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Support Center
HELPDESK - SOCIAL SERVICES HELPDESK ON EU FUNDS
Italy
Survey
The resources available to Italy for the 2021-2027 programming period are described in Partnership Agreement 2021-2027. For this seven-year period, Italy has available 74,067,329,380 euros between the ERDF, ESF+ and JTF, to which must be added 987,290,803 euros from the FEAMPA, for a total of 75,054,620,183 euros (42,697,750,649 euros of EU contribution and 32,356,869,534 euros of national contribution), in favor of 10 National Programmes, 38 Regional Programs and 4 Programs of the Autonomous Provinces of Bolzano and Trento.
Added to these are the resources of the European Territorial Cooperation: Italy participates in 19 Interreg programmes, with a total budget of 1,248,000,000 euros. This is the highest amount of all previous programming periods.
The European and national resources of the 2021-2027 Structural Funds are distributed as follows:
- More developed regions: €23.882 billion (Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardy, the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano, Piedmont, Tuscany, Valle d’Aosta and Veneto);
- Regions in transition: 3,612 billion euros; (Abruzzo, Marche and Umbria);
- Less developed regions: €46.575 billion. (Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sardinia and Sicily).
The main European Structural Funds supporting the 2021-2027 cohesion policy are:
- The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) which has the objective of promoting the economic and employment growth of the European regions and smoothing out disparities and development imbalances;
- The European Social Fund plus (ESF+), which supports Member States in achieving high and adequate levels of employment and fair and inclusive social protection;
- The European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFF), which promotes sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, restoration and conservation of aquatic biological resources, the blue economy in coastal, island and inland areas, supports the development of fisheries and aquaculture communities, assists international governance for safe, secure, clean and sustainably managed seas and oceans;
- The Just Transition Fund (JTF), which supports territories facing serious socio-economic challenges deriving from the transition process towards climate neutrality and wants to enable regions and people to face the social, economic and environmental effects deriving from this transition. Â
- The Cohesion Fund (FC), reserved for countries with a per capita Gross National Income of less than 90% of the EU average, among which Italy is not included.
RELEVANT OBJECTIVES FOR SOCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS
The pandemic has contributed to aggravating the conditions of several already vulnerable groups of the population. The most pressing challenges, especially in the South, are: the participation of young people and women in the labor market; the prevention and fight against early school leaving; raising the level of tertiary education; the strengthening of skills, especially digital ones, throughout the lifespan; the fight against poverty and social exclusion, especially of minors; the resilience of the health system; the enhancement of culture and tourism in economic development, for inclusion and social innovation.
Interventions of particular interest to social service providers are those falling under OBJECTIVE 4 of the Agreement, for A MORE SOCIAL AND INCLUSIVE EUROPE, which focus on the following priorities:
- Occupation;
- education and training;
- Inclusion and social protection;
- culture and tourism.
The reference programs for achieving these objectives are:
- PN School and skills;
- NP Inclusion and poverty;
- PN Youth, women and work;
- NP Culture;
- PN Metro plus and medium cities of the South;
- PN Equity in health.
Funds: ERDF, ESF+.
NATIONAL PROGRAMS
The Italian Partnership Agreement provides for the establishment of 10 National Programs (NP), aimed at the implementation of the following areas:
- School and skills;
- Research, innovation and competitiveness for the green and digital transition;
- Security for legality;
- Equity in health;
- Inclusion and fight against poverty;
- Young people, women, and work;
- Metro plus and medium cities in the South;
- Culture;
- Capacity for cohesion;
- Just Transition Fund.
25.575 billion euros are reserved for National Programs between European funding and national co-financing.
A larger share of resources, amounting to 48.492 billion euros, will instead go to finance the Regional Programmes, which will be promoted by all the Regions and Autonomous Provinces.
