas-
ures for the same age groups also under the same ESF invest-
ment priority, or under other relevant ESF investment priorities,
for example those related to access to employment, active
inclusion, early school leaving prevention, or life-long learn-
ing. However, when the MS benefits from YEI, it is expected
that it will concentrate the measures targeting young persons
by programming them under the IP relevant to young people
(Article 3(1)(a)(ii)), to avoid excessive dispersion of actions for
young people.
The ESF may finance investments in systems and structures,
as well as investments in individuals, including additional early
intervention measures. Youth-related ESF measures may be
financed simultaneously or at a different time from the YEI
funds under the same investment priority. The ESF may sup-
port identical activities to those eligible under the YEI, in all
regions of a Member State while it can also target young peo-
ple who do not fall within the YEI target group. The ESF could be
used to enhance the YEI support on the one hand by increasing
the coverage of interventions to a wider target group, as well
as finance more costly measures in view of achieving better
quality of services. If the implementation of additional ESF
measures outside the YEI is planned for post-2018, however,
this should be taken into account during programming, as it
will have implications on the milestones in the performance
framework (in case indicators of this investment priority are
used for the performance framework). If a Member State does
not intend to implement youth measures with ESF resources
before 2019, then it is not expected to include such a mile-
stone in the performance framework of the relevant OP.
Art. 6 (2) of the EGF Regulation allows applicant Member
States until 31 December 2017 to provide personalised ser-
vices co-financed by the EGF to NEETs under the age of 25,
or where Member States so decide under the age of 30. The
participants should be primarily those who have been made
redundant or whose activity has ceased, and must be residents
of the NUTS 2 level regions eligible under the YEI in which at
least some of the redundancies have occurred. Member States
are free to select the NEETs according to their own criteria and
to provide either the same active labour market policy meas-
ures for them as for the redundant workers, or to opt for differ-
ent measures, provided that these too are eligible under Article
7(1) of the EGF Regulation. They must put in place relevant
monitoring and control arrangements ensuring that the specific
actions receiving a financial contribution from the EGF do not
also receive assistance from other Union financial instruments
(i.e. avoid the risk of “double funding”).
16
YEI CO-FINANCING RATEArt. 22 of the ESF Regulation contains 3 main provisions, which
need to be taken into account with regard to the YEI co-financ-
ing rate.
1. The specific allocation for the YEI is not subject to the national co-financing requirement (Art. 22.3 of the ESF regulation).
This provision implies that the maximum EU co-financing
rate of the priority axes in which the YEI is programmed, is
generally higher than other priority axes. This is so because
as regards YEI, national co-financing is required only for the
corresponding ESF support; there is no national co-financing
for the YEI specific allocation and therefore adding that
allocation increases the overall budget of the priority axis
and consequently the overall EU co-financing rate at the
level of the YEI-relevant priority axis (see example 1 below).
This provision always applies, regardless of whether the YEI
is implemented as a dedicated priority axis or a part of
a priority axis.
2. Where the YEI is implemented by a dedicated YEI priority axis, which covers YEI eligible regions from more than one category, the highest EU co-financing rate applies for all categories of regions in that prior-ity axis (Art. 22.3 of the ESF regulation).
Member States can only make use of this provision if they
have regions of more than one category, which are eligi-
ble for the YEI and they all are grouped in a dedicated YEI
priority axis. For instance, if a Member State includes cor-
responding ESF support for a more developed and a transi-
tion region in a dedicated YEI priority axis, the total of ESF
resources can benefit from the highest EU co-financing rate
(in this case, that of the transition region).
This provision does not apply when the YEI is implemented as
a part of a priority axis.
When the YEI resources cover one category of region, there
is no difference in the calculation of the co-financing rate,
regardless of whether the YEI is implemented as a specific pri-
ority axis or part of a priority axis.
3. The corresponding ESF support shall at least match the support from the specific allocation for the YEI for each priority axis (Art. 22.1 of the ESF regulation).
