1. Update on the extension of the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI)
ESF Technical Working Group
Valletta, 14 June 2017

2. I. Update (1)
- 7 March 2017 : Agreement in the Council to increase the YEI by €1.2 billion
- 5 April 2017: Vote in EP (plenary) on the MFF Review and increase of the YEI specific allocation over the period by € 1.2 billion to be spread over 4 years
In 2017: €5OO Mio – as agreed by the EP and Council as part of the negotiations on the 2017 budget
- BUT, formal Council adoption of the MTR and MFF Regulation scheduled for 25 April 2017 postponed. Following formal adoption of MTR, YEI can be increased by €1.2 billon. However, this is not yet the case.

3. I. Update (2)
- 30 May 2017: COM proposed draft amending budget No 3/2017: increase of € 500 Mio for 2017 by using the global margins.
- 30 May 2017: Statement of estimates of the European Commission for the financial year SEC(2017) 250: COM proposes an increase of € 233,33 Mio for 2018 by using the global margins

4. II. Next steps (1) - Amendment of the CPR (amounts):
COM proposal: summer 2017: amount (€500 Mio or €1.2 billion) will depend on whether the MTR to increase the YEI by €1.2 billion is formally approved.
CPR Adoption by EP and Council: summer/autumn 2017
- Amendment of the Commission Implementing Decision – annual breakdown of allocations by Member State and list of YEI eligible regions: summer/autumn 2017 on the basis of the latest available annual data on youth unemployment (Art. 16 ESF)
- Amendment of Partnership Agreements and OPs: autumn and at the latest by

5. II. Next steps (2)
- In case no formal agreement is reached on the MTR :
COM CPR proposal will only contain € 500 Mio for 2017 (in the first stage) and - following the adoption of the 2018 budget (November 2017) Mio for 2018
Allocations for 2019 and 2020 would need to be included in the DB 2019 and Eligible regions will be determined on the basis of latest available annual data on youth unemployment Multiple lists of eligible regions
Multiple PA and OP amendments requiring in addition reprogramming of the ESF matching support.

6. III. ECA Report (1) Key findings of ECA report on YEI:
falling short of expectations
slow implementation
not reaching NEETs
puts forward recommendations to MS and Commission

7. III. ECA Report (2) Commission response
- Report examines implementation
- Implementation has picked up speed since then
- Initial delays were due to lack of notification of designation of authorities: To date: 32 out of 34 authorities designated
- 1.6 million young people participated in YEI measures by end 2016
- 62% of financial resources under the YEI were allocated to selected projects by January 2017
- Better reach out to NEETs is needed - COM will continue supporting MS in this
- Ensuring quality of offers is needed – COM working with EMCO to propose quality standards for YG
III. ECA Report (2)

8. Thank you!