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The EU’s financing programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI)<\/a> will receive \u20ac100 million for its Guarantee scheme from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)<\/a>. EFSI is an initiative launched jointly by the European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund along with the European Commission, to help overcome the current investment gap in the EU.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, Marianne Thyssen, stated: “The extra funding is expected to mobilise about \u20ac1.9 billion in financing for micro-entrepreneurs, in particular vulnerable groups such as the unemployed, young people, and migrants, as well as social enterprises.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A High-Level Task Force on ‘Investing in social infrastructure in Europe’ was set up in January 2017 in order to conduct research on the main themes underlying social infrastructure. On January 23 2018, the Task Force chaired by former Commission President Romano Prodi and former French Minister Christian Sautter, presented its report<\/a> at the Commission in the presence of Vice-President Katainen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The report argues that \u201ca major boost is needed in long-term social infrastructure investment\u201d, while noting that \u201c[s]uch needs will have to consider future changes in European social models\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n