This implies that the corresponding ESF should be equal to the spe-
cific allocation for the YEI, but may also surpass it. Since no national
co-financing requirement applies to the YEI specific allocation, the
EU co-financing rate for a YEI priority axis (or part of a priority axis)
is determined by the allocated corresponding ESF support.
As a result of the provisions outlined above, the following pos-
sibilities exist when programming the YEI:
1) The YEI is programmed through a dedicated priority axis or
part of a priority axis (in YEI dedicated OPs all priority axes are
YEI-specific, except in the case of a possible TA priority axis).
2) The YEI (part of) priority axis targets regions from 1 category
or more than 1 category.
The ESF corresponding support is equal to the specific alloca-
tion for the YEI or exceeds it.
17
GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTING THE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE – EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND THEMATIC PAPER
Examples of YEI co-financing
Example 1: Co-financing rate (1 category of regions, YEI:ESF ratio is 1:1)
Union support National counterpart
Total funding Co-financing Rate*
YEI 300 - 300 100 %
Corresponding ESF (Less developed) 300 53 353 85 %
Priority axis: 600 53 653 92 %
*The rate is rounded in the table, but the calculation will be based on the real rate of 600/653.
In this example the specific allocation for YEI is implemented
through a dedicated priority axis and the YEI is matched by exactly
the same amount of ESF resources. There is no requirement for
a national counterpart for the specific allocation for YEI, but only
for the corresponding ESF resources. The overall EU co-financing
rate of the priority axis is calculated by summing up the 2 sources
of financing and dividing the sum of Union support by the sum of
total funding. In this case this equals to 600/653 = 92 %.
Example 2: Co-financing rate (1 category of regions, ESF exceeds YEI)
Union support National counterpart
Total funding Co-financing Rate*
YEI 300 - 300 100 %
Corresponding ESF (Less developed) 500 88 588 85 %
Priority axis: 800 88 888 90 %
*The rate is rounded in the table, but the calculation will be based on the real rate of 800/888.
Example 3: Co-financing rate for multiple categories of regions in a dedicated YEI priority axis
Less Developed Transition More Developed Total
YEI 1 200 1 200
Corresponding ESF 300 400 500 1 200
EU National counterpart
Total Rate*
YEI 1 200 - 1 200 100 %
Corresponding ESF (only the highest rate applies) 1 200 212 1 412 85 %
Priority axis: 2 400 212 2 612 92 %
*The rate is rounded in the table, but the calculation will be based on the real rate of 2400/2612.
18
In this example the specific allocation for YEI is implemented
through a dedicated priority axis and the YEI is matched by
exactly the same amount of ESF resources, which come from
3 categories of regions. Same as in the previous examples,
there is no requirement for a national counterpart for the
specific allocation for YEI, but only for the ESF correspond-
ing resources. However, for all three categories of regions,
the highest co-financing rate applies (that for the less devel-
oped region). This is why for all the ESF resources the required
national counterpart equals 15 %.
This possibility is available when a MS decides to implement
the YEI as a dedicated priority axis. Where a MS decides to
implement the YEI as part of a priority axis and decides to
match the YEI with ESF from more than one category of region,
then for each category of region the usual co-financing rate
will apply. The overall co-financing rate for the part of the pri-
ority axis implementing the YEI, will be calculated in the fol-
lowing way:
Example 4: Co-financing rate for multiple categories of regions in a part of a priority axis
Less Developed Transition More Developed Total
YEI 1 200 1 200
Corresponding ESF 300 400 500 1 200
ESF outside YEI 2 000
EU National public Total Rate*
YEI 1 200 - 1 200 100 %
Corresponding ESF (LD) 300 53 353 85 %
Corresponding ESF (Transition) 400 267 667 60 %
Corresponding ESF (MD) 500 500 1 000 50 %
YEI part of priority axis: 2 400 820 3 220 75 %*
Part of priority axis outside of YEI: 2 000 353 2 353 85 %
* The YEI rate is rounded in the table, but the calculation will be based on the real rate of 2400/3220.
