EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 8.2.2023

COM(2023) 69 final

2023/0031(BUD)

Proposal for a

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers following an application from Belgium – EGF/2022/002 BE TNT

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

1.The rules applicable to financial contributions from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF) are laid down in Regulation (EU) 2021/691 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF) and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 1 .

2.On 18 October 2022, Belgium submitted an application EGF/2022/002 BE/TNT for a financial contribution from the EGF, following displacements in TNT Express Worldwide (Euro Hub) SRL (hereinafter referred to as TNT) in Belgium.

3.Following its assessment of this application, the Commission has concluded, in accordance with all applicable provisions of Regulation (EU) 2021/691, that the conditions for awarding a financial contribution from the EGF are met.

SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION

ASSESSMENT OF THE APPLICATION

Procedure

4.Belgium submitted application EGF/2022/002 BE/TNT within 12 weeks of the date on which the intervention criteria set out in Article 4(2), point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2021/691 were met, on 18 October 2022. The Commission acknowledged receipt of the application and requested additional information from Belgium on 3 November 2022. Such additional information was provided within 15 working days of the request. The deadline of 50 working days 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 14 February 2023.

Eligibility of the application

Enterprises and beneficiaries concerned

5.The application relates to 548 displaced workers whose activity has ceased in TNT Express Worldwide (Euro Hub) SRL in the economic sector classified under the NACE Revision 2 division 52 (Warehousing and support activities for transportation). The redundancies made by TNT are located in the NUTS 2 region Province Liège (BE33).

Intervention criteria

6.Belgium submitted the application under the intervention criteria of Article 4(2), point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2021/691, which requires the cessation of activity of at least 200 displaced workers over a reference period of four months in an enterprise in a Member State, including workers displaced in suppliers and downstream producers and / or self-employed persons whose activity has ceased. 

7.The reference period of four months for the application runs from 27 March 2022 to 27 July 2022.

8.There were 548 workers displaced by TNT during the reference period. 

Calculation of displacements and of cessation of activity

9.Pursuant to Article 6, first paragraph, point (a), in conjunction with Article 5, first paragraph, point (c), of Regulation (EU) 2021/691, the cessation of activities of the 548 displaced workers during the reference period has been calculated from the date of the de facto termination of the contract of employment or its expiry.

Eligible beneficiaries

10.In addition to the workers already referred to, the eligible beneficiaries include 10 displaced workers whose activity ceased between the end of the reference period and the day before of the adoption of this proposal pursuant to Article 6, first paragraph, point (b), of Regulation (EU) 2021/691. A clear causal link can be established with the event that triggered the cessations of activity of the displaced workers during the reference period as required by Article 6, second paragraph, of Regulation (EU) 2021/691..

11.The total number of eligible beneficiaries is 559.

Description of the events that led to the displacements and cessation of activity

12.On 19 January 2021, TNT Express Worldwide (Euro Hub) SRL – the Belgian subsidiary of the group resulting from the takeover of the Dutch TNT Group by the US Fedex Group in 2016 – announced its intention of dismissing 671 5 workers and modifying the contracts of another 861 workers.

13.The enterprise plans to use Liège airport as a secondary hub, linked only to some European airports, while Paris-Charles de Gaulle becomes FedEx's primary hub, linked to all European airports, as well as to airports in America, Asia and the Middle East. As a result, the workforce at Liège airport has to be downsized in line with the reduced workload and the decreased number of flights at Liège airport, this resulting in redundancies and revised working conditions for hundreds of employees. 

14.The changes aim to avoid a duplication of activities and strengthen the position of the group in a context of fierce competition in the sector at European and national level.

Expected impact of the displacements as regards the local, regional or national economy and employment

15.The unemployment rate in Wallonia (8,7%) is 2,8 percentage points higher than the unemployment rate at national level (5,9%) 6 . Besides, the employment market in Province Liège is particularly disadvantaged compared with other provinces in Wallonia.

16.Province Liège  along with Province Hainaut  has the highest job demand rate (share of unemployed registered job seekers in the active population) in Wallonia, at 13,8% in March 2022 7 .

