REPORT on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, in accordance with point 28 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management
21.4.2009 - (COM(2009)0150 – C6-0115/2009 – 2009/2033(ACI))
Committee on Budgets
Rapporteur: Reimer Böge
PR_ACI_Funds
MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION
on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, in accordance with point 28 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management
(COM(2009)0150 – C6-0115/2009 – 2009/2033(ACI))
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2009)0150 – C6-0115/2009),
– having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management[1], and in particular point 28 thereof,
– having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on establishing the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund[2] (EGF Regulation),
– having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets and the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A6-0266/2009),
A. whereas the European Union has set up appropriate legislative and budgetary instruments to provide additional support to workers who suffer from the consequences of major structural changes in world trade patterns and to assist their reintegration into the labour market,
B. whereas the Union's financial assistance to workers made redundant should be dynamic and made available as quickly and efficiently as possible, in accordance with the Joint Declaration of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission adopted during the conciliation meeting on 17 July 2008, and having due regard for the provisions of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 in respect of the adoption of decisions to mobilise the Fund,
C. whereas Spain has requested assistance in respect of cases concerning redundancies in the automobile sector in the regions of Castilla y Leon and Aragon[3] and has fulfilled the eligibility criteria set up by the EGF Regulation,
D. whereas Article 8(1) of the EGF Regulation provides that up to 0,35% of the annual amount may be used to finance monitoring, information, administrative and technical support, audit, control and evaluation activities necessary to implement the EGF Regulation,
E. whereas on the basis of that Article the Commission proposed to deploy the Fund in order to set up the EGF website providing information on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund in all EU languages, supported by publications, audio-visual activities and by network for the exchange of best practices between Member States[4], which is in line with the will of the European Parliament to raise citizens awareness of EU actions,
1. Requests the institutions involved in the decision and implementation process to make the necessary efforts to accelerate the mobilisation of the Fund;
2. Recalls that the European Union should use all its means to tackle the consequences of the global economic and financial crisis; notes, in this respect, that the EGF can play a crucial role in the reintegration of the workers made redundant into the labour market.
3. Welcomes the Commission initiative to provide the citizens of the European Union with a transparent, user-friendly and up-to-date website;
4. Stresses that the mobilisation of the EGF in payment appropriations should not jeopardise the funding of the European Social Fund;
5. Approves the decision annexed to this resolution;
6. Instructs its President to sign the decision with the President of the Council and arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;
7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution, including its annex, to the Council and Commission.
ANNEX: DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of ...... April 2009
on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, in accordance with point 28 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
having regard to the Inter-institutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management[1], and in particular point 28 thereof,
having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 establishing the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund[2], and in particular Article 12(3) thereof,
having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas:
(1) The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (the "Fund") was established to provide additional support to redundant workers who suffer from the consequences of major structural changes in world trade patterns and to assist them with their reintegration into the labour market.
(2) The Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 allows the mobilisation of the Fund within the annual ceiling of EUR 500 million.
(3) Spain submitted an application to mobilise the Fund, in respect of redundancies in the motor vehicle sector, on 29 December 2008. This application complies with the requirements for determining the financial contributions as laid down in Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006. The Commission therefore proposes to deploy an amount of EUR 2 694 300.
(4) Furthermore, the Commission proposes to deploy an amount of EUR 690 000 from the Fund for technical assistance in accordance with Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006.
(5) The Fund should therefore be mobilised in order to provide a financial contribution for the application submitted by Spain as well as to address the need for technical assistance,
HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
For the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2009, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund shall be mobilised to provide the sum of EUR 3 384 300 in commitment and payment appropriations.
Article 2
This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Done at Brussels,
For the European Parliament For the Council
The President The President
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
I. Background
The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund has been created in order to provide additional assistance to workers suffering from the consequences of major structural changes in world trade patterns.
According to the provisions of point 28 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 on budgetary discipline and sound financial management[1] and of the Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006[2], the Fund may not exceed a maximum amount of EUR 500 million, drawn from the margin under the global expenditure ceiling from the previous year, and / or from the cancelled commitment appropriations from the previous two years, excluding those related to Heading 1b. The appropriate amounts are entered into the budget as a provision as soon as the sufficient margins and / or cancelled commitments have been identified.