In this case the co-financing rate is calculated in the same
way as in the previous examples. The only difference is
that the determination of the national counterpart varies
between the different categories of region because differ-
ent co-financing rates are applied. The rationale behind this
provision is that MS are encouraged to program the YEI as
a dedicated priority axis, rather than a part of a priority axis.
As the YEI is implemented through part of a priority axis, for
the co-financing rate for the ESF resources outside the YEI
the usual rules apply.
19
GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTING THE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE – EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND THEMATIC PAPER
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCEThe YEI cannot finance technical assistance actions due to its
nature and focus on a single investment priority. Article 119(1)
of the CPR makes a differentiation between the Funds and the
specific allocation for YEI – 4 % of the amount of the Funds
allocated to OPs in a MS under each category of region may
be allocated to technical assistance, while the specific alloca-
tion for YEI may be taken into account in the calculation of the
limit to the total amount of the Funds allocated to the techni-
cal assistance of the MS. ESF TA can thus be used to support
additional tasks required to implement the Initiative, within the
limit set out in Article 119(2) of the CPR. Within a YEI dedi-
cated OP it would be possible to include a priority axis for TA,
financed entirely by the ESF. It should be noted, however, that
the maximum TA rate will remain unchanged.
EX-ANTE CONDITIONALITYThe ex-ante conditionality (8.6) on YEI applies to YEI
investments only. It is an important prerequisite to ensure
that Member States’ ESF investments in this policy field are
embedded in a strategic policy framework for youth employ-
ment and including for setting up youth guarantee schemes. It
should be noted that the conditionality does not call for estab-
lishing a new strategy but for demonstrating the existence of
a strategic policy framework. The Guide on ex-ante condition-
alities includes methodological guidance on the concepts such
as NEETs, a strategic policy framework, etc., for the purpose of
assessing the fulfilment of the ex-ante conditionality criteria
related to YEI.
The Youth Guarantee Implementation Plans that Member States
have been required to prepare in the context of implementing
the Youth Guarantee Recommendation will be considered as an
important element in view of assessing the fulfilment of this
ex-ante conditionality with regard to MS eligible for the YEI.
20
PERFORMANCE RESERVE AND FRAMEWORKThe YEI resources (both the specific allocation for the YEI and
the corresponding ESF support) are excluded from the basis
for calculating the performance reserve. This allows Member
States to program all their YEI resources in the beginning of
the programming period. The ESF funds, which are used to
match the specific allocation for the YEI should not be taken
into account for the purposes of calculating the 6 % reserve for
the ESF at Member State level.
The YEI resources will be part of the performance frame-
work, which presupposes that Member States will have to
define milestones and targets related to the YEI. Given that
the YEI operations can be declared to the Commission until
the end of 2018, at the time of submission of programmes
the milestones and the targets are expected to have the
same value and be reached by 2018 (which corresponds to
the N+3 time target related to the 2015 financial alloca-
tion). In addition, where the YEI is implemented as part of
a priority axis, YEI implementation will be reported sepa-
rately from the rest of the priority axis with dedicated YEI
indicators (set out in Annex II of the ESF Regulation) in addi-
tion to the common indicators set out in Annex I of the ESF
Regulation and, if the Member State wishes to do so, with
programme-specific indicators. All common YEI indicators
set out in Annex II must be linked with a cumulative quanti-
fied target value for 2023.
THEMATIC CONCENTRATIONWith regard to calculating thematic concentration, the
specific allocation for YEI is not taken into account when
calculating thematic concentration. However, the ESF contribu-
tion to the YEI is taken into account for thematic concentration.
21
GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTING THE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE – EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND THEMATIC PAPER
MONITORING AND EVALUATION ARRANGEMENTSThe relevant arrangements are set out in article 19 and
Annex I and II of the ESF Regulation and relevant CPR provi-
sions related to monitoring and evaluation. The first reporting
of common indicators set out in Annex I and the common YEI
indicators set out in Annex II of the ESF Regulation is required
already in early 2015. Two evaluations are required, by end-
2015 and by end-2018. The findings are to be reported in the
AIRs submitted in 2016 and 2019 respectively.