17.The year-on-year (YoY) variation in the number of job seekers in Province Liège shows a positive trend: it has been declining for the last two years (YoY, -1,7% in Q2 2021 and -2,1% in Q2 2022). However, while the same trend is observed for the short-term unemployed, the opposite is true for the long-term unemployed (more than 12 months). Reintegration into employment is becoming particularly difficult for the long-term unemployed, who have been looking for a job for at least two years but less than five. In March 2022, 28% of all job seekers belong to the 2-5 years group, 5 percentage points more than in March 2020 8 .

18.Age is associated with difficulties in job search in Province Liège, where those aged 50+ accounted for 27,5% of the job-seekers in March 2022 9 . Almost half (47%) of former TNT workers belong to this age group.

19.While the COVID-19 crisis has accelerated the search for workers with more qualified profiles in the Belgian labour market, 60% of TNT former workers held low qualified jobs, such as handler, ramp agent, etc.. So, these workers might find it difficult to re-integrate into employment; even more so in stable contracts, as the sector favours short contracts.

20.The Walloon authorities argue that the displacements in TNT will have a particular impact on two categories of workers (the low skilled and those aged 50+) that are already disadvantaged in the regional labour market.

21.Besides, the context of the COVID-19 crisis coupled with the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine worsen the outlook for economic development. The current rise in inflation, in particular the increase in prices of raw materials and energy, reduce enterprises’ margins and their competitiveness. This suggests less hiring in 2022. IWEPS (Wallonia's Institute for Evaluation, Foresight and Statistics) estimates the annual average growth rate in Belgian national employment for 2022, to be 1,3% lower than in 2021 10 . Thus, TNT former workers will need additional and targeted support to increase their chances of finding new jobs.

Application of the EU Quality Framework for anticipation of change and restructuring (QFR)

22.Belgium has described how the recommendations set out in the EU Quality Framework for anticipation of change and restructuring have been taken into account.

23.TNT complied with Belgian law on collective redundancies, which establishes a mandatory procedure for informing and consulting workers' representatives. The procedure makes it possible to explore any possibility of avoiding or reducing the number of redundancies. It also seeks to mitigate the consequences of job loss through complementary social measures, such as support for redeployment or retraining of redundant workers.

24.The information and consultation procedure led to a reduced number of redundancies and allowed workers to apply for voluntary dismissal and receive the relevant financial incentives. The negotiation also secured a specific budget from TNT to cover for retraining costs.

25.Wallonia's regional legislation 11 provides for specific support for redundant workers, in the form of a redeployment unit (cellule de reconversion) 12  by the Regional Public Employment and Vocational Training Service (Forem), at the request of workers’ representative organisations. The redeployment unit does not constitute an obligation for the employer, nor for Forem. The implementation of the EGF co-financed measures will be managed through such a redeployment unit.

26.Regarding the activities undertaken to assist the displaced workers, Belgium has reported that national labour law 13 on the active management of restructuring requires enterprises undergoing restructuring to set up an employment unit (cellule pour l’emploi) 14 , whose purpose is to provide workers laid off in the context of collective redundancies with 30 hours of outplacement services in a period of three months (60 hours in six months for workers aged 45+). The services of the employment unit started immediately after the displacements.

Complementarity with actions funded by national or Union funds

27.Belgium has confirmed that the measures described below receiving a financial contribution from the EGF will not also receive financial contributions from other Union financial instruments.

28.The coordinated package of personalised services complements actions funded by other national or EU funds, see outplacement services described in paragraph 26.

Procedures for consulting the targeted beneficiaries or their representatives or the social partners as well as local and regional authorities

29.Belgium has indicated that the co-ordinated package of personalised services has been drawn up in consultation with targeted beneficiaries' representatives, in compliance with Article 7(4) of Regulation (EU) 2021/691.

30.Aiming to prepare a sound package of tailored measures to support TNT workers’efforts to return to work, Forem, trade unions (FGTB 15 and CSC 16 ), and other partners met on 6 April, 11 May and 21 June 2022, to better understand workers' retraining needs. The social counsellors who accompanied the workers after their dismissal were also consulted. These meetings resulted in a coordinated package of EGF measures that complements the standard measures proposed by the employment unit.

