PURPOSE: to mobilise the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund in respect of redundancies in the metal sector in Austria.

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision 2011/652/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on 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 (application EGF/2010/007/AT/Steiermark and Niederosterreich from Austria).

CONTENT: the European Parliament and the Council have decided that for the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2011, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) shall be mobilised to provide the sum of EUR 8 284 908 in commitment and payment appropriations.

This amount is to assist in respect of redundancies in 54 enterprises in NACE Revision 2 Division 24 – manufacture of basic metals – in the contiguous NUTS regions of Steirmark (Styria, AT22) and Niedersterreich (Lower Austria, AT 12) in Austria.

Noting that the application from Austria fulfils the eligibility criteria set up by the EGF Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006), the European Parliament and the Council have decided to mobilise the requested amount.

To recall, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) was established to provide additional support for workers made redundant as a result of major structural changes in world trade patterns due to globalisation and to assist them with their reintegration into the labour market. The Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 allows the mobilisation of the EGF within the annual ceiling of EUR 500 million.

The scope of the EGF was broadened for applications submitted from 1 May 2009 to include support for workers made redundant as a direct result of the global financial and economic crisis.

Decision 2011/652
OJ L 263 07.10.2011, p. 0009

Results of vote in Parliament

The European Parliament adopted by 558 votes to 64, with 23 abstentions, a resolution on the proposal for a decision to mobilise the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) for an amount of EUR 8 284 908 in commitment and payment appropriations in order to assist Austria in respect of redundancies in the metal sector.

The E uropean Parliament recalls that the Union has set up the appropriate legislative and budgetary instruments to provide additional support to workers who are suffering from the consequences of major structural changes in world trade patterns and to assist their reintegration into the labour market. Given that Austria has requested assistance in respect of cases concerning 1 180 redundancies (of which 356 targeted for assistance) in 54 enterprises operating in the NACE Revision 2 Division 24 ('Manufacture of basic metals') in the NUTS II regions of Steiermark (Styria, AT 22) and Niederösterreich (Lower Austria, AT 12) in Austria, Parliament requests the institutions involved to make the necessary efforts to accelerate the mobilisation of the EGF for the requested amount.

It appreciates, in this sense, the improved procedure put in place by the Commission, following Parliament's request for accelerating the release of grants. It hopes that further improvements in the procedure will be made within the framework of the upcoming reviews of the EGF.

Parliament stresses the institutions’ commitment to ensuring a smooth and rapid procedure for the adoption of the decisions on the mobilisation of the EGF, providing one-off, time-limited individual support geared to helping workers who have suffered redundancies as a result of globalisation and the financial and economic crisis.

It also recalls that:

assistance from the EGF must not replace actions which are the responsibility of companies by virtue of national law or collective agreements, nor measures restructuring companies or sectors; the information provided on the coordinated package of personalised services to be funded from the EGF includes information on the complementarity with actions funded by the Structural Funds.

Moreover, Parliament calls for an evaluation on the long-term integration of these workers into the labour market as a direct result of the EGF-funded measures as well as comparative evaluation on the complementarity with actions funded by the Structural Funds.

At the same time, Parliament welcomes the fact that, following repeated requests from the Parliament, for the first time the 2011 budget shows payment appropriations of EUR 47 608 950 on the EGF budget line 04 05 01. The EGF was created as a separate specific instrument with its own objectives and deadlines and that therefore deserves a dedicated allocation, superseding transfers from other budget lines, as done in the past, which could be detrimental to the achievement of the various policies objectives.

T7-0370/2011

A7-0277/2011

A7-0277/2011

The Committee on Budgets adopted the report drafted by Barbara MATERA (EPP, IT) on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for an amount of EUR 8 284 908 in commitment and payment appropriations in respect of redundancies in the metal sector in Austria.

Members recall that the European Union has set up the appropriate legislative and budgetary instruments to provide additional support to workers who are suffering from the consequences of major structural changes in world trade patterns and to assist their reintegration into the labour market.

Given that Austria has requested assistance in respect of cases concerning 1 180 redundancies (of which 356 targeted for assistance) in 54 enterprises operating in the NACE Revision 2 Division 24 ('Manufacture of basic metals') in the NUTS II regions of Steiermark (Styria, AT 22) and Niederösterreich (Lower Austria, AT 12) in Austria, and that this application fulfils the eligibility criteria set up by the EGF Regulation, Members request the institutions involved to make the necessary efforts to accelerate the mobilisation of the EGF for the requested amount.

