The European Social Fund Plus

The European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) is the European Union’s main instrument for investing in people. With a budget of almost EUR 99.3 billion for the period of 2021-2027, the ESF+ will provide an important contribution to the EU’s employment, social, education and skills policies, including structural reforms in these areas. 

The European Commission adopted its new ESF+ Regulation (regulation EU 2021/1057) on 30 June 2021. The new 'simpler but stronger’ version of the existing European Social Fund will concentrate on the challenges identified under the European Semester, in particular in order to meet social and employment challenges following the COVID-19 outbreak and with a strengthened focus on social innovation. The COVID-19 pandemic has reversed gains in labour participation, challenged educational and health systems and increased inequalities. The ESF+ will be one of the key EU instruments helping Member States to address these challenges.

ESF+ brings together four funding instruments, originally separated in the 2014-2020 programing period including: the European Social Fund (ESF); the Fund for European Aid to the most Deprived (FEAD); the Youth Employment Initiative; and the European Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI).

ESF+ will aim to strengthen Europe’s social dimension, by putting the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights into practice through 11 specific objectives.

A more social Europe

The European Commission’s support in the social economy sphere has been stepped up recently, with the adoption of the Social Economy Action Plan. It aims to help the European social economy thrive, tapping into its economic and job-creation potential, as well as its contribution to a fair and inclusive recovery, and the green and digital transitions.

For further information about ESF+, please visit the ESF+ website.

For preliminary information about financial instruments under the ESF, please consult the fi-compass factsheet on ESF financial instruments.

Recent videos

Workers’ Buyout: new frontiers for the social economy

Workers’ Buyout: new frontiers for the social economy

11 July 2025   about 7 mins

A Workers’ Buyout happens when employees take over ownership of the company they work for, often to save it from closure or preserve jobs. This video highlights how this approach helps with business succession and job security, featuring real-life stories from across Europe and insights into how cooperatives can support these efforts, showing how Workers’ buyouts can empower employees, strengthen local economies, and offer a sustainable alternative for businesses facing economic hardship.

Microfinance: empowering Europe’s entrepreneurs

Microfinance: empowering Europe’s entrepreneurs

11 July 2025   about 7 mins

Microfinance can help Europe's necessity-driven entrepreneurs and those starting businesses to provide for themselves and their families. With zero-interest loans, no guarantees, and hands-on support, microfinance is unlocking self-employment, creating jobs, and driving social inclusion.

This video explains how Bulgaria and Poland implemented ESF+ financial instruments to support entrepreneurship through microcredit and other tools. It also highlights how programmes like CONFÍA in Spain play a key role to assist women entrepreneurs and other target groups in accessing finance for their businesses.

FI Campus 2024 – Carrying the torch for financial instruments HIGHLIGHTS

FI Campus 2024 – Carrying the torch for financial instruments

9 July 2024   about 7 mins

Check out the standout moments from FI Campus 2024, an event dedicated to financial instruments in the EU. Watch key segments from the conference, including a fireside chat with Commissioner Elisa Ferreira and European Investment Bank President Nadia Calviño. Enjoy exclusive interview snippets and get a sneak peek at our Showcase Award 2024 winners. Don't miss these essential highlights!

Stories

Ideas Factory

Give and take

24 September 2024

The European Social Fund (ESF) powered risk-sharing microfinance facility enabled Yanina Taneva, founder of Ideas Factory, to deliver impactful projects in Bulgaria’s poorest regions. The Sofia-based association is driving community-led social changes in places where they are scarce – across generations, in cities and remote villages, and for individuals and municipal authorities.

Fashion show organised by Razem

“Together we can do more”

23 September 2024

Building on the success of a financial instrument created for a 2007-2013 pilot, the Polish National Fund for Social Entrepreneurship (NFSE) – set up in the 2014-2020 period with €37 million – is helping to protect hundreds of social economy enterprises all over the country. RAZEM (meaning “together” in Polish), an association that supports 200 children and young people with mental and physical disabilities, was fortunate enough to be able to rely on the fund’s support at a difficult time.

Bulgaria (Yugozapaden) Showcase 2024 image

SIS Credit and FMFIB: Revitalising Bulgarian villages through financial instruments

15 June 2024

The ESF powered Risk-Sharing Micro-Finance Facility invests in social entrepreneurship to address the needs of vulnerable groups. Promoted by FMFIB, Bulgaria's Fund Manager of Financial Instruments, and implemented by SIS Credit and Mikrofond, this financial instrument has supported the creation of over 1 500 jobs in Bulgaria.