These two evaluations are very important in order to demonstrate
the results achieved and assess the effectiveness of the use of YEI
resources. The evaluation due at the end-of 2015 will also inform
the overall progress review of YEI and will feed into the mid-term
budgetary review of the MFF which may lead to increasing YEI
resources at EU level. In this context, given the dramatic rates of
youth unemployment, the risk of a lost generation is substantial.
Therefore a high degree of accountability is expected from MS
with regard to the YEI funding allocated to the NEETs. This requires
regularly assessing the situation and ensuring that the measures
are adequately targeted and provide results.
The YEI immediate result indicators (the situation upon the
participant’s leaving the ESF operation) aim to demonstrate the
effectiveness, e.g. that the person is in training, or has received
a qualification, or has been offered a job or entered a job. The
common and the YEI specific common indicators aim to ensure
proper monitoring of implementation. As regards the longer-term result indicators (measuring effects 6 months after
leaving), the aim is to ensure that results are sustainable and
are thus of a certain quality (i.e. measures that are likely to sig-
nificantly improve the employment prospects of the person). It
should be noted that the indicators set out in Annex II of the
ESF Regulation should be reported for YEI interventions only.
At the same time, Annex II is additional to Annex I on the ESF
common indicators. Hence for YEI interventions all indicators
set out in Annex I and II must be reported.
Where a MS has decided, based on justified grounds, to extend
the YEI target group age to under 30 years, Member States
should include an additional programme-specific output indi-
cator that captures the age bracket 25-29 years old. This age
bracket is not captured with the common output indicators.
This is to ensure that results reported under the result indica-
tors are meaningful and refer to the entire population of the
supported young people.
The relevant provisions related to monitoring and evaluation
of the YEI, as stated in Article 19(4) ESF specifically refer to
assessing the quality of support to disadvantaged young per-
sons, those from marginalised communities and those leaving
education without qualifications.
The longer-term result indicators in Annex II (as well as in Annex
I) will be reported based on a representative sample. The data
collection for the longer-term result indicators does not neces-
sarily require an evaluation. The data collection method could
be e.g. a survey. The YEI longer-term result set out in Annex II
are to be reported annually, starting in April 2015, whereas the
common longer-term result indicators set out in Annex I are to
be reported only in 2019 and 2025. Unlike for the rest of the
OP, reporting on the implementation of YEI does not require to
provide the indicator data broken down by category of region. It
does however require a breakdown by gender.
The enhanced reporting and evaluation requirements for YEI
set out in the Regulation take the funding arrangements appli-
cable for YEI into account, namely that the amounts must be
committed in 2014 and 2015 and spent at the latest by the
end 2018 (“n+3” rule).
For further guidance on monitoring and evaluation please refer
to EC guidance on ESF monitoring and evaluation and EC guid-
ance on YEI evaluation (forthcoming).
22
EARLY ELIGIBILITY DATE OF EXPENDITUREAs noted above, one of the measures to speed up the implemen-
tation of the YEI was the introduction of an early date for eligi-
bility of expenditure. Expenditure eligible under the YEI shall be
eligible as of 1 September 2013 (Art. 65(3); (5) CPR). These pro-
visions allow Member States to incur and subsequently declare
expenditure in the period between 1 September 2013 and the
date of the Commission decision approving the relevant opera-
tional programme. When Member States decide to make use
of this provision it is important to apply it in conjunction with
other relevant provisions of the CPR and the ESF Regulation. In
particular Member States should take account of the following:
• An operation has to be selected for support on the basis
of selection procedures and criteria. The methodology and
criteria used for selection of operations will have to be
approved by the programme’s monitoring committee (Art.
110 (2)(a) and Art. 125 (3) (a) CPR). Given that the Monitor-
ing Committee cannot be set up as long as the programme
is not adopted, the Member States should put in place
provisional selection criteria and methodology, as close as
possible as the final ones, in order to be able to select YEI
operations before adoption of the OP. Following the approval
of the OP once the Monitoring Committee has been formed,
the selection criteria and the methodology should be for-
mally confirmed.
