The FINANCIAL — Brussels, 22 August 2011 – Nearly 23 700 workers dismissed due to economic crisis and major structural changes in world trade patterns were helped by the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) last year, according to a report adopted today by the European Commission – more than double the number of workers helped by the Fund in 2009.
The €83.5 million paid out by the EU’s Globalisation Fund to nine Member States are intended to help the national authorities as they support dismissed workers in finding new job opportunities.
László Andor, EU Commissioner responsible for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, said on the publication of the annual report: “Since its launch in 2007, the European Globalisation Fund as an instrument to express EU solidarity has been stepping in to support those who have lost their jobs. The Fund has covered training and job search assistance for thousands of European workers and it will continue to play a crucial role in fighting unemployment or preventing it.” He added: “The EGF reflects the need to focus on the challenges of this decade, while preserving strong investment in areas like training, innovation and European infrastructure.”
The fourth annual report on the activities and results of the EGF shows a three-fold increase in 2010 of EGF contributions paid out to Member States. The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, as the EU’s budgetary authority, took 31 decisions in 2010 to deploy the EGF funding: 13 of these were in response to applications made in 2010 and 18 concerned applications from the second half of 2009. This steep rise reflects the sudden impact of the global financial and economic crisis leading to a dramatic increase in applications in 2009. Three times as many cases were approved in 2010 compared with 2009, and a 60 % increase in terms of EGF co-financing was paid out to Member States.
The EGF contributions targeted 23 688 workers dismissed in nine Member States (Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain), with a total of € 83 554 141 from the Fund. The support was granted to co-finance active labour market policy measures proposed and organised for the workers by the Member States, over a 24-month period following the date of application. The EGF co-financed 65% of the measures, with national sources providing the remaining 35%. The concrete measures for the job-seekers included intensive, personalised job-search assistance, various types of vocational training, up-skilling and retraining measures, temporary incentives and allowances for the duration of the active measures, and other types of support such as business creation and public employment schemes.
The EGF, an initiative first proposed by President Barroso to provide help for people who lose their jobs due to the impact of globalisation, was established by the European Parliament and the Council at the end of 2006.
As part of its proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework beyond 2013, the Commission has proposed that the EU should continue to express solidarity with redundant workers and the affected regions through the EGF also in the future.
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