As concerns the procedure, in order to activate the Fund the Commission, in case of a positive assessment of an application, presents to the budgetary authority a proposal for mobilisation of the Fund and, at the same time, a corresponding request for transfer. In parallel, a trialogue is organised in order to find an agreement on the use of the Fund and the amounts required. The trialogue can take a simplified form.
II. State of play: Commission's proposal
On 29 December 2008 Spain submitted application EGF/2008/004 ES/Castilla y León and Aragón for a financial contribution from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, following the redundancies in twelve enterprises operating in manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers in two contiguous NUTS II regions Castilla y León and Aragón.
On the base of this request, complemented by additional information on 8 January 2009, the Commission approved this first application[3] on 10 February 2009.
On 17 February 2009, the Spanish authorities requested the Commission to revise their application, in order to increase the number of workers targeted for assistance. Spain submitted additional information on 23 February 2009. As this additional information changes the number of workers targeted for assistance and the amount requested from the EGF, the initial Commission assessment of application EGF/2008/004 ES/Castilla y León and Aragón has become obsolete and is replaced by a revised proposal[4].
The Spanish application relates to 1 082 redundancies in twelve enterprises manufacturing components for the automobile industry, in particular for the plants of General Motors in Zaragoza, Renault in Valladolid and Palencia, Fiat-Iveco in Valladolid and Nissan in Avila. Six of the dismissing enterprises are located in the NUTS II region Castilla y León and six in the NUTS II region Aragón.
Spanish authorities applied for EUR 2.694.300 from the Fund on the base of the criteria set out by the Article 2(b) of the Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006, relating to the general intervention criteria (at least 1.000 redundancies over period of 9 months, particularly in small or medium-sized enterprises, in a NACE 2 sector in one region or two contiguous regions at NUTS II level).
In the same time, the Commission submitted to the Budget Authority a proposal to authorise the mobilisation of EUR 690.000 from the EGF for technical assistance[5] at the initiative of the Commission at the start of 2009, on the base of Art. 8 (1) of EGF Regulation.
At the initiative of the Commission, subject to a ceiling of 0.35% of the financial resources available for that year, the EGF may be used to finance monitoring, information, administrative and technical support, audit, control and evaluation activities necessary to implement this Regulation.
In accordance with this article, the ceiling of 0.35% when applied to EUR 500 million provides that a maximum of EUR 1.75 million can be made available for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission each year.
The IIA allows the mobilisation of the Fund within the annual ceiling of EUR 500 million. This is the first proposal for the mobilisation of the Fund for 2009.
In order to mobilise the Fund, the Commission will submit to the Budget Authority the request for the transfer for a global amount of EUR 3.384.300 in commitment appropriations from the EGF reserve budget line 40 02 43 to two separate budget lines: to 04 05 01 (EUR 2.694.300 for Spain) and 04 01 04 14 (EUR 690.000 - technical assistance - Expenditure on administrative management). As for payments, it is proposed to authorise the transfers form the same amount from ESF budget lines: 04 02 17 (ESF convergence) for Spain and 04 02 20 (ESF Operational technical assistance for 2007-2013) for EGF technical assistance.
In accordance with the article 12(6) of the legal base, on 1st September of each year, at least EUR 125 million should remain available in order to cover the needs arising until the end of the year. As it is the first proposal for 2009, the total amount of EUR 500 million remains available.
Following its assessment of the requests, the Committee of Employment and Social Affairs of the European Parliament gave their views on the mobilisation of the Fund, as expressed in the opinion attached to the present report.
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The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF): Overview of applications - 2009 |
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Reference |
Member State |
Case |
EGF contribution (€) |
Redundancies |
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EGF/2008/004 |
Spain |
Castilla y Leon and Aragon |
2 694 300 |
1 082 |
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SEC(2008)2986 |
Commission |
Technical assistance |
690 000 |
--- |
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Total |
3 384 300 |
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N.B. The Fund may not exceed a maximum amount of EUR 500 million per year |
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III. Procedure
The Commission has presented a transfer request[6] in order to enter specific commitment and payment appropriations in the 2009 budget, as required in Point 28 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006.
The trialogue on the Commission's proposal for a Decision on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund could possibly take a simplified form (an exchange of letters), as provided for in Article 12(5) of the legal base, unless there is no agreement between the Parliament and the Council.
According to an internal agreement with the Employment and Social Affairs Committee, this committee should be associated to the process, in order to provide constructive support and contribution to the implementation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund.