• Operations cannot be reimbursed by the YEI if they have
been physically completed or fully implemented before the
application for funding is submitted by the beneficiary to the
managing authority (Art. 65 (6) CPR). This provision implies
that expenditure incurred under the YEI should be part of
operations, which are still ongoing at the moment of appli-
cation for funding.
• For operations, which have started before the submission
of an application for funding to the managing authority, the
managing authority has to satisfy itself that the applicable
law has been complied with (Art. 125 (3) (e) CPR), including
responsibilities of Member States with regard to manage-
ment, control, and audit, as well as with regard to informa-
tion and communication measures.
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GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTING THE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE – EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND THEMATIC PAPER
MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENTThe responsibilities of Member States and the Commission
with regard to management, control, and audit apply to all YEI
resources. The closure of programmes, which implement the
YEI, will follow the provisions of Art. 141 CPR.
The same level of pre-financing will apply to the specific
allocation for the YEI as for the ESF, it will be subject to the
examination of accounts procedure, as well as interruptions/
suspensions and financial corrections. The N+3 rule will apply
to the YEI resources.
Member States will submit applications for payment for the
YEI expenditure as part of the payment claim for the ESF. The
applications for payment will not differentiate between the
specific allocation for YEI and the corresponding ESF support
or between the categories of regions for the ESF, since the split
between the funding sources will be automated at Commis-
sion level during the processing of the payment claims.
Art. 23 ESF states that when the Commission reimburses
interim payments and pays the final balance for the YEI
by priority axis, it shall allocate the reimbursement from
the budget of the Union equally between the ESF and the
specific allocation for the YEI. Once all resources from the
specific allocation for the YEI have been reimbursed, the
Commission shall allocate the remaining reimbursements to
the ESF (therefore only in the case where the MS decided
to allocate more ESF than required to match the YEI, see
example 2 below). The reimbursement from the ESF shall
be allocated between the categories of regions according to
the ratio laid down in the Commission decision adopting an
operational programme. The ratio between the specific allo-
cation for the YEI and the corresponding ESF support is not
taken into account.
The ESF regulation foresees 2 possibilities with regard to the
ratio between the specific allocation for the YEI and the ESF for
each priority axis: the ESF can match the YEI specific allocation
or there can be more ESF resources than resources from the
specific allocation for the YEI. Art. 23 will have specific impact
in the latter case. The following 2 examples describe this in
more detail:
1) YEI/ESF ratio is 1:1
Less Developed Transition More Developed Total
YEI 1 200 1 200
Corresponding ESF 300 400 500 1 200
EU National public Total Rate
YEI 1200 - 1200 100%
Corresponding ESF (only highest rate applies)
1 200 212 1 412 85 %
Priority axis: 2 400 212 2 612 92 %
24
In this example the ratio between the specific allocation for
the YEI and the ESF is 1:1. The YEI is implemented as a specific
priority axis, which is why only the highest co-financing rate
applies. The ratio between the categories of regions for the ESF
is found by dividing the resources of each category of region
by the total amount of ESF resources. In this case it is 25 % for
the less developed regions (300/1200)/33 % for the transition
regions (400/1200) and 42 % for the more developed regions
(500/1200).
When a payment claim is submitted by a Member State for
100 EUR, the Commission will take the following steps:
• The amount of Union support will result from applying the
EU co-financing rate of 92 %: 100*92 %= 92 EUR.
• The amount of Union support paid to the Member State
will be 90 % of the amount resulting from applying the co-
financing rate (Art. 130 CPR): 90 %*92 EUR = 82.8 EUR
• This amount will be divided equally between the YEI spe-
cific allocation and the ESF (art. 23 (1) ESF Regulation):
41.4 EUR/41.4 EUR.
• The ESF resources will be divided by category of regions
according to the ratio laid down in Commission decision
(25 %/33 %/42 %) (art. 23 (2) ESF Regulation): 10.35 EUR
for ESF LDR/13.65 EUR for ESF TR/17.4 EUR for ESF MDR.
