PURPOSE: to mobilise the European Globalisation
Adjustment Fund (EGF) to assist Spain in respect of redundancies in
the automotive industry.
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 provides that the
EGF is not to exceed a maximum annual amount of EUR 150
million (2011 prices).
The rules applicable to financial contributions from
the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) are laid down in
Regulation
(EU) No 1309/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council
on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (2014-2020) and
repealing Regulation
(EC) No 1927/2006.
Against this background, the Commission examined the
application to mobilise the EGF to assist Spain and made the
following comments:
Spain:
EGF/2016/004 ES/Comunidad Valenciana
automotive: on 21 June 2016, Spain
submitted an application EGF/2016/004 ES/Comunidad
Valenciana automotive for a financial contribution from the
EGF, following redundancies in the economic sector classified under
the NACE Revision 2 Division 29 (Manufacture of motor vehicles,
trailers and semi-trailers) in the NUTS level 2 region of
Comunidad Valenciana (ES52) in Spain.
Spain submitted its application within 12 weeks
of the date on which the intervention criteria were met. The
deadline of 12 weeks of the receipt of the complete application
within which the Commission should finalise its assessment of the
application's compliance with the conditions for providing a
financial contribution expires on 8 November 2016.
In order to establish the link between the
redundancies and major structural changes in world trade patterns
due to globalisation, Spain argues that the European automotive
industry has lost significant market share within the past
decade.
In absolute terms, while the EU-27 faced a production
decline for motor vehicles in 2015 compared with 2006 by 0.5
million units or -2.8 %, global production increased by 31.1 %,
notably in China as well as other South-East Asian
economies.
The EU market share dropped from 39.3 % in 2000 to
22.3 % in 2013.
In 2015, China was the biggest producer accounting for
26 % of world car production, while the EU, the second biggest,
accounted for 22 % of a global car production of 73.5 million
passenger cars.
A main driving force behind this trend is the
geographical shift in consumption linked to globalisation, in
particular the rapid growth in demand on the Asian market from
which EU manufacturers are less able to benefit, being
traditionally less well positioned on these markets.
In Spain, the decline in car production triggered a
reduction of both enterprises and jobs. Over the period 2008-2014
the number of automotive enterprises declined from 901 to 806
(-10.5 %) and the jobs in the sector decreased from 164 038 to 135
997 (-17 %). In Comunidad Valenciana 62 automotive enterprises
stopped activities of a total of 187.
To date, the Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers
and semi-trailers sector has been the subject of 23 EGF
applications.
Basis of the Spanish application: Spain submitted the application under the
intervention criteria of Article 4(2) derogating from the criteria
of Article 4(1)(b) of the EGF Regulation, which requires at least
500 workers being made redundant over a reference period of nine
months in enterprises operating in the same economic sector defined
at NACE Revision 2 Division and located in one region or two
contiguous regions defined at NUTS 2 level in a Member
State.
There were 250 redundancies in the NUTS level 2
region of Comunidad Valenciana (ES52).
The reference period of nine months for the
application runs from 30 June 2015 to 30 March 2016.
It is proposed that the EGF should be mobilised in
order to provide a financial contribution of EUR 856 800 in
respect of the application submitted by Spain.
BUDGETARY IMPLICATION: having examined the application
in respect of the conditions set out in Article 13(1) of the EGF
Regulation, and having taken into account the number of targeted
beneficiaries, the proposed actions and the estimated costs, the
Commission proposes to mobilise the EGF for the amount of EUR 856
800, in order to provide a financial contribution for the
application.
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.
At the same time as it presents this proposal for a
decision to mobilise the EGF, the Commission will present to the
European Parliament and to the Council a proposal for a transfer to
the relevant budgetary line for the requested amount.
At the same time as it adopts this proposal for a
decision to mobilise the EGF, the Commission will adopt a decision
on a financial contribution, by means of an implementing act, which
will enter into force on the date at which the European Parliament
and the Council adopt the proposed decision to mobilise the
EGF.