The Joint Declaration of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, adopted during the conciliation meeting on 17 July 2008, has confirmed the importance of ensuring a rapid procedure with due respect of the Interinstitutional Agreement for the adoption of decisions on the mobilisation of the Fund.
OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS
ES/sg
Mr. Reimer Böge
Chairman of the Committee on Budgets
ASP 05F365
D(2009)21581
Subject: Opinion on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) for the cases EGF/2008/04/ES/Castilla y Léon and Aragon as well as Technical Assistance at the initiative of the Commission
Dear Mr Böge,
At the meetings of 31 March and 16 April 2009, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) examined the mobilisation of the EGF for the cases EGF/2008/04/ES/Castilla y Léon/Aragón and Technical Assistance at the initiative of the Commission. The EMPL Committee, on a proposal by our rapporteur Ms Stauner, decided to deliver the following opinion in the form of this letter in order to allow the BUDG committee to adopt its report on time.
Following this thorough examination of the two applications, the EMPL Committee acknowledges that both requests fulfil the criteria laid out in the Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006 and, therefore, is in favour of mobilising the EGF for the cases submitted by Spain and the Commission: EGF/2008/04/ES/Castilla y Léon/Aragón and Technical Assistance at the initiative of the Commission.
The most important elements of the assessments can be summarised as follows:
a) EGF/2008/04/ES/Castilla y Léon and Aragón
Application criteria (art. 5 of the Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006)
The application was submitted within the deadline of 10 weeks referred to in Article 5 of the Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006.
Intervention criteria (art 2 b of the Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006)
The application concerns 1,082 redundancies, which occurred in twelve enterprises classified in the NACE 2 REV 2 division 29 ('manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers') and all located in two contiguous regions at NUTS II level during the 9-month period of reference. These numbers meet the criteria set out in Art. 2 b (at least 1,000 redundancies over a 9-month period, in this case from 31 January 2008 to 31 October 2008, in a NACE 2 REV 2 division[1] in one region or two contiguous regions at NUTS II level).
Furthermore, the analysis of the redundancies shows that they are linked to major structural changes in world trade patterns. Spain argues that for nine of the dismissing enterprises the redundancies result from an increase in imports of motor cars and their components into the Community. According to EUROSTAT statistics, for motor vehicles imports increased by 45 % and exports by 31 %, for passenger cars imports increased by 44 % and exports by only 22 %. Spain, in particular, which until 2004 was a net exporter of motor cars and motor vehicle components, became a net importer and this trend is continuing, with a trade deficit growing annually. At the same time, the Community market share in the production of motor vehicles decreased from 28.4 % in 2004 to 26.9 % in 2007. For the remaining three dismissing enterprises, also affected by the deteriorating position of Community motor car production on the world market, the dismissals are a direct result of a delocalisation of production to countries outside the Community: Lear Corporation is moving its production from Avila to Morocco, Iberian Nissan Motor from Avila to Taiwan and Delphi Packard Spain from Zaragoza to Turkey.
Complementarity, compliance and coordination criteria (art 6 of the Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006)
According to the Spanish authorities, the actions proposed comply with others elaborated and implemented under ESF and ERDF funding. Besides, the eligible actions do not receive assistance from other Community financial instruments.
Furthermore, the Spanish authorities provide evidence that the funding will not be used for the restructuring of companies but for actions to the affected workers.
Finally, the Spanish authorities confirmed that the financial contribution from the EGF does not replace measures which are the responsibility of companies by virtue of national law or collective agreement.
Eligible actions (art. 3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006)
The applicant proposes a combination of personalized services to 588 workers, namely workers made redundant by Lear Corporation and Nachi industrial, both located in Castilla y Léon and by Delphi Packard Espana Automotive Connections and Equipments, Auxiliar de Componentes Eléctricos, located in Arágon. The package includes the preparation of personalised pathways, employment advice, support for relocation and incentives for active job searching. Depending on the individual, training in job searching techniques, social ability and ICT as well as the acquisition of professional qualifications is added. Some of the workers will also be eligible for accompanying measures and incentives to the users for a rapid integration into employment.
The EMPL committee requested additional information which was provided on 25 March 2009 and is attached to this letter.
Upon request of the Members, the Commission explained that
- measure 3.1 " Support for relocation" covers the identification of future job vacancies as well as negotiating with the enterprises concerned the possibility to fill these vacancies with workers who will be specifically trained in order to meet the requirements of the jobs offered. This secures a very useful initial assessment of the training needs of the workers concerned. This personalised assistance by specialists should reassure the dismissed workers that they do not stand alone in their efforts to find another job.
