PURPOSE: to mobilise the European Globalisation
Adjustment Fund (EGF) to assist Belgium following redundancies in
the steel sector.
PROPOSED ACT: Decision of the European Parliament and
of the Council.
CONTENT: Article 12 of Council Regulation (EU,
Euratom) No 1311/2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years
2014-2020 allows for the mobilisation of the
European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) within the annual
ceiling of EUR 150 million (2011 prices) over and above the
relevant headings of the financial framework.
The rules applicable to financial contributions from
the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) for applications
submitted until 31 December 2013 are laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006
of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing the
EGF.
To recall, the 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.
In this context, the Commission examined the request
for mobilisation of the EGF with a view to assisting Belgium and
stated that:
Belgium:
EGF/2013/002 BE/Carsid: on
2 April 2013, Belgium submitted application
EGF/2013/002 BE/Carsid for a financial contribution from the EGF,
following redundancies linked to the closure of the production
plant of Carsid SA (Carsid) located in Marcinelle near
Charleroi. The application was supplemented by additional
information up to 4 July 2014.
In order to establish the link between the
redundancies and major structural changes in world trade patterns
due to globalisation, the Belgian authorities argue that the sector
of the production of continuously-cast crude steel (which includes
billets, blooms and slabs), in which Carsid operated, has undergone
serious economic disruption, in particular a rapid decline of the
EUs market share.
Between 2006 and 2011, the production of
continuously-cast crude steel in the EU-27 decreased from 197.1
million tonnes to 170.8 million tonnes (− 13.4 %; − 2.8
% annual growth), whereas, at worldwide level, production increased
from 1 149.6 million tonnes to 1 438.3 million tonnes (+ 25.1 %; +
4.6 % annual growth).
This has led to a decrease of the EU-27s market
share in the production of continuously-cast crude
steel. By comparison, during the same
period, Chinas market share increased from 35.5 % to 46.8 %
(+ 32.0 %; + 5.7 % annual growth), whereas the market shares of the
five other largest producers (which account together for around 25
% to 30 % of worldwide production) either decreased, although to a
lesser extent than for the EU-27 (Japan, USA, Russia), or increased
moderately (South Korea, India). These data therefore show a
rapid decline of the EUs market share in the sector of
the production of continuously-cast crude steel at worldwide
level.
The effects of these changes in trade patterns have
been worsened by other factors such as a decrease in demand in
steel in the automotive and construction sectors in the EU as a
consequence of the economic crisis and a relative increase of
production costs (raw materials, energy, environmental constraints,
etc.). These factors have harmed the competiveness of the EUs
steel industry and have led to a high number of job losses in the
steel sector in recent years due to plant closures and
restructuring by several steel manufacturers in Europe. For
instance, between 2008 and 2013, the number of persons employed in
the metallurgic industry (NACE Rev. 2 division 24 Manufacture
of basic metals) in the EU-27 decreased by around 280 000
from 1.44 million to 1.16 million (− 19.4 %).
Background to the Belgian application: the application is based on the intervention
criteria of Article 2(a) of the EGF Regulation, which requires at
least 500 redundancies over a period of four months in an
enterprise in a Member State. The application relates to 939
redundancies made during a period of four months from 28 September
2012 to 28 January 2013. All the redundancies have been calculated
from the date of the employers individual notice to lay off
or to terminate the contract of employment of the worker, as laid
down in the first indent of the second paragraph of Article 2 of
the EGF Regulation (method 1).
Having examined this application, the Commission has
concluded, in accordance with the applicable provisions of the EGF
Regulation, that the conditions for a financial contribution from
the EGF are met.
On the basis of the application from Belgium, the
proposed contribution from the EGF to the coordinated package of
personalised services is EUR 911 934.
Financial implications:
considering the maximum possible amount of a financial contribution
from the EGF and the scope for reallocating appropriations, the
Commission proposes to mobilise the EGF for the total amount of the
requested contribution (EUR 911 934), which represents 50% of the
total costs of the proposed measures.
The proposed decision to mobilise the EGF will be
taken jointly by the European Parliament and the Council, as laid
down in 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.
The Commission presents separately a transfer request
in order to enter in the 2014 budget specific commitment
appropriations.
Appropriations allocated to the EGF budget line in the
2014 budget will be used to cover the requested amount under the
Belgian application.