Charities which work with women and ethnic minorities will now be eligible for funding via the European Social Fund, under a new agreement laid out.

The Fund, which was set up to improve standards of living and employment opportunities in Europe, will now list ethnic minority and women’s groups among their priority groups to fund.

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations is claiming the development as a victory for its lobbying of the fund’s operator, the European Economic and Social Committee (EcoSoc).

Charities will also now be eligible for financial and technical support in order to build capacity, in a development the NCVO said was also a result of its push on EcoSoc.

This new structure will apply to the European Social Fund’s 2013 – 2020 funding years.

Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of NCVO, said: “We are delighted that, thanks to these amendments, more organisations will be able to access financial support to help them to deliver vital services. In the current economic climate, income sources such as the European Social Fund are a lifeline for organisations facing funding challenges.”

The fund has distributed £3.3bn in grants to voluntary organisations since the launch of its 2007 - 2013 programme.