Breakdown of funds in relation to national plans and amount allocated to them
| PN | Funds | Application area | TOTALS (€ million)* |
|---|---|---|---|
| School and skills | ERDF; ESF+ | Entire national territory | 3.781,0 |
| Research, innovation and competitiveness for the green and digital transition | ERDF | Less developed regions | 5.636,0 |
| Security for legality | ERDF | Less developed regions | 235,3 |
| Equity in health | ERDF; ESF+ | Less developed regions | 625,0 |
| Inclusion and fight against poverty | ERDF; ESF+ | Entire national territory | 4.079,9 |
| Young people, women and work | FSE+ | Entire national territory | 5.088,7 |
| Metro Plus and medium-sized cities in the South | ERDF; ESF+ | Metropolitan cities and medium-sized cities of the South | 3.002,5 |
| Culture | ERDF | Less developed regions | 648,3 |
| Capacity for Cohesion | ERDF; ESF+ | Entire national territory | 1.267,4 |
| Just Transition Fund | JTF | Taranto and Sulcis Iglesiente | 1.211,3 |
* The table includes both EU and national contributions. To these is added the PN FEAMPA
RESOURCES ALLOCATED TO THE REGIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL PLANS
| REGION | ASSIGNED RESOURCES  (millions of €, shares including EU and national contributions) | REGION | ASSIGNED RESOURCES(millions of €, shares including EU and national contributions) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abruzzo | 1.087,6 | P.A. of Bolzano | 396,6 |
| Basilicata | 983,0 | P.A. of Trent | 340,7 |
| Calabria | 3.173,1 | Piedmont | 2.812,4 |
| Campania | 6.973,1 | Puglia | 5.577,3 |
| Emilia Romagna | 2.048,4 | Sardinia | 2.325,1 |
| Friuli-Venezia G. | 738,6 | Sicily | 7.374,5 |
| Lazio | 3.419,8 | Tuscany | 2.312,5 |
| Liguria | 1.087,5 | Umbria | 813,4 |
| Lombardy | 3.507,4 | Valle d’Aosta | 174,0 |
| Market | 881,8 | Veneto | 2.062,6 |
| Molise | 402,5 | TOTAL | 48.491,9 |
THEMATIC CONCENTRATIONS
In order to contribute to the achievement of the main objectives of the Union strategy, the Member States are called to concentrate financial support “on the interventions which bring the greatest added value” to the achievement of this strategy.
ERDF/CF thematic concentration: Italy decides to respect the thematic concentration at the level of the regional categories
ESF+ thematic concentration: The ESF+ pays particular attention to social inclusion and young people (thematic concentration of 30% and 15% respectively, as per the table below).
| The Member State complies with the thematic concentration requirements | Percentage | ESF+ programs foreseen |
|---|---|---|
| Social inclusion | 30,00%Â | NP Equity in health ERDF-ESF+, NP Inclusion and fight against poverty ERDF-ESF+, PR Abruzzo ESF+, PR Campania ESF+, PR Emilia-Romagna FSE+, PR Friuli-Venezia Giulia, ESF+, PR Lazio, ESF+, PR Liguria ESF+, PR Lombardy FSE+, PR Marche FSE+, PR PA Bolzano FSE+, PR PA Trento FSE+, PR Piedmont FSE+, PR Sardinia FSE+, PR Sicily FSE+, PR Tuscany FSE+ |
| Support for the poor | 3,00% | NP Inclusion and fight against poverty ERDF-ESF+ |
| Support for youth employment | 15,00% | NP Youth, women and work ESF+, PR Abruzzo FSE+, PR Campania FSE+, PR Emilia Romagna FSE+, PR Friuli Venezia Giulia FSE+, PR Lazio FSE+, PR Liguria FSE+, PR Lombardy FSE+, PR Marche FSE+, PR Piedmont FSE+, PR Sardinia FSE+, PR Sicily FSE+, PR Tuscany FSE+, PR Umbria FSE+, PR Valle d’Aosta FSE+, PR Veneto FSE+, PR Molise ERDF-ESF+, PR Puglia ERDF-FSE+, PR Calabria ERDF-ESF+, PR Basilicata ERDF-ESF+ |
| Support for the fight against poverty infantile | 5,00% | NP School and skills ERDF-ESF+, NP Inclusion e fight against poverty ERDF-ESF+ |
| Capacity building of the parties social and NGOs | 0,25% | NP School and skills ERDF-ESF+, NP Equity in health ERDF-ESF+, NP Iclusion and fight against poverty ERDFSE+, NP Youth, women and ESF+ work PR Abruzzo FSE+, PR Campania FSE+, PR Emilia Romagna FSE+, PR Frili Venezia Giulia FSE+, PR Lazio FSE+, PR Liguria FSE+, PR Lombardia FSE+, PR Marche FSE+, PR PA Bolzano FSE+, PR PA Trento FSE+, PR Piedmont FSE+, PR Sardinia FSE+, PR Sicily FSE+, PR Tuscany FSE+, PR Umbria FSE+, PR Valle d’Aosta ESF+, PR Veneto FSE+, PR Molise ESFSE+, PR Puglia ERDF-ESF+, PR Calabria ERDF-ESF+, PR Basilicata ERDF-FSE+, PN Metro plus and medium-sized cities in the South ERDF-ESF+, NP Capacity for TA cohesion ERDF-ESF+ |
COORDINATION OF LEVELS OF GOVERNANCE
At the national level, the seat of strategic coordination of cohesion policy remains confirmed in Committee with functions of monitoring and accompanying the implementation of programs (AP Committee), already established in 2014-2020. The AP Committee is chaired by the Department for Cohesion Policies (established within the Presidency of the Council of Ministers), as the National Coordination Authority of the Cohesion Policy Funds, by the Agency for Territorial Cohesion (ACT), and by the National Agency for Active Labor Policies (ANPAL).
