European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (2014-2020)

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (2014-2020)

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund provides support to people who lose their jobs due to the effects of globalisation or the still ongoing effects of the economic and financial crisis.

KEY POINTS

Since 2007, the EU’s Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) has assisted workers who have been made redundant due to globalisation, because their companies have shut down or moved production outside the EU, to find new jobs or to retrain. During the period 2009-2011 and since 2014 the Fund has also assisted workers made redundant due to the economic and financial crisis.

In general, the EGF provides assistance in cases where over 500 workers are made redundant:

by a single company (including its suppliers and downstream producers); or
in a particular sector in one or more neighbouring regions.

With an annual budget of about EUR 170 million each year between 2014 and 2020, the EGF can offer up to 60% of the cost of projects designed to help individual workers made redundant to find another job or set up their own business. The fund is not designed to help keep companies in business or restructure.

Potential beneficiaries

The EGF can assist individual workers made redundant (permanent, fixed-term and temporary workers, and the self-employed), and also young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs) in the same regions, if the youth unemployment rate is at least 20%, in equal numbers to workers receiving support.

Eligible measures include:

help to find a job;
careers advice;
education, training and retraining;
mentoring and coaching;
entrepreneurship and business creation.

Application procedure

Applications for assistance are submitted to the European Commission by EU governments and, if approved, are managed and carried out by national or regional authorities. Projects run for 2 years.

Unlike the long-term projects funded by the EU’s Structural and Investment Funds (ESIFs), such as the European Social Fund, EGF projects provide support to individuals for a short and clearly defined period of time.

Repeal

Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 has been repealed by Regulation (EU) 2021/691 (see summary) as of 1 January 2021. However, it shall continue to apply until the ex post evaluation is carried out.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 1 January 2014.

BACKGROUND

For more information, see:

European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) (European Commission).

MAIN DOCUMENT

Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (2014-20) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, pp. 855-864)

Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.