ESF Synthesis Report of 2022

This report summarises the state of play of European Social Fund (ESF) implementation in 2022 and with it sheds light on use of the Youth Employment Initiative, the financing tool behind the European Youth Guarantee. The project reports that overall, the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) supported 3.9 million participants by the end of 2022 with Spain, France and Italy reporting more than half of all participants. The report moreover explains that the YEI was initially ‘frontloaded’, with a large number of interventions in 2015 and 2016. Over time, Member States reported that it became increasingly difficult to identify, mobilise, and recruite sufficient young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs) for the remaining interventions and financial support schemes. As a result, YEI participation has increased more slowly in recent years.