The Committee is made up of the Program Management Authorities, the Central Administrations responsible for horizontal principles, the National Authorities responsible for satisfying the enabling conditions, the National Coordination Authorities of the ETC Objective as well as the ETC interregional coordination, the Institutional Partnership ( including UPI, ANCI and UNCEM) and economic-social and by organizations representing civil society, on the basis of criteria that ensure full consistency with the European Code of Conduct for partnerships. The competent DGs of the European Commission are invited to the meetings of the Committee.
The PA Committee has its own territorial and thematic articulations, in relation to the specificities of the areas and sectoral and horizontal themes to be addressed. It is divided into subcommittees (Subcommittees for Southern Italy, Monitoring and Control and Social Rights). The latter, pertaining to the policy areas of the ESF Plus, will guarantee a specific monitoring action for the coordination of the actions of the National and Regional Programs and will provide at least once a year information on the demarcation and complementarity of the ESF Plus with other funds of the PA or with other Funds (such as the FAMI, EAFRD, PNRR).
In order to guarantee effective mechanisms of coordination between the cohesion policy and the PNRR and to systematize, in an organic and unitary vision, the actions of the cohesion policy with those supported through the Recovery and Resilience Device, the establishment within the Committee of a dedicated technical table, which will meet at least twice a year.
In the 2021-2027 programming, the European legislation confirms the strengthening of the partnership principle already implemented in the 2014-2020 programming, for an effective and efficient implementation of the funds. To this end, it is essential to promote maximum inclusion, throughout the entire programming cycle, of the associations and representatives of subjects potentially influenced by the use of cohesion policy funds or who are bearers of knowledge and instances of support for decision-making processes they concern the use of these funds, in order to guarantee informed participation and continuous discussion aimed at improving the preparation and implementation of the Agreement and the Programmes.
NEWS AND PARTICULARLY RELEVANT ASPECTS FOR THE SOCIAL SECTOR
The novelty that affects all sectors, not just the social one, is the simplification of the thematic objectives (the 11 objectives of the 2014-2020 programming became 5 broad strategic objectives in the 2021-27 one): it is a novelty that allows States to be more flexible in transferring resources within their own action and to be more efficient in their use.
The ESF+ is the main financial instrument for implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights, and, this is the novelty, it includes various programs of the 2014-2020 programming, specifically the European Social Fund (ESF), the Initiative for the Youth Employment (YEI), the European Aid Fund for the Most Deprived (FEAD), the Employment and Social Innovation Program (EaSI) and the EU Health Programme.
The ESF+ pays particular attention to social inclusion and young people (thematic concentration of 30% and 15% respectively).
INITIATIVES TO FACILITATE ACCESS TO EU FUNDS
Easy Europe →EUROPE MADE EASY
Stages → FASI.bizÂ
Service and Volunteer Center → Infobandi CSVnet: tenders and funding opportunities for volunteering and the third sector
REFERENCES
- Partnership Agreement –Partnership agreements on EU funds 2021-2027 | European Commission (europa.eu)
- Minister for the South and Territorial Cohesion: www.ministroperilsud.gov.it within this site it is possible to detect the strategy
- Territorial Cohesion Agency: Territorial Cohesion Agency: includes a news section from the Programs and one dedicated to the operational Programs managed by the agency (PON Governance and institutional capacity, PON Metropolitan Cities). The documentation section includes the most relevant cohesion policy documents.
- Service and Volunteer Center: Infobandi CSVnet: tenders and funding opportunities for volunteering and the third sector
- Ministry of Labor and Social Policies: Europe and European funds contains a section dedicated to Europe and European funds
- Open cohesion portal: OpenCoesione to monitor the progress of projects and spending, but also all approved programs and their references.
HELPDESK Support
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
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