- measure 3.2 "Follow-up in employment" covers mentoring of workers who are reintegrated into the labour market in order to detect rapidly when adjustments are needed in order to ensure a successful reintegration. This personalised mentorship aims at preventing a drop-out at an early stage of the reintegration process.
- measure 4.2 "Accompanying measures" should be seen against the situation in Spain, where the availability of places in day-care centres for children of up to 3 years is only 16.6 % compared to the standard of 33 % established for the European Union. According to the Spanish authorities this justifies measures ensuring that dismissed workers with care responsibilities for children or elderly can take part in the necessary training activities.
- workers not eligible for the personalized package are entitled to a set of different measures that are included in the attached table. In addition to these measures dismissed workers are entitled to a degressive unemployment allowance, depending on the number of years worked and the level of the salary, for a maximum duration of 24 months.
b) Technical Assistance at the initiative of the Commission
Article 8 (1) and 9 (2) of Regulation (EC) 1927/2006[2] of the European Parliament and the Council of 20 December 2006 on establishing the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund provide that:
"At the initiative of the Commission, subject to a ceiling of 0.35 % of the financial resources available for that year, the EGF may be used to finance monitoring, information, administrative and technical support, audit, control and evaluation activities necessary to implement this Regulation."
"The Commission shall set up an Internet site, available in all Community languages(...)"
Accordingly, the requested 690.000 Euro out of 1,75 million Euros available in 2009 on budget line 04.010414 will be used for the EGF website, the Expert Group of Contact Persons of the EGF as well as preparatory activities for the mid-term evaluation of the EGF.
The Commission draws the attention to the fact that in 2007 and 2008, technical assistance funding was not available and only some small activities were carried out, while other activities, particularly measures to inform the social partners, the Member State authorities at local and regional levels, and other stakeholders, were impossible to carry out.
Upon request, the Commission provided on 25 March 2009 the additional information that preparations for the mid-term review are underway to launch evaluation activities from mid 2009 through the use of a more general DG EMPL framework contract for evaluations. The call for tenders and terms of reference can be seen here:
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=626&langId=en&callId=182&furtherCalls=yes
At this stage, the selection procedure is almost concluded, and the contracts will be signed in the next few weeks.
c) Assessment on the procedure
The EMPL Committee would like to draw the attention of the Commission to the fact that after more than one and a half year of cooperation between the Institutions on the basis of the provisions of Regulation 192772006, the Inter Institutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 and the Financial Regulation, there is still a lack of timely information on applications which is necessary to examine the proposals for the mobilisation of the EGAF. Based on the experience gained, a close and informal cooperation between the services concerned in the European Parliament and in the Commission could be a valuable addition to the early and full communication of requests received by the latter.
The EMPL Committee calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the Committee responsible, to ensure that these considerations are integrated in its decision.
Yours sincerely,
Jan Andersson
Cc: Ms. Gabriele Stauner, MEP
Annex.
Replies to the questions raised by the Rapporteur and Shadow Rapporteursof the EP Employment Committee on 17 March 2009
EGF Technical Assistance 2009
Ø Under point 6 of the specified expenditure, it is mentioned that 300.000 Euros will be attributed to "preparatory activities for the mid-term evaluation of the EGF." Furthermore, it is explained that "following a call for tenders, the first commitments will be made in early 2009". Members would like to know which procedure was applied to select the successful provider and to which enterprise the mid-term evaluation of the EGF was attributed.
Preparations are underway to launch evaluation activities from mid 2009 through the use of a more general DG EMPL framework contract for evaluations.
The call for tenders and terms of reference can be seen here :
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=626&langId=en&callId=182&furtherCalls=yes
At this stage, the selection procedure is almost concluded, and the contracts will be signed in the next few weeks.
Ø As this is the first application of the Commission for Technical assistance on the basis of Art 8 of the EGF regulation, Members wanted to know how and from which budget lines the technical assistance was financed in 2007 and 2008.
