The analysis of the outcome of the negotiations concerning the partnership agreements and ESF operational programmes, for the programming period 2014-2020 : country factsheet : the Netherlands

The main challenges identified by the CSR focus primarily on higher employability of the workforce and, particularly, of older workers (active ageing) and women. In terms of social inclusion, challenges have been identified to further support the non-active working population and for people at the margins of the labour market. The Netherlands addresses these challenges in the Partnership Agreement by focusing on three themes: - active inclusion - active ageing - access to employment of unemployed and non-active population; - The Dutch ESF programme focuses on these three themes by concentrating on three investment priorities, under one national OP. This OP and the three investment priorities are coherent with the challenges identified by CSR. - Social inclusion of disadvantaged groups is the dominant thematic objective of the Dutch ESF programme; 74 % of the budget is dedicated to this investment, which roughly equates to €361 million euro. - The objectives of the selected investment priorities are overall coherent to the challenges identified, and the actions that underlie these are relevant to achieving the objectives. Also, the target groups identified for each of the actions are relevant for achieving the desired results. - All output and results indicators are well suited to measure progress towards the established objectives, and most are properly justified in the programme documentation. -The special ESF themes are partly addressed in the Netherlands. While youth unemployment is an issue that is not specifically targeted under the ESF programme, its actions also focus on the young unemployed. Most of the actions related to the ESF programme can be classified as active labour market policies. - No specific action and/or budget is dedicated to institutional capacity and the efficiency of public administration.