REPORT on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF/2016/000 TA 2016 - Technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission)

6.4.2016 - (COM(2016)0078 – C8‑0095/2016 – 2016/2025(BUD))

Committee on Budgets
Rapporteur: Andrey Novakov

Procedure : 2016/2025(BUD)

Document stages in plenary

Document selected :

A8-0078/2016

Texts tabled :

A8-0078/2016

Debates :

Votes :

PV 13/04/2016 - 11.2
Explanations of votes

Texts adopted :

P8_TA(2016)0112

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

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 (EGF/2016/000 TA 2016 - Technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission)

(COM(2016)0078 – C8‑0095/2016 – 2016/2025(BUD))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2016)0078 – C8-0095/2016),

– having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (2014-2020) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006[1] (EGF Regulation),

– having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020[2]^, and in particular Article 12 thereof,

– having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management[3] (IIA of 2 December 2013), and in particular point 13 thereof,

– having regard to its resolution of 24 June 2015 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 13 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management (application EGF/2015/000 TA 2015 – Technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission)[4],

– having regard to the trilogue procedure provided for in point 13 of the IIA of 2 December 2013,

– having regard to the letter of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A8-0078/2016),

A. whereas the Union has set up legislative and budgetary instruments to provide additional support to workers who are suffering from the consequences of major structural changes in world trade patterns or of the global financial and economic crisis and to assist their reintegration into the labour market;

B. whereas the Union’s 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 to the IIA of 2 December 2013 in respect of the adoption of decisions to mobilise the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF);

C. whereas the adoption of the EGF Regulation reflects the agreement reached between the Parliament and the Council to reintroduce the crisis mobilisation criterion, to increase the Union financial contribution to 60 % of the total estimated cost of proposed measures, to increase efficiency for the treatment of EGF applications in the Commission and by the Parliament and the Council by shortening the time for assessment and approval, to widen eligible actions and beneficiaries by introducing self-employed persons and young people and to finance incentives for setting up own businesses;

D. whereas the maximum annual budget available for the EGF is EUR 150 million (2011 prices) and whereas Article 11(1) of the EGF Regulation states that 0,5 % of this amount (i.e. EUR 828 060 in 2016) can be made available for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission in order to finance preparation, monitoring, data gathering and creation of a knowledge base, administrative and technical support, information and communication activities as well as audit, control and evaluation activities necessary to implement the EGF Regulation;

E. whereas the European Parliament has repeatedly underlined the necessity of improved value added, efficiency and employability of beneficiaries of the EGF as a Union instrument of support to workers made redundant;

F. whereas the proposed amount of EUR 380 000 corresponds to approximately 0,23 % of the maximum annual budget available for the EGF in 2016;

1. Acknowledges the measures proposed by the Commission as Technical Assistance to finance expenditure mentioned in Article 11(1) and (4) as well as in Article 12(2), (3) and (4) of the EGF Regulation;

2. Recalls the importance of networking and exchange of information on the EGF, supports, therefore, the funding of the Expert Group of Contact Persons of the EGF and the networking seminars on the implementation of the EGF; expects that this exchange of information shall also contribute to the better and more detailed reporting on the success rate of the EGF supported measures in the Member States, in particular about the reach and re-employment rate of beneficiaries; supports also all initiatives encompassing enhanced participation and consultation of local authorities managing daily the EGF supported measures;

3. Welcomes the continued work on the standardised procedures for EGF applications and management using the functionalities of the electronic data exchange system (SFC2014), which allows for the simplification and faster processing of applications and for better reporting; notes that the Commission intends to prepare and fine tune the module for final reports closing the implementation of each EGF case as the priority for 2016; notes however that the costs from the EGF budget for the process of SFC2014 remain relatively high;

4. Welcomes the integration of reporting into the electronic data exchange system (SFC2014); considers that this will ease the administrative burden for Member States and facilitate the use of reports for evaluation purposes;

5. Notes that the procedure to integrate the EGF into SFC2014 has been going on for years and that the relevant costs for the EGF have been relatively high; notes that this level of cost will need to be maintained for another year after which the cost for maintenance will be lower;

6. Expresses its regret that the Commission did not present the progress of integration into SFC2014 from the beginning of 2011 until 2014 as requested in Parliament's resolution of 24 June 2015 on the proposal for the Technical Assistance in 2015; reminds the Commission to present the progress as requested above including the latest developments;

7. Is of the opinion that SFC2014 could also be used to allow the Commission to gather detailed data on the impact of EGF funding, namely in the case of re-employment rates of the redundant workers who have benefited from EGF funding; insists on having better evaluation of the type and quality of jobs found and on the medium and long-term trend as regards the rate of reintegration achieved through EGF interventions;

8. Welcomes that the Commission intends to invest EUR 70 000 of the available budget under the Technical Assistance in particular on improving the monitoring and evaluation of the impact of EGF support on individual participants; recommends that:

- the budget for monitoring and evaluation be used to assess the longer term impact on EGF beneficiaries, the effectiveness and efficiency of deploying support on the ground as well as to carry out a deeper analysis of the economic mutations causing the dismissals of EGF beneficiaries.