Targeted beneficiaries and proposed measures

Targeted beneficiaries

31.All 559 displaced workers are expected to participate in the measures. Pursuant to Article 8(7), point (f), of Regulation (EU) 2021/691, the provided breakdown of these workers by gender, age group and educational level is as follows:

Proposed measures

32.Pursuant to Article 8(7), point (h) of Regulation (EU) 2021/691, the coordinated package to be provided to displaced workers consists of the following measures:

–Information services, occupational guidance and outplacement assistance. This set of services expands the standard activities in support of TNT former workers carried out by Forem's employment unit on behalf of the dismissing enterprise. The standard offer will be extended beyond the mandatory period and additional specific services such as individual coaching, active job-search and job-matching services will be proposed. Particular attention will be paid to vulnerable people in a situation of psychological distress, indebtedness, or recognised disability through professionals specialised in assisting these groups.

–Training, retraining and vocational training. Workers will have access to the standard training offer of Forem and its partners. Specific job search modules will be deployed as well. In addition, after the profiling and agreement of individual projects with the vocational counsellor, specific training will be offered to cater for the identified needs. A module to improve IT skills and gain digital autonomy, specifically developed for the former TNT workers is also on offer. This module complements the module to develop digital skills that is part of Forem's standard training offer.

–Support towards business creation. The measure aims at workers who wish to launch their own business. It will include a diagnosis and guidance phase, awareness-raising actions on entrepreneurship, information sessions on the potential for business creation through territorial economic diagnoses and networking with relevant entrepreneurs and with certified coaches in business creation.

–Contribution to business creation. The workers who start a business or an activity as self-employed persons will receive a contribution up to EUR 15 000. The contribution will be paid in two installments, after proving the start of the business activity with supporting documents.

–Incentives and allowances: (1) Job-search and training allowances. Workers will receive EUR 1 per hour of effective participation in training or job-search activities. (2) Bonus for improving IT skills. Workers, who follow the module for access to digital autonomy developed ad-hoc for them, will receive a lump sum of EUR 400 conditional on their active participation and completion of the training. The bonus aims to reduce digital illiteracy by encouraging former TNT workers to improve their IT skills. (3) Return-to-school allowance. A monthly allowance of EUR 350 per month will be granted to workers who embark on secondary and tertiary studies full-time for at least one year, or qualifying training of at least 3 months to acquire the necessary skills for jobs that are in demand and for which recruiting is difficult, linked to critical functions 21 , or significantly gender-unbalanced. (4) Allowance towards business creation. To support the workers while setting up their business, a monthly allowance of EUR 350 for a maximum of 12 months will be granted. 

33.The training to gain digital autonomy mentioned above that complements Forem's standard training to develop digital skills, together with a module on circular economy and efficient use of resources are in line with the requirements set out in Article 7(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/691. The module on circular economy and efficient use of resources developped for former Swissport workers (EGF/2020/005 BE) 22 will be part of Forem's standard training offer co-financed by ESF+. It is therefore not budgeted in this proposal. Besides, resource efficient economy is at the core of the training offer of Forem 'environment' training center 23 . 

34.The proposed actions, here described, constitute active labour market policy measures within the eligible actions set out in Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 2021/691. These actions do not substitute passive social protection measures.

35.Belgium has informed that the 30/60 hours of outplacement services that are the legal obligation of the employer began immediately after the displacements. The EGF co-financed redeployment unit took over after the end of the legal obligation without time gap. 

36.Belgium has provided the required information on measures that are mandatory for the enterprise concerned by virtue of national law or pursuant to collective agreements. In accordance with Article 9(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/691, Belgium has confirmed that a financial contribution from the EGF will not replace such measures.

Estimated budget

37.The estimated total costs are EUR 2 301 644, comprising expenditure for personalised services of EUR 2 270 644 and expenditure for preparatory, management, information and publicity, control and reporting activities of EUR 31 000.

38.The total financial contribution requested from the EGF is EUR 1 956 397 (85 % of total costs).

39.Pursuant to Article 8(7), point (m), Belgium has specified that the national pre-financing and co-funding is provided by Région Wallonne.

40.The costs of the measures identified in the table above as measures under Article 7(2), second subparagraph, point (b), of Regulation (EU) 2021/691do not exceed 35 % of the total costs for the coordinated package of personalised services. Belgium confirmed that these measures are conditional on the active participation of the targeted beneficiaries in job-search or training activities.