Members recall the institutions’ commitment to ensuring a smooth and rapid procedure for the adoption of the decisions on the mobilisation of the EGF, providing one-off, time-limited individual support geared to helping workers who have suffered redundancies as a result of globalisation and the financial and economic crisis.

They also recall that:

assistance from the EGF must not replace actions which are the responsibility of companies by virtue of national law or collective agreements, nor measures restructuring companies or sectors; the information provided by the Commission on the coordinated package of personalised services to be funded from the EGF includes detailed information on the complementarity with actions funded by the Structural Funds (the committee reiterates its call to present a comparative evaluation of these data in the Commission annual reports as well); the information provided on the coordinated package of personalised services to be funded from the EGF includes information on the complementarity with actions funded by the Structural Funds.

Members welcome the fact that, following repeated requests from the Parliament, for the first time the 2011 budget shows payment appropriations of EUR 47 608 950 on the EGF budget line 04 05 01. This dedicated allocation will avoid transfers from other budget lines, as happened in the past, which could be detrimental to the achievement of the various policies objectives.

PE469.744

PE467.191

PURPOSE: to mobilise the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) in respect of redundancies in the metal sector in Austria.

PROPOSED ACT: Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council.

CONTENT: the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) was established by Council Regulation No 1927/2006 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.

The Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 on budgetary discipline allows for the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) through a flexibility mechanism, within the annual ceiling of EUR 500 million over and above the relevant headings of the financial framework.

The Commission services have carried out a thorough examination of the application submitted by Austria to mobilise the EGF. The main elements of the assessment are as follows:

Austria : EGF/2010/007 AT/Steiermark and Niederösterreich : o n 09 March 2010, Austria submitted application EGF/2010/007 AT/Steiermark and Niederösterreich for a financial contribution from the EGF, following redundancies in 54 enterprises operating in the NACE Revision 2 Division 24 ('Manufacture of basic metals') in the NUTS II regions of Steiermark (Styria, AT22) and Niederösterreich (Lower Austria, AT12) in Austria. The application was supplemented by additional information up to 22 February 2011.

In order to establish the link between the redundancies and the global financial and economic crisis, Austria argues that the global drop in demand for metal as a result of the crisis had a particularly heavy impact on Austria's metal exports (ferrous and non-ferrous) and thus on the country's metal output and employment (close to 80% of the Austrian metal production is exported, and metal accounts for almost 9% of Austria's total export volume). Austria also emphasises the high degree of interdependence among enterprises within the metal sector and with some of the industries most affected by the crisis, such as the construction, engineering and automobile industries.

Austria submitted this application under the intervention criteria of Article 2(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006, which requires at least 500 redundancies over a nine-month period in enterprises operating in the same NACE Revision 2 Division in one region or two contiguous regions at NUTS II level in a Member State.

The application cites 1 180 redundancies in 54 enterprises operating in the NACE Revision 2 Division 24 ('Manufacture of basic metals') in the contiguous NUTS II regions of Steiermark (AT22) and Niederösterreich (AT12) from 1 April 2009 to 31 December 2009.

After a thorough examination of this application, the Commission has concluded in accordance with Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006 that the conditions for a financial contribution under this Regulation are met.

On the basis of the application from Austria, the proposed contribution from the EGF to the coordinated package of personalised services is EUR 8 284 908 representing 65 % of the total cost.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: no impact assessment was carried out.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: considering the maximum possible amount of a financial contribution from the EGF under Article 10(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006, as well as the scope for reallocating appropriations, the Commission proposes to mobilise the EGF for the total amount referred to above, to be allocated under heading 1a of the financial framework.

The proposed amount of financial contribution will leave more than 25% of the maximum annual amount earmarked for the EGF available for allocations during the last four months of the year, as required by Article 12(6) of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006.

By presenting this proposal to mobilise the EGF, the Commission initiates the simplified trialogue procedure, as required by Point 28 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006, with a view to securing the agreement of the two arms of the budgetary authority on the need to use the EGF and the amount required. The Commission invites the first of the two arms of the budgetary authority that reaches agreement on the draft mobilisation proposal, at appropriate political level, to inform the other arm and the Commission of its intentions. In case of disagreement by either of the two arms of the budgetary authority, a formal trialogue meeting will be convened.

An amount of EUR 16 808 313 remains available on the EGF Budget line 04.0501 after adoption by both arms of the Budgetary Authority of two Decisions totalling an amount of EUR 777 390, and taking into account the three cases currently discussed by the Budgetary Authority for a total amount of EUR 30 023 247. This available amount will be used to cover the amount of EUR 8 284 908 needed for the present application.

COM(2011)0340
EUR-Lex