COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2022/2175

of 5 August 2022

supplementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding the definition of unit costs and establishment of amounts for financing not linked to costs for certain operations facilitating the integration of young persons into the labour market, education and society in the framework of the ‘Aim, Learn, Master, Achieve’ (ALMA) initiative

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (1), and in particular Articles 94(4) and 95(4) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) With a view to simplifying the use of the ESF+ and reducing the administrative burden for beneficiaries, it is appropriate to define certain unit costs and establish amounts for financing not linked to costs available for reimbursement of the Union contribution to programmes.

(2) The unit costs for reimbursement to Member States should be established on the basis of a fair, equitable and verifiable calculation method based on historical or statistical data, as referred to in Article 94(2) second subparagraph points (a) to (d) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060.

(3) In the setting of the amounts for Union-level financing not linked to costs it should be ensured that the principles of sound financial management, in particular that the resources employed are adequate for the investments undertaken, as well as the prohibition of double funding are respected.

(4) Reaffirming the commitments made under the European Pillar of Social Rights to tackle inequalities and create equal opportunities, it is appropriate to facilitate and create incentives for the implementation of operations that provide active support to employment and education for disadvantaged young persons.

(5) In the framework of the implementation of the reinforced Youth Guarantee, along with the 2022 Year of Youth initiative, and having regard to Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/402 concerning an effective active support to employment following the COVID-19 crisis (2), the Commission launched the Aim, Learn, Master, Achieve (ALMA) initiative (3), which aims to foster young persons’s integration into the labour market, education, and society.

(6) It is appropriate to define unit costs and establish amounts for financing not linked to costs for programmes or priorities that support ALMA. It should be possible to use these unit costs and amounts for financing not linked to costs for operations supporting the integration of disadvantaged young persons into the labour market, education, and society.

(7) Such operations should include a tailor-made preparation phase in the home Member State of the participant, an accompanied stay abroad with a placement in an enterprise or institution in another Member State, and continued support upon return.

(8) There are significant disparities between Member States regarding the level of costs for this type of operation. In line with the principle of sound financial management, the amounts established by the Commission should reflect the specificities of each Member State.

(9) Furthermore, in order to create an incentive for Member States to support actions for these disadvantaged young persons in any other Member States, including those where the costs for living are higher, it is appropriate to define a top-up amount to be paid to programmes for the duration of the stay in a different Member State reflecting a higher level of costs incurred in some Member States.

(10) It is also appropriate to establish an additional top-up to encourage Member States to provide for allowances to participants where this is needed to ensure a decent standard of living of the disadvantaged young persons in those Member States. This could be the case where the participant is not entitled to social security benefits in their home Member State. It should be for the managing authority to assess such a need and decide if such an allowance is to be granted to participants.

(11) Additionally, it is justified to define a top-up amount that would be applied for successful participation. This amount would be paid to Member States to compensate for their additional efforts undertaken.

(12) In order to ensure that the unit costs remain an appropriate proxy for the costs actually incurred and that the amounts for financing not linked to costs remain adequate for the investment undertaken throughout the programming period, an appropriate adjustment method should be provided for.

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The conditions for reimbursement of the Union contribution to ESF+ operations on the basis of unit costs and financing not linked to costs, including the types of operations that are covered and the results to be achieved or conditions to be fulfilled, the amount of such reimbursement and the method to adjust that amount are set out in the Annex.

Article 2

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the

Official Journal of the European Union

.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 5 August 2022.

For the Commission

The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1)  

OJ L 231, 30.6.2021, p. 159

(2)  Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/402 of 4 March 2021 on an effective active support to employment following the COVID-19 crisis (EASE) (

OJ L 80, 8.3.2021, p. 1

).

(3)  https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1549&langId=en

ANNEX

Conditions for reimbursement of the Union contribution to programmes according to Articles 94(4) and 95(4) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 on the basis of unit costs and financing not linked to costs for operations supported under ‘ALMA’ initiative

1.   