2) ESF support exceeds YEI specific allocation
Less Developed Transition More Developed Total
YEI 1 200 1 200
Corresponding ESF 600 800 1 000 2 400
EU National public Total Rate
YEI 1 200 - 1 200 100 %
Corresponding ESF (only highest rate applies)
2 400 424 2 824 85 %
Priority axis: 3 600 424 4 024 89 %
• In this example the ratio between the specific allocation
for the YEI and the ESF is 1:2. The YEI is implemented as
a specific priority axis, which is why only the highest co-
financing rate applies. The ratio between the categories
of regions for the ESF is again 25 %/33 %/42 %.
• When a payment claim is submitted by a Member State
for 100 EUR, the Commission will take the following steps:
• The amount of Union support will result from applying
the EU co-financing rate of 89 %: 100*89 %= 89 EUR.
• The amount of Union support paid to the Member State
will be 90 % of the amount resulting from applying
the co-financing rate (Art. 130 CPR): 90 %*89 EUR =
80.1 EUR.
• This amount will be divided equally between the YEI spe-
cific allocation and the ESF (art. 23 (1) ESF Regulation):
40.05 EUR/40.05 EUR.
• The ESF resources will be divided by category of regions
according to the ratio laid down in Commission decision
(25 %/33 %/42 %) (art. 23 (2) ESF Regulation): 100 125 EUR
for ESF LDR/132 165 EUR for ESF TR/16.821 EUR for ESF MDR.
This example shows that even if the ESF resources exceed
the YEI specific allocation, the Commission will reimburse
the resources equally between the YEI and the ESF, until all
the resources from the specific allocation for YEI have been
reimbursed. In this example the Commission will reimburse
resources in the amount of 2 400 EUR of EU co-financing
equally between the specific allocation for YEI and the cor-
responding ESF – this is when the specific allocation for YEI
will be fully reimbursed. The remaining 1 200 EUR of EU co-
financing will be reimbursed only from the ESF according to the
ratio between the categories of regions.
25
GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTING THE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE – EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND THEMATIC PAPER
JOINT ACTION PLANS AND SIMPLIFIED COST OPTIONSGiven the nature of joint action plans (JAPs) as a mecha-
nism to deliver result-oriented operations, this instrument
may be appropriate for the programming and delivery of
YEI interventions. The YEI is guided by specifically defined
result indicators as set out in Annex II of the ESF Regulation.
At the same time YEI interventions are likely to include com-
binations of employment, education and training-related
measures that could be grouped to achieve a single objec-
tive. This approach fits well with the intention of JAPs. Also,
given the shorter time frame for YEI activities (until end-
2018), a JAP could be an implementation framework that
could provide for better coordination and speedier delivery
of results on the ground.
JAPs supported by the YEI do not have to meet the JAP thresh-
olds foreseen in art. 104 (2) of the CPR, which provides Member
States with greater flexibility. JAPs do not have to be submit-
ted together with the OPs, so Member States are encouraged
to consider the opportunity provided by this mechanism also
after the start of the programming period.
The use of simplified cost options (SCOs), as defined in Art. 67 and
68 of CPR and Art. 14 of the ESF Regulation is also recommended
for the YEI. SCOs lower the administrative burden associated with
the management of YEI operations. Member States are encour-
aged to define and make use of simplified cost options, which are
compatible with the interventions, supported by the YEI.
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION ARRANGEMENTSArticle 20 ESF stipulates the specific provisions related to
YEI with regard to information and communication meas-
ures. Compliance with these provisions, as well as all other
provisions pertaining to YEI, is also required as concerns the
implementation of YEI-related operations during the period
between 1 September 2013 (early date of expenditure
eligibility for YEI) until the adoption of the respective oper-
ational programme related to YEI. In practice, however, the
Managing Authority should put in place interim arrangements
and procedures with regard to communicating YEI support
compliant with Art. 20 of the ESF Regulation and the require-
ments of the CPR.