- the EGF coordinator and the Member State provide reliable and complete data on employment outcomes of beneficiaries twelve months after the implementation of the measures. The Commission should aggregate those data, including the re-employment rates of the beneficiaries, and make them available to the European Parliament and the Council.

- more detailed information on the measures accessed by individual participants be recorded and clearly communicated to allow, for instance, for a clearer cost-benefit assessment of different measures, especially in view of higher administrative costs (actions under Article 7(4) of the EGF Regulation).

- the approval of final case reports and the final case closure be coupled with the provision of complete beneficiary outcome information (at an aggregate level).

9. Underlines the need to further enhance the liaising between all those involved in EGF applications, including, in particular, the social partners and stakeholders at regional and local level, to create as many synergies as possible; stresses that interaction between the National Contact Person and regional or local case delivery partners should be strengthened and communication and support arrangements and information flows (internal divisions, tasks and responsibilities) made explicit and agreed on by all partners concerned;

10. Reiterates its call on the Commission to invite the Parliament, within reasonable deadlines, to the expert group meetings and seminars in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission[5];

11. Asks the Commission to provide justification for the decision to subcontract the mid-term evaluation as required by point (a) of Article 20(1) of the EGF Regulation to an external contractor; requests that the Commission decides on how to proceed on the basis of cost-benefit analysis with a clear focus on objectivity, outcomes, added value, employability and efficiency;

12. Asks the Commission to include in the mid-term evaluation of the EGF all aspects regarding cost efficiency of all EGF projects, data on direct allowance support, as well as suggestions on improving participation of Member States in the EGF and synergies with measures covered by the ESF or national programmes; notes that this exercise should be combined with the effort to establish a complete database on the outcomes of all EGF interventions; calls for a debate on the outcome of the mid-term evaluation, with the aim of assessing whether the EGF is the most efficient tool for the redundancy challenges;

13. Asks the Commission to include a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the EGF support to young people up to the age of 25 who are not in employment, education or training (NEETs) and to extend this measure after December 2017, in a permanent and sustainable way by proposing a new EGF regulation, especially in view of the implementation of the Youth Guarantee and the ongoing youth unemployment crisis;

14. Underlines the importance of increasing general awareness about EGF and its visibility; reminds applicant Member States of their role in publicising the actions funded by the EGF to the targeted beneficiaries, authorities, social partners, the media and the general public, as set out in Article 12 of the EGF Regulation;

15. Asks the Member States and all the institutions involved to make the necessary efforts to further improve procedural and budgetary arrangements in order to increase the impact of the EGF; notes, in this regard, that Parliament is currently drafting an own-initiative report based on the evaluation by the Commission to take stock of the functioning of the EGF Regulation and the cases examined;

16. Appreciates the improved procedure put in place by the Commission, following Parliament's request for the accelerated release of grants; notes the time pressure that the new timetable implies and the potential impact on the effectiveness of case instruction; calls on the Member States to make greater use of the Commission's assistance before the submission of the formal applications;

17. Asks the Member States and all the institutions involved to defend the wider use of the derogation for the eligibility thresholds also favoring SMEs, the extension of the reference periods as well as the possibility to include redundant workers offering related services to redundant workers of the referent company, thus contributing to a more efficient and valuable use of the EGF;

18. Asks the Member States to highlight more clearly the additionality of EGF funding and its link to other funds , and to consider the most appropriate ways for the EGF to add value, ensure synergy with other funding sources and avoid displacement and overlaps;

19. Approves the decision annexed to this resolution;

20. 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;

21. Instructs its President to forward this resolution, including its annex, to the Council and the Commission.

ANNEX: DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF/2016/000 TA 2016 - Technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (2014-2020) and repealing Regulation (EC) 1927/2006[6], and in particular Article 11(2) thereof,

Having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management[7], and in particular point 13 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Whereas:

(1) The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) aims to provide support for workers made redundant and self-employed persons whose activities have ceased as a result of major structural changes in world trade patterns due to globalisation, as a result of a continuation of the global financial and economic crisis , or as a result of a new global financial and economic crisis, and to assist them with their reintegration into the labour market.

