‘lifelong learning’ means learning in all its forms, namely, formal, non-formal and informal learning, that takes place at all stages in life and results in an improvement or an update in knowledge, skills, competences and attitudes or in participation in society in a personal, civic, cultural, social or employment-related perspective, including the provision of counselling and guidance services, including early childhood education and care, general education, vocational education and training, higher education, adult education, youth work and other learning settings outside formal education and training and it typically promotes cross-sectoral cooperation and flexible learning pathways;

‘third-country national’ means a person who is not a citizen of the Union, including stateless persons and persons with an undetermined nationality;

‘basic material assistance’ means goods which fulfil the basic needs of a person for a life with dignity, such as clothing, hygiene goods, including feminine hygiene products, and school material;

‘disadvantaged group’ means a group of people in vulnerable situations, including people experiencing or at risk of poverty, social exclusion or discrimination in its multiple dimensions;

‘key competences’ means the knowledge, skills and competences all individuals need, at any stage of their lives, for their personal fulfilment and development, employment, social inclusion and active citizenship, namely, literacy; multilingualism; mathematics, science, technology, arts and engineering; digital skills; media skills; personal, social and learning to learn skills; active citizenship skills; entrepreneurship; cultural and intercultural awareness and expression; and critical thinking;

‘most deprived persons’ means natural persons, whether individuals, families, households or groups of persons, including children in vulnerable situations and homeless people, whose need for assistance has been established according to the objective criteria which are set by the national competent authorities in consultation with relevant stakeholders while avoiding conflicts of interest, and which may include elements that allow for the targeting of the most deprived persons in certain geographical areas;

‘end recipients’ means the most deprived persons receiving the support as laid down in Article 4(1), point (m);

‘social innovation’ means an activity, that is social both as to its ends and its means and in particular an activity which relates to the development and implementation of new ideas concerning products, services, practices and models, that simultaneously meets social needs and creates new social relationships or collaborations between public, civil society or private organisations, thereby benefiting society and boosting its capacity to act;

‘accompanying measure’ means an activity provided in addition to the distribution of food and/or basic material assistance with the aim of addressing social exclusion and contributing to the eradication of poverty, such as referrals to or providing social and health services, including psychological support, or providing relevant information on public services or advice on managing a household budget;

‘social experimentation’ means a policy intervention that aims to provide an innovative response to social needs, implemented on a small scale and in conditions that enable its impact to be measured, prior to being implemented in other contexts including geographical and sectorial ones, or implemented on a larger scale, if the results prove to be positive;

‘cross-border partnership’ means a structure of cooperation between public employment services, the social partners or civil society located in at least two Member States;

‘microenterprise’ means an enterprise with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet below EUR 2 000 000 ;

‘social enterprise’ means an undertaking, regardless of its legal form, including social economy enterprises, or a natural person which:

‘reference value’ means a value which is used to set targets for common and programme specific result indicators and based on existing or previous, similar interventions;

‘cost of purchasing food and/or basic material assistance’ means the actual costs which are linked to the purchase of food and/or basic material assistance by the beneficiary and are not limited to the price of the food and/or basic material assistance;

‘microfinance’ includes guarantees, microcredit, equity and quasi-equity, coupled with accompanying business development services such as those provided in the form of individual counselling, training and mentoring, extended to persons and microenterprises that experience difficulties accessing credit for the purpose of professional and revenue-generating activities;

‘blending operation’ means an action supported by the Union budget, including within a blending facility or platform as defined in Article 2, point (6), of the Financial Regulation, combining non-repayable forms of support or financial instruments from the Union budget with repayable forms of support from development or other public finance institutions, as well as from commercial finance institutions and investors;

‘legal entity’ means a natural person, or a legal person created and recognised as such under Union, national, or international law, which has legal personality and the capacity to act in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity which does not have legal personality as referred to in Article 197(2), point (c), of the Financial Regulation;

‘common immediate result indicator’ means a common result indicator which captures effects within four weeks from the day on which the participant has left the operation;

‘common longer-term result indicator’ means a common result indicator which captures effects six months after the participant has left the operation.

under shared management, for the part of the assistance which corresponds to the specific objectives set out in Article 4(1) (ESF+ strand under shared management); and

under direct and indirect management, for the part of the assistance which corresponds to the objectives set out in Article 4(1) and Article 25 (EaSI strand).

improving access to employment and activation measures for all jobseekers, in particular young people, especially through the implementation of the Youth Guarantee, for long-term unemployed and disadvantaged groups on the labour market, and for inactive people, as well as through the promotion of self-employment and the social economy;

modernising labour market institutions and services to assess and anticipate skills needs and ensure timely and tailor-made assistance and support for labour market matching, transitions and mobility;

promoting a gender-balanced labour market participation, equal working conditions, and a better work-life balance including through access to affordable childcare, and care for dependent persons;

promoting the adaptation of workers, enterprises and entrepreneurs to change, active and healthy ageing and a healthy and well-adapted working environment that addresses health risks;

improving the quality, inclusiveness, effectiveness and labour market relevance of education and training systems including through validation of non-formal and informal learning, to support acquisition of key competences including entrepreneurial and digital skills, and by promoting the introduction of dual-training systems and apprenticeships;

promoting equal access to and completion of quality and inclusive education and training, in particular for disadvantaged groups, from early childhood education and care through general and vocational education and training, to tertiary level, as well as adult education and learning, including facilitating learning mobility for all and accessibility for persons with disabilities;

promoting lifelong learning, in particular flexible upskilling and reskilling opportunities for all taking into account entrepreneurial and digital skills, better anticipating change and new skills requirements based on labour market needs, facilitating career transitions and promoting professional mobility;

fostering active inclusion with a view to promoting equal opportunities, non-discrimination and active participation, and improving employability, in particular for disadvantaged groups;

promoting socio-economic integration of third-country nationals, including migrants;

promoting the socio-economic integration of marginalised communities, such as Roma people;

enhancing equal and timely access to quality, sustainable and affordable services, including services that promote the access to housing and person-centred care including healthcare; modernising social protection systems, including promoting access to social protection, with a particular focus on children and disadvantaged groups; improving accessibility including for persons with disabilities, effectiveness and resilience of healthcare systems and long-term care services;

promoting social integration of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion, including the most deprived persons and children;

addressing material deprivation through food and/or basic material assistance to the most deprived persons, including children, and providing accompanying measures supporting their social inclusion.

a smarter Europe through the development of skills for smart specialisation, skills for key enabling technologies, industrial transition, sectorial cooperation on skills and entrepreneurship, the training of researchers, networking activities and partnerships between higher education institutions, vocational and educational training institutions, research and technological centres and enterprises and clusters, and support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and the social economy;

a greener, low carbon Europe through the improvement of education and training systems necessary for the adaptation of skills and qualifications, the upskilling of all, including the labour force, the creation of new jobs in sectors related to the environment, climate, energy, the circular economy and the bioeconomy.

the financing of short-time work schemes without the requirement that they be combined with active measures;

access to healthcare including for people who are not in imminent socio-economic vulnerability.

questions related to the ESF+ contribution to the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, including country-specific recommendations and European Semester-related priorities, such as national reform programmes;

issues concerning Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 relevant for the ESF+;

questions related to the ESF+ referred to it by the Commission other than those referred to in paragraph 5.