26
ANNEXSpecific budgetary allocation for the YEI in accordance with Annex VIII of the CPR
MS Allocation in EUR, 2011 prices
Allocation in EUR, current prices
List of eligible regions
BE 39 643 934 42 435 070 Prov. Hainaut, Prov. Liège, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale
BG 51 558 745 55 188 745 Severen tsentralen, Severoiztochen, Severozapaden, Yugoiztochen, Yuzhen tsentralen
CZ 12 705 455 13 599 984 Severozápad
DK - -
DE - -
EE - -
IE 63 663 203 68 145 419 Border, Midland and Western, Southern and Eastern
EL 160 235 618 171 517 029Anatoliki Makedonia - Thraki, Attiki, Dytiki Ellada, Dytiki Makedonia, Ipeiros, Kentriki Makedonia, Kriti, Notio Aigaio, Peloponnisos, Sterea Ellada, Thessalia, Voreio Aigaio
ES 881 438 516 943 496 315
Andalucía, Aragón, Canarias, Cantabria, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Cataluña, Ciudad Autónoma de Ceuta, Ciudad Autónoma de Melilla, Comunidad de Madrid, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, Comunidad Valenciana, Extremadura, Galicia, Illes Balears, La Rioja, País Vasco, Principado de Asturias, Región de Murcia
FR 289 760 755 310 161 402Aquitaine, Auvergne, Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Haute-Normandie, Languedoc-Roussillon, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Picardie, Mayotte, Guadeloupe, Guyane, Martinique, Réunion
IT 530 183 597 567 511 248
Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia, Toscana, Umbria, Valle d Aosta/Vallée d Aoste
CY 10 810 954 11 572 101 Cyprus
LV 27 102 486 29 010 639 Latvia
LT 29 692 153 31 782 633 Lithuania
27
GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTING THE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE – EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND THEMATIC PAPER
MS Allocation in EUR, 2011 prices
Allocation in EUR, current prices
List of eligible regions
LU - -
HU 46 492 074 49 765 356 Dél-Alföld, Dél-Dunántúl, Észak-Alföld, Észak-Magyarország
MT - -
NL - -
AT - -
PL 235 833 904 252 437 822Dolnoslaskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Lódzkie, Lubelskie, Lubuskie, Malopolskie, Podkarpackie, Swietokrzyskie, Warminsko-Mazurskie, Zachodniopomorskie
PT 150 197 494 160 772 169 Alentejo, Algarve, Centro (PT), Lisboa, Norte, Região Autónoma da Madeira, Região Autónoma dos Açores
RO 99 022 615 105 994 315 Centru, Sud – Muntenia, Sud-Est
SI 8 605 654 9 211 536 Vzhodna Slovenija
SK 67 427 983 72 175 259 Stredné Slovensko, Východné Slovensko, Západné Slovensko
FI - -
SE 41 258 300 44 163 096 Mellersta Norrland, Norra Mellansverige, Sydsverige
UK 192 542 168 206 098 124 Inner London, Merseyside, South Western Scotland, Tees Valley and Durham, West Midlands
HR 61 824 391 66 177 144 Jadranska Hrvatska, Kontinentalna Hrvatska
Total 3 000 000 000 3 211 215 406
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GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTING THE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE – EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND THEMATIC PAPER
The European Council agreed in February 2013 to create a dedicated Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) to increase available EU financial support to the regions and individuals struggling most with youth unemployment and inactivity. The Initiative amplifies support provided by the European Social Fund for implementation of the youth employment measures and thus support the implementation of the Youth Guarantee by funding activities to directly help young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEETs). This guidance document on the YEI targets in particular the ESF managing authorities in charge of the implementation of the Initiative. It provides an overview of the rules applicable focusing on targets groups, programming aspects, scope and financial rules of the YEI.
This publication is available in electronic format.
To find more about the ESF please visit http://ec.europa.eu/esf
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KE-02-14-936-EN-N
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