Social Policy

The Social Policy Agenda (SPA) is Europe's roadmap for social and employment policy through 2010. It plays a very important role in the EU's new Growth and Jobs strategy.

The characteristics of the social policy in the European Union are based on priorities declared in the Lisbon Strategy and the Commission's Social Policy Agenda.

The major components of these documents are:

• Employment

• Working conditions and work organizations

• Inclusive society

• Gender equality

These four components are key elements in all the programmes and horizontal funding initiatives related to social policy.

The first and most important fund is the ESF (European Social Fund) - one of the EU's two Structural Funds that aims to reduce the discrepancies in living standards between the different peoples and regions of the EU.

It will provide support through two new objectives: 'Convergence', which will finance up to 75% (of public spending) in the least developed regions and 'Regional Competitiveness and Employment' , which concerns the rest of the territory and will cover 50% of costs.

The EQUAL Community Initiative was funded through the European Social Fund in the previous financial period. Its aim was to expose and fight discrimination and exclusion based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. In the next financial period EQUAL will be fully integrated into the scope of ESF and mainstreamed within the national and regional operational programmes.

The PROGRESS programme will replace existing community programmes for the period 2007-2013. It will support organizations active in the following areas:

• Combating discrimination

• Promoting gender equality

• Integrating disabled people into society

More information:
DG Employment, Social Affaires and Equal Opportunities