In an unprecedented move, the Commission is allocating social funds meant to fight poverty in Europe to EU’s militarisation.
The Commission has proposed to amend the European Social Fund+ Regulation. These changes create a new mechanism that diverts funds from essential social programmes, such as anti-poverty and food programmes, straight into boosting the defence industry, targeting EU funds meant for the people who need it most.
Officially, the Commission aims to foster defence capabilities and industrial decarbonisation. Yet, the possibility for Member States to reprogram funds to strengthen skills in the defence industry and STEPs was already provided for under the ESF+ framework. This revision effectively prioritizes these projects, encouraging the diversion of funds away from social needs. Consequently, essential social programmes can be cut entirely without any accountability.
This step is undermining the main and sole mission of the ESF+: investing in people. This is the cornerstone for Europe’s socio-economic recovery after the coronavirus pandemic. Europeans’ living standards are falling, jobs are lost, authoritarianism grows, and social systems are under pressure., Yet, this unalienable support is being pushed aside. We demanded answers from the Commission: why this revision, and where is the impact assessment? The response is shocking: none exists. The Commission rushed negotiations through an urgent procedure, with no real justification.
In plenary, Left MEP Estrella Galán (Sumar, Spain) said: “The reform of ESF+ is an attack on working people across Europe. Because once again, when it comes to choosing between the welfare of people or enriching the arms industry, the Commission chooses to promote weapons. The ESF should promote social cohesion, support to those who need it most, and reduce inequalities. The ESF+ is meant to improve people’s lives. Europe will be strong when it truly protects its people socially.”
The Left has said it from the start: Von der Leyen’s Commission puts arms dealers before people. This latest move proves us right. For the first time, social funding is being clearly diverted to the defence industry, with safeguards brushed aside. The Commission is overstepping, and people are paying the price. This Commission must no longer be backed.