Types of operations covered by the reimbursement based on unit costs and financing not linked to costs

Operations supported by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) promoting the implementation of the active inclusion initiative ALMA (1) (Aim-Learn-Master-Achieve) with the goal of empowering disadvantaged young persons aged 18 to 29 to find a job, apprenticeship or re-start education and thus re-integrate into society (hereafter ‘ALMA operations’). In duly justified cases, the Managing Authority may decide to extend the age of the target group to include disadvantaged young persons aged 15 to 17 years.

ALMA operations consist of three phases:

1.

Preparation: participants will receive intensive tailor-made training and coaching in their home Member State to prepare them for a stay abroad.

2.

Mobility: participants will spend two to six months in another Member State, integrated into the work environment of a company or institution. This phase needs to constitute at least 30 % of the total planned duration of the operation.

3.

Follow-up: Upon their return, continued support will guide the participants to use their newly acquired skills in their home Member State to gain employment or further education.

The defined amounts and conditions shall not apply to programes that have established their own, specific simplified cost options or financing not linked to costs schemes in accordance with Article 94(2) or 95(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, respectively, for this type of operations.

2.   

Definition of the unit costs and financing not linked to costs

The definition of the indicator triggering payment, measurement unit and the amount of the unit costs are set out in Appendix 1. The daily amounts are counted per calendar day and also apply to participants that drop out of the operation prematurely.

The conditions to be fulfilled, results to be achieved, the related unit of measurement and the amount of financing not linked to costs are set out in Appendix 2.

3.   

Adjustment

The amounts are set for those parts of an operation which are carried out during 2022. They shall be adjusted according to price levels and inflation by using the Member State’s specific Eurostat indices for yearly inflation from the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) (2) for subsequent years. The amounts shall be updated once per year and the new amount shall apply to those parts of an operation implemented in the new calendar year.

(1)  https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1549&langId=en

(2)  https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/hicp/overview

Appendix 1

Reimbursement based on unit costs

1)   

Definition of the indicator triggering payment

Disadvantaged young persons aged 15 to 29 who participate in an ALMA operation.

2)   

Measurement unit

Number of days participated in any phase of the operation (preparatory, mobility, and follow-up phase) per person.

3)   

Amounts

The daily unit costs per participant apply for all three phases of the operation equally. The amounts are set out in the below table with reference to the Member State where the beneficiary implements the operation.

Table 1

Basic unit costs per day (in EUR)

Appendix 2

Reimbursement based on amounts for financing not linked to costs

1)   

Top-up for participants going to a Member State with higher living costs

A daily top-up amount is applied, for the mobility phase, to participants of an ALMA operation who are spending their work-related stay abroad within a Member State with higher living costs than the Member State where the other phases of the operation take place. This top-up applies for particpants going from Member States of group 2 and 3 to Member States of group 1 and 2, respectively, in accordance with tables 2 to 4 below.

Table 2

Classification of Member States into groups

Table 3

Daily top-up amount for mobility phase of operations taking place in BG, CZ, EE, HR, HU, LT, LV, PL, RO, SI and SK (in EUR)

Table 4

Daily top-up amount for mobility phase of operations taking place in AT, BE, CY, DE, EL, ES, FR, IT, MT, NL and PT (in EUR)

2)   

Optional top-up for participants who receive an allowance from the beneficiary

The amounts set out in table 5 below are applied for participants who receive the same amount as a daily allowance from the beneficiary. This top up may be applied to one, two or all three phases of the operation. For the mobility phase, the amount of the host Member State applies.

Table 5

Daily top-up for participants that receive an allowance from the beneficiary (in EUR)

3)   

Top-up for successful participants

A daily top-up amount is applied for the number of days of the respective individual’s participation in an ALMA operation for all participants who find employment, enrol in or re-enter further training, education or a labour-market programme within 6 months after exiting the ALMA operation.

Table 6

Daily top-up for succesful participants according to the Member State where the preparatory phase takes place (in EUR)