As technical assistance funding was not available in 2007 and 2008, only some activities were carried out, and even these were kept to a minimum :
· the EGF web site in all languages, laid down in Article 9.2 of the EGF Regulation at the behest of the European Parliament, has been set up very slowly, and up-to-date translations of the site are still not available in all languages;
· the only publication which has been produced, is a one-page leaflet setting out the basics of the EGF;
· one EGF poster has been produced, re-using the design of an ESF poster;
· the national Contact Persons of the EGF have so far held three meetings (two in 2007, and one in 2008), funded out of the Global Envelope of DG EMPL;
· the consultation of Member States and social partners prior to the proposal for an amendment to the EGF Regulation, was also funded out of the Global Envelope.
Other activities, particularly measures to inform the social partners, the Member State authorities at local and regional levels, and other stakeholders, were impossible to carry out; this also applies to the exchange of experiences gained during the implementation of EGF funded measures, and the earlier preparation of the mid-term evaluation, all of which have been delayed as a result of the non availability of technical assistance funds. These activities, which are essential to the good functioning of the Fund, need to be carried out as a matter of priority, in particular in view of the new Regulation.
EGF application concerning Castilla y Léon / Arágon
Ø The personalized services 3.1, 3.2 and 4.2 are in a summary manner explained on page 6 and 7 of the SEC document which replaces SEC(2009)140. For a better understanding of the measures proposed, more detailed information and some examples of these measures would be helpful.
Measure 3.1 " Support for relocation" covers intensive searching for job vacancies, in particular through the services offered by a small commercial network. These services cover the identification of future job vacancies as well as negotiating with the enterprises concerned the possibility to fill these vacancies with workers who will be specifically trained in order to meet the requirements of the jobs offered. This secures a very useful initial assessment of the training needs of the workers concerned. These job vacancies are then presented to the workers and if they are interested assistance is provided for the elaboration and transmission of their CVs. The support for relocation includes also personalised accompaniment of workers who find themselves in a situation of which they have little or no experience, i.e. searching for a job. This personalised assistance by specialists should reassure the dismissed workers that they do not stand alone in their efforts to find another job.
Measure 3.2 "Follow-up in employment" covers mentoring of workers who are reintegrated into the labour market in order to detect rapidly when adjustments are needed in order to ensure a successful reintegration. This personalised mentorship aims at preventing a drop-out at an early stage of the reintegration process.
Measure 4.2 "Accompanying measures" should be seen against the situation in Spain, where the availability of places in day-care centres for children of up to 3 years is only 16.6 % compared to the standard of 33 % established for the European Union. According to the Spanish authorities this justifies measures ensuring that dismissed workers with care responsibilities for children or elderly can take part in the necessary training activities. In the context of the ageing of the population in Spain and in order to make sure that dismissed workers are not discouraged from participating in reintegration activities, it was felt appropriate to provide a small compensation for the costs of care activities to redundant workers participating in training activities.
Ø In the discussion, it was assumed that the redundant workers who are not included in the application have not found a new job yet. To get a clear picture of the situation in the affected regions, a clarification of this point seems to be appropriate. Furthermore, Members were interested to know what kind of support these dismissed workers get from the Spanish authorities.
The Spanish authorities have provided the following information related to the situation of the workers who are not targeted for assistance in the EGF application related to Castilla y Leon and Aragon
1° Workers who found another job : 65 %
2° Workers who thought they would find another job rapidly : 10 %
3° Workers who preferred to move geographically to find another job : 10 %
4° Workers who decided to leave the labour market : 10 %
5° Workers who did not express interest in participating in measures : 5 %
In the table in Annex Members will find an overview of measures that are available at national and regional level to workers who lost their jobs.
In addition dismissed workers are entitled to a degressive unemployment allowance, depending on the number of years worked and the level of the salary, for a maximum duration of 24 months.
- [1] Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 establishing the statistical classification of economic activities NACE Revision 2 and amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3037/90 as well as certain EC Regulations on specific statistical domains OJ L 393, 30.12.2006, p. 1
- [2] OJ L 406, 30.12.2006, p. 1
RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE
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Date adopted |
16.4.2009 |
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Result of final vote |
+: –: 0: |
15
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Members present for the final vote |
Reimer Böge, Paulo Casaca, Brigitte Douay, Ingeborg Gräßle, Catherine Guy-Quint, Jutta Haug, Vladimír Maňka, Gérard Onesta, László Surján, Helga Trüpel, Kyösti Virrankoski |
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Substitute(s) present for the final vote |
Bárbara Dührkop Dührkop, Michael Gahler, Marusya Ivanova Lyubcheva |
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Substitute(s) under Rule 178(2) present for the final vote
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Pasqualina Napoletano |
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