Romania will receive through the European Social Fund (ESF) co-financing worth 3.68 billion euro in order to create new jobs and to improve the existing ones, an European Commission press release informs on Thursday. The programs involved in the project refer to improving personal skills, improving public services and creating a more efficient and effective public administration in the country. The EC release:

The European Commission has made a significant step to help Romania reap the full benefits of EU membership by adopting the Romanian programmes to promote employment. The programmes, which are being co-financed by the EU and the Romanian Government through the European Social Fund (ESF), are a genuine commitment to investing in people and skills. Receiving EUR 3.68 billion (12.89 billion Romanian lei) in EU co-funding, the programmes aim to help people become more skilled to increase their chances of finding a job or staying in work. The programmes also focus on improving public services and creating a more efficient and effective public administration in the country.

Vladimír Spidla, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, welcomed the adoption. He said, "Recent EU efforts to boost jobs are showing results. The number of people at work is rising and unemployment is falling. But more needs to be done. Europe must tackle the challenges of globalisation, new technologies, an ageing population and step up research and innovation. The ESF strengthens Europe's capacity to create good jobs and equip workers with the right skills to fill them. But these objectives must be put into practice at national level".

The ESF in Romania will be putting special emphasis on social inclusion, with education and training and lifelong learning playing an important role in this. The European Social Fund recognises the impo