The European Commission set up an expert group with partners at EU level in the field of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds), for the programming period 2014-2020. European Structural and Investment Funds include the European Social Fund and the European Regional Development Fund which are important funding programmes for social enterprises in Europe.
The mission of the Structured Dialogue group of experts is to establish an open, frank and informal dialogue with partners working in the field of the ESI Funds. The Structured Dialogue is a mutual trust building mechanism in order to bring the ESI Funds closer to civil society, assist the Commission in the development of this policy in the different areas of expertise and to discuss the implementation of the ESI Funds.
The members of the Structured Dialogue are umbrella organisations at EU level such as Euclid Network. The complete list of members is available on the Register of Commission Expert Groups, along with other relevant information.
More information about the Structured Dialogue group, including presentations and minutes of all the meetings can be accessed here: https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/policy/communication/structured-dialogue-with-partners/.
Objectives:
Structured Dialogue is organised into 18-month work cycles. Each cycle focuses on a different thematic priority (set by the Council of Youth Ministers)
The current thematic priority is:
– Enabling all young people to engage in a diverse, connected and inclusive Europe
The current cycle runs from 2016 to 2017 over the course of the Dutch, Slovakian and Maltese EU Presidencies.
Why EN is a member/observer:
Since 2007, EN has been working to advance the social enterprise sector in Europe. An important element of the development of social enterprises is access to appropriate finance. In this Structured Dialogue Group EN represents the specific needs of social enterprise in accessing EU funding and contributes to shaping tailored investment instruments.
