Around €90 billion of EU funds can now start being used by the 27 governments of the EU’s Member States through various schemes, for the upcoming seven years.

A statement by the European People’s Party (EPP) said that this comes following the strong endorsement made by the European parliament to the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) negotiated by parliament’s rapporteur MEP David Casa. This occurred in its first plenary session being held in Strasbourg since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Casa has been negotiating the ESF since the beginning of this legislature, leading difficult negotiations both within the Parliament itself, but also with the various presidencies of the Council. The final agreement with the Council was reached last January.

Reacting to the adoption of the fund, which saw no vote being taken as no amendments were submitted, MEP Casa said that “today is a good day for Europe. Long days of fruitful meetings and negotiations led to this important step: that of providing the EU’s Member States with almost €90 billion to be used to improve the quality of lives of all Europeans.”

“This is what our work as MEPs is all about. Getting the best results for our electorate and providing enough money to governments to use them in the interests of all citizens,” Casa added.

The plenary’s approval followed the backing of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee, which was given last Monday.

Since the EU funds can now start being used, it is up to the various member states to launch different schemes by using the allocated sum of of money from the ESF+, as of 2021 till 2027.

“I now urge the Maltese government to make immediate use of this money. I look forward to seeing the people of Malta and Gozo making use of these funds,” remarked Casa.

The aim of these funds is to use them in various schemes, which will be mainly administered by Jobs Plus, but not only.

The funds can be used for employees to improve their skills through various training courses, for employers to encourage their employees to enhance their output and aim at growing within that workplace, for individuals who lost their job during the pandemic and want to find a new place of employment, for the most deprived to be provided with the necessary food as well as for persons with disabilities to ensure that they are provided with all the necessary opportunities.

Other ways the fund can be used include through various schemes to ensure that all youth are provided with education, training or work as well as through the various schemes run by local councils within the different communities in Malta and Gozo.

Regarding the negotiations, Casa said that “it was very important that we agreed on a balanced framework. In fact, we managed to provide the Member States with enough flexibility to ensure that they can use the money where they need it most, but at the same time we ensured adequate amounts to be spent on certain priorities, such as the Child Guarantee and the Youth Guranatee.”