(2) The EGF is not to exceed a maximum annual amount of EUR 150 million (2011 prices), as laid down in Article 12 of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013[8].

(3) Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 provides that a maximum of 0,5 % of the annual maximum amount of the EGF may be used each year for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission.

(4) The EGF should, therefore, be mobilised in order to provide the sum of EUR 380 000 for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission.

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

For the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2016, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund shall be mobilised to provide the sum of EUR 380 000 in commitment and payment appropriations.

Article 2

This Decision shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Done at ,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

I. Background

The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund was 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 Article 12 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020[9] and of Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013[10], the Fund may not exceed a maximum annual amount of EUR 150 million (2011 prices). The appropriate amounts are entered into the general budget of the Union as a provision.

As concerns the procedure, according to point 13 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management[11], 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 the event of disagreement, a trilogue shall be initiated.

II. The Commission's proposal

On 22 February 2016, the Commission adopted a new proposal for a decision on the mobilisation of the EGF.

It concerns the mobilisation of EUR 380 000 from the Fund, covering technical assistance for the Commission. The objective of the technical assistance is to finance monitoring, information, to create a knowledge base interface and to advice Member States on using, following up and evaluating the EGF. According to Article 11(1) of the EGF Regulation, 0.5% of the annual maximum amount of the EGF (i.e. EUR 828 060 in 2016) can be made available each year for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission.

According to the Commission's proposal, in 2016 the requested amount is intended to cover the following activities:

1. Monitoring and data gathering: The Commission will collect data on applications received, paid and wound up, and measures proposed and implemented. This data will be made available on the web site and compiled in appropriate form for the Biennial Report of 2017. Building on the work of recent years, costs for this activity will be EUR 20 000.

2. Information: The web site on the EGF[12], which the Commission has set up within its Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion area, and which it maintains as required under Article 12(2) of the EGF Regulation, will be regularly updated and expanded, with each new element also being translated into all EU languages. General awareness of the EGF will be increased and its visibility promoted. The EGF will be covered in various Commission publications and audio-visual activities as provided for in Article 11(4) of the EGF Regulation. Costs of all these items are estimated at EUR 20 000 in 2016.

3. Creation of a knowledge base / application interface: The Commission is continuing its work setting up standardised procedures for EGF applications and management, using the functionalities of SFC 20143, into which it is being integrated. This allows applications under the EGF Regulation to be simplified, their processing to be speeded up and reports to be more easily extracted for varying needs. Preparation and fine tuning of the module for final reports closing the implementation of each EGF case will be the priority of the year, with the objective of easing the administrative burden for the Member States and the integration of the EGF cases under the current Regulation into SFC from beginning to end. The cost of these items is estimated at EUR 100 000, being the EGF contribution to the development of SFC and its regular maintenance. It is expected that this level of contributions will need to be maintained for a further year, so that all the EGF modules in SFC can be constructed, after which the cost will drop, as the main focus will be on maintenance.

4. Administrative and technical support: The Expert Group of Contact Persons of the EGF, with one member from each Member State, will be holding two meetings (end of 2016 / first half of 2017), together estimated at EUR 70 000.

5. In addition, in order to promote networking among the Member States, the Commission will organise two seminars with the participation of EGF implementing bodies and social partners. To the extent possible, these will be scheduled to take place around the same dates as the Expert Group meetings and will focus on issues arising from the practical implementation of the EGF Regulation at grassroots level. The cost of these seminars is estimated at EUR 120 000.

6. Evaluation: Public procurement for the mid-term evaluation was completed in 2015, with a view to concluding the evaluation by 30 June 2017 (as required by Article 20(1)(a) of the EGF Regulation). In 2016, EUR 50 000 are budgeted to allow finalisation, translations and publication of the report in time for presentation in mid-2017. No evaluation expenditure will be budgeted in 2017.

III. Procedure

In order to mobilise the Fund, the Commission has submitted to the Budget Authority a transfer request for a global amount of EUR 380 000 from the EGF reserve (04 04 01) to the EGF budget line (04 01 04 04).

This is the third transfer proposal for the mobilisation of the Fund transmitted to the Budgetary Authority to date during 2016.

The trilogue procedure shall be initiated in the event of disagreement, as provided for in Article 15(4) of the EGF Regulation.

According to an internal agreement, the Employment and Social Affairs Committee should be associated to the process, in order to provide constructive support and contribution to the assessment of the applications from the Fund.

ANNEX: LETTER OF THE COMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

CO/jb

D(2016)12395

M. Jean Arthuis

Chair of the Committee on Budgets

ASP 09G205

Subject: Opinion on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) for the case EGF/2015/000 TA 2016 - Technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission (COM(2016) 78 final)

Dear Chair,

The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) as well as its Working Group on the EGF examined the mobilisation of the EGF for the case EGF/2016/000 TA 2016 and adopted the following opinion.

