At a sitting held on May 16th, 2012, the Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Policy and Head of the Operational Program “Human Resources Development” (OPHRD) Managing Authority Ms. Zornitsa Rusinova informed the Committee on European Affairs and Oversight of the European Funds (CEAOEF) members on the progress achieved under the Program. The hearing took place within the framework of parliamentary control on the issues related to the oversight of the European funds that the Committee implements.

Underscoring her claim that the OPHRD is a complex Program of horizontal character which aims at “investing in everyone”, Deputy Minister Rusinova presented the CEAOEF MPs with adornments created by disadvantaged people from Veliko Tarnovo who are supported through the Program.

In her presentation, Deputy Minister Rusinova discussed the financial progress on the Program. She underlined that the size of programmed funds has reached 99% of the Operational Program’s common budget. Contracted grants amount to 76% of the available funds, while the level of disbursement has risen from 16% at the end of 2011 to 21%. The Deputy Minister assured that the ambitious Annual Working Program for 2012 is being implemented at a good pace.

In the context of CEAOEF’s aspiration to highlight the outcomes of the Operational Programs implemented in Bulgaria, Deputy Minister Rusinova presented the OPHRD physical progress and discussed the specific results attained in the Program’s three fields of action: labour market, education, and social inclusion. With regard to the labour market, she pointed out that 205,000 working and unemployed citizens have participated in different training programs, while more than 28,000 people have been given new jobs. Positive results have also been observed in the realms of education and social inclusion. Especially important has been the Program’s support for the implementation of crucial reforms in the country. Among them, the deinstitutionalization of childcare holds particular significance. The predominant part of the schemes within its framework has been launched, while the remaining three are scheduled to begin by the end of 2012.

In its Annual Report on the Absorption of the EU Funds for 2011, CEAOEF recommended that the Managing Authority make provision for accelerated measures designed to address the problem of youth unemployment. During the hearing, Deputy Minister Rusinova discussed some of the measures undertaken by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy in this direction, such as the National Initiative “Jobs for Young People in Bulgaria”, launched in March 2012. In this regard, Deputy Minister Rusinova clarified that the OP Managing Authority and the Intermediate Body represented by the National Employment Agency are ready to propose new schemes aiming to reduce youth unemployment at the next Monitoring Committee. These schemes will serve to complement the results which have been attained through the already launched operations, such as the “Creating employment for young people through the provision of internship opportunities” which has given 6-month-long internships to approximately 2100 unemployed young people under the age of 29 without work experience in their specialty.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy has formed two working groups. The first one, comprising the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria, social partners, and other interested parties, will analyze initiatives and measures which could be funded through the OPHRD in support of youth employment. The second interministerial working group will be responsible for the oversight of the legal base in this sphere.

Deputy Minister Rusinova also presented the Managing Authority’s idea for the process of allocation of the funds available through the European Social Fund for the next programming period. She pointed out that the Managing Authority supports the European Commission’s proposal to direct at least 20% of the European Social Fund’s resources to poverty alleviation and to the promotion of social inclusion.

The CEAOEF MPs commended the Head of the Managing Authority for the timely planning and the short list of priorities which lie at the foundation of the new Operational Program after 2014, whose final framework needs to be drawn by March 2013. CEAOEF’s members agreed that the measures funded through the Program are exceptionally effective, but also pointed out that the citizenry needs to be better informed in order for the beneficiaries to increase, enhancing the benefits of the program. With regard to this comment, Deputy Minister Rusinova informed CEAOEF’s members of the forthcoming OPHRD informational campaign, which will include all major cities in the next several months.