Europe / Older workers: Neither the Member States nor the Commission are in a position to establish results

Member States and Commission cannot assess if programmes actually help – say EU Auditors

Increasing the employment rate of older workers is part of the EU’s strategic goals. But a new report by the European Court of Auditors has found that neither the Member States nor the Commission are in a position to establish how many older workers have gained new qualifications, or found or kept a job after having benefited from an action funded by the ESF. The necessary tools to provide relevant and reliable information in this respect have not been put in place by most audited member states.

The European Social Fund (ESF) is a key financial instrument designed to help the Member States achieve EU employment policy objectives. Its aims are to promote the integration in the labour market of the unemployed and disadvantaged, primarily by supporting training activities. From 2007 to the end of 2013, ESF spending will amount to over €75 billion, representing around 8 % of the total EU budget. Six programmes with a value of €222 million were selected for the audit, and cover four Member States (Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom).

“The Commission is approving programmes without requiring the information to check if they are really working and the Member States are not providing it.”, said Lazaros Lazarou, the ECA member responsible for the report, “Not having reliable, verifiable and timely performance data and assessments of the different actions makes it impossible for the policy makers to draw conclusions for current and future policymaking.”

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor 

via European Court of Auditors : Older workers – Member States and Commission cannot assess if programmes actually help – say EU Auditors.