This document discusses shaping the future of the European Social Fund (ESF) and Europe 2020 priorities. It proposes four sources of added value for ESF interventions: 1) Benefiting future generations, 2) Giving voice to disadvantaged groups, 3) Increasing transparency, and 4) Improving governance. Specific proposals are outlined to target these areas, such as establishing minimum child incomes, strengthening civil society involvement, and promoting coordinated intervention programs. Charts are included analyzing needs in new EU member states like weak governance, low civil society participation, and employing uneducated populations.

1. Shaping the Future of ESP – ESF and Europe 2020 | Workshop 4 | www.budapestinstitute.eu
Draft presentation of Ágota Scharle, Budapest Institute, Hungary
Brussels, 23 June, Wednesday, 14.30/16.30
1. Approach
- priorities derived from goals and potential for added value
- goals derived from EU 2020: smart and inclusive growth
- consider four sources of added value, coming either from the general weekness of
democratic procedures to accommodate the interests of weak social groups (among them
the unborn generations) or from the potential of transnational sharing and learning
1. [future] if the next generation will benefit from intervention (which national gov may not
be able to generate enough support for)
2. [voice] if the intervention helps weak and discriminated groups, confronting the sentiment
of the median voter (improving the outcome of short-sighted political bargains)
3. [transparency] increase transparency of resource allocation and thereby increase
accountability of governments (by reducing the cost of information and thereby assymetry
of information for civil society)
4. [governance] transfer of good governance procedures/tools across nations and government
functions
- consider the specific needs of new member states (NMS)
2. Proposals: what follows from the above four sources of added value?
What to do How Example of concrete measure
1 future Target children, Early development as a priority, Compulsory minimum „income” for
mothers care provision to increase female children (cf Atkinson), to be spent on
employment child care services
2 voice Narrow targets to Introduce indicators that reflect
truly disadvantaged flows/mobility (from inactivity
and poverty, at household and
regional level)
Focus on rehabilitation services
(facilitate reintegration)
Impose conditionality of inclusion
on all other spending
3 trans- Enforce transparency, Strengthen EC role in pooling and Initiate peer review on involving civil
parency make information sharing info society in resource allocation and
easily available at EU monitoring
level Revive multilateral working groups
under EMCO/EPS (e.g. country
reviews, thematical sessions)
4 gover- 4.1. Reduce admin, Introduce result-based financing – Establish separate evaluation agency
nance increase NPM first as a bonus Training for auditors, review appeal
4.2. Promote Promote intra gov coordination, procedures
problem-based, remove constraints to complex OECD review of national management
coordinated programmes and admin practices
intervention: complex Capacity building in the Increase share of ESF but at the same
programmes implementation system time increase share allowed to spend on
4.3. Foster ERF type spending within that
involvement of local
Significantly increase 2% error rate for
communities
complex programmes
Ear-marked use of TA resources for
improving project management

2. Shaping the Future of ESP – ESF and Europe 2020 | Workshop 4 | www.budapestinstitute.eu
3. Proposals: what follows from specific needs of MS?
3.1. Weak governments: need extra support for introducing NPM tools
Fit with European Principles of Administration
Current fit High Mediumto high Medium Medium to low Low
Post
accession
change
Continued Lithuania Latvia
reform Estonia
Mixed Hungary
Slovenia
Reform reversal Slovak R Czech R
Poland
Source: Meyer-Sahling 2009. Based on analysis of legal changes between 2004-2008 and survey data and
interviews conducted in 2008
3.2. Weak civil society: need extra supply of information, enforcement of transparency, and
reliable/stable financing structures
Participation in civil organisations by type of organisation and country group
global
1
0.5
political church EU Eastern Europe
Nordic Europe
Central (Western
0
Europe)
Southern Europe
labour market leisure
Source: Pichler and Wallace (2008), based on the World Value Survey 2005

3. Shaping the Future of ESP – ESF and Europe 2020 | Workshop 4 | www.budapestinstitute.eu
3.3. Low employment of uneducated population is main source of long term poverty and little
convergence has happened (following recovery from transitional recession, or EU accession)
Need more assistance in policy design and ALMPs.
Employment rate of uneducated population as compared to EU15 (age 25-64)
1.4
1.2
EU 15
Slovakia
1.0 Lithuania
Czech R
0.8 Poland
Hungary
0.6 Estonia
Latvia
0.4 Bulgaria
Slovenia
0.2 Slovenia
Romania
0.0
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Source: Eurostat on-line database [tsdec430]
References
Meyer-Sahling, J.H. (2009): Sustainability of civil service reforms in Central and Eastern Europe five years after
EU accession, OECD Sigma paper no. 44.
Pichler and Wallace (2008): Civil Society in Eastern Europe 1995-2005. A comparative analysis including
Western Europe, Russia and the US. Presented at the Cinefogo conference „Squaring the Circle: The
Relationship between Civil Society and Social Capital in Central and Eastern Europe?”, 13 June, 2008