The EMPL committee and the Working Group on the EGF have concerns about mobilisation of the Fund concerning this request. In this respect, the EMPL committee presents some remarks and recommends the Committee on Budgets, as the responsible committee, to carefully assess the proposal for the mobilisation of the Fund concerning this request. The deliberations of the EMPL committee are based on the following considerations:

A) Whereas the amount of 380 000 Euros proposed to be mobilised by the Commission for technical assistance in 2016 is below the maximum of 0.5% of the annual maximum amount of the EGF (150 million Euros at 2011 prices) as laid down by Article 12 of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020;

B) Whereas the application contains the same items to be funded as in the previous year;

C) Whereas the integration of the EGF into the electronic data exchange system (SFC2014) continues in 2016;

D) Whereas the technical assistance provided by the Commission to the Member States supports and enhances the use of the EGF by providing information on the applications and by spreading best practice among the Member States;

E) Whereas the request of the Commission includes, in addition to the 300.000 Euros already agreed upon in 2015, an amount of 50.000 Euros as a reserve to finance the mid-term evaluation of the effectiveness and sustainability of the results achieved with the EGF;

F) Whereas the Commission decided to launch a public procurement for the mid-term evaluation;

G) Whereas the Article 20 of the Regulation provides for assistance of external experts in the case of the ex-post evaluation,

H) Whereas the Working group on the EGF invited the Commission to provide explanation for the selected procedure and details about awarding the procurement;

Therefore, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution concerning the mobilisation of the fund for technical assistance of the Commission:

1. Acknowledges the measures proposed by the Commission as Technical Assistance to finance expenditure mentioned in Articles 11(1) and (4) as well as 12(2), (3) and (4) of the EGF Regulation;

2. Welcomes the integration of reporting into the electronic data exchange system (SFC2014); considers that this would ease the administrative burden for the Member States and facilitate the use of reports for evaluation purposes;

3. Notes that the procedure to integrate the EGF into SFC2014 has been going on for years and the relevant costs from EGF budget have been relatively high; notes that this level of costs will need to be maintained for another year after which the cost for maintenance will be lower;

4. Expresses its regret that the Commission did not present the progress of integration into SFC2014 from the beginning in 2011 until 2014 as was requested in the resolution of 24 June 2015 on the proposal on the Technical Assistance in 2015; reminds the Commission to present the progress as requested above including the latest developments;

5. Recalls the importance of networking and exchange of information on the EGF, supports, therefore, the funding of the Expert Group of Contact Persons of the EGF and the networking seminars on the implementation of EGF; expects that this exchange of information shall also contribute to the better and more detailed reporting on the success rate of the applications in the Member States, in particular about the reach and re-employment rate of beneficiaries;

6. Calls on the Commission to invite the Parliament to both the expert group meetings and seminars in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission[13]; welcomes that social partners are also invited to participate;

7. Expresses its concerns that the Commission decided to launch a public procurement for the mid-term evaluation, as Article 20 of the Regulation only provides for assistance of external experts in the case of the ex-post evaluation; calls on the Commission to provide explanation for the selected procedure and details about awarding the procurement;

8. Underlines the importance of increasing general awareness about EGF and its visibility; reminds applicant Member States of their role to publicise the actions funded by EGF to the targeted beneficiaries, authorities, social partners, the media and the general public, as set out in Article 12 of the Regulation.

Yours sincerely,

Thomas Händel

EMPL Chair

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

Date adopted	4.4.2016
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	16 4 1
Members present for the final vote	Jean Arthuis, Lefteris Christoforou, Gérard Deprez, José Manuel Fernandes, Jens Geier, Iris Hoffmann, Bernd Kölmel, Ernest Maragall, Clare Moody, Younous Omarjee, Eleftherios Synadinos, Indrek Tarand, Auke Zijlstra
Substitutes present for the final vote	Anneli Jäätteenmäki, Pavel Poc, Alfred Sant
Substitutes under Rule 200(2) present for the final vote	Isabella Adinolfi, Jonás Fernández, Arne Gericke, Edouard Martin, Emilian Pavel

[1] OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 855.
[2] OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884.
[3] OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1.
[4] Texts adopted, P8_TA(2015)0237.
[5] OJ L 304, 20.11.2010, p. 47.
[6] OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 855.
[7] OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1.
[8] Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884).
[9] OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884.
[10] OJ L 347, 30.12.2013, p. 855.
[11] OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1.
[12] http://ec.europa.eu/egf
[13] Official Journal of the European Union L 304/47 20.11.2010

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