41.In accordance with Article 7(2), fourth subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2021/691, Belgium confirmed that the costs of investments for self-employment, business start-ups and employee take-overs will not exceed EUR 22 000 per beneficiary.

Period of eligibility of expenditure

42.Belgium started providing the personalised services to the targeted beneficiaries on 1 April 2022. The expenditure on the measures will therefore be eligible for a financial contribution from the EGF from 1 April 2022 until 24 months after the date of the entry into force of the Financing Decision.

43.Belgium started incurring the administrative expenditure to implement the EGF on 19 January 2021. The expenditure for preparatory, management, information and publicity, control and reporting activities shall therefore be eligible for a financial contribution from the EGF from 19 January 2021 until 31 months after the date of the entry into force of the Financing Decision.

Management and control systems

44.The application contains a description of the management and control system required under Article 23 of Regulation (EU) 2021/691, which specifies the responsibilities of the bodies involved. Belgium has notified the Commission that the financial contribution will be managed and controlled by the same bodies that manage and control the ESF+.

Commitments provided by the Member State concerned

45.Belgium has provided all necessary assurances regarding the following:

–the principles of equality of treatment and non-discrimination will be respected in access to the proposed measures and their implementation,

–the requirements laid down in national and EU legislation concerning collective redundancies have been complied with,

–TNT, which has continued its activities after the lay-offs, has complied with its legal obligations and provided for its workers accordingly,

–any double financing will be prevented,

–the financial contribution from the EGF will comply with the procedural and material Union rules on State aid.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION

Budgetary proposal

46.The EGF shall not exceed a maximum annual amount of EUR 186 million (in 2018 prices), as laid down in Article 8 of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2020/2093 of 17 December 2020 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027 28 .

47.Having examined the application in respect of the conditions set out in Article 13(1) and (2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/691, and having taken into account the number of targeted beneficiaries, the proposed measures and the estimated costs, the Commission proposes to mobilise the EGF for the amount of EUR 1 956 397, representing 85 % of the total costs of the proposed measures, in order to provide a financial contribution for the application.

48.The proposed decision to mobilise the EGF will be taken jointly by the European Parliament and the Council pursuant to Article 15(1), first subparagraph, second sentence, of Regulation (EU) 2021/691 and as laid down in point 9 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 16 December 2020 between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management, as well as on new own resources, including a roadmap towards the introduction of new own resources 29 .

Related acts

49.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 to transfer to the relevant budgetary line the amount of EUR 1 956 397.

50.At the same time as it adopted this proposal for a decision to mobilise the EGF, the Commission adopted a decision on a financial contribution that constitutes a financing decision within the meaning of Article 110 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 30 . That financing decision will enter into force on the date on which the Commission is notified of the approval of the budgetary transfer by the European Parliament and the Council pursuant to Article 15(2), first subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2021/691.

2023/0031 (BUD)

Proposal for a

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers following an application from Belgium – EGF/2022/002 BE TNT

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/691 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF) and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 31 , and in particular Article 15(1), first subparagraph, thereof,

Having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 16 December 2020 between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management, as well as on new own resources, including a roadmap towards the introduction of new own resources 32 , and in particular point 9 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Whereas:

(1)The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF) aims to demonstrate solidarity and promote decent and sustainable employment in the Union by providing support for workers made redundant and self-employed persons whose activity has ceased in the case of major restructuring events and assisting them in returning to decent and sustainable employment as soon as possible.

(2)The EGF is not to exceed a maximum annual amount of EUR 186 million (in 2018 prices), as laid down in Article 8 of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 33 and Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2021/691.

(3)On 18 October 2022, Belgium submitted an application to mobilise the EGF in accordance with Article 8(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/691, in respect of worker’s displacements in TNT Express Worldwide (Euro Hub) SRL (TNT) in Belgium. It was supplemented by additional information provided in accordance with Article 8(5) of Regulation (EU) 2021/691. That application complies with the conditions for a financial contribution from the EGF as laid down in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2021/691.

(4)The EGF should, therefore, be mobilised in order to provide a financial contribution of EUR 1 956 397 in respect of the application submitted by Belgium.

(5)In order to minimise the time taken to mobilise the EGF, this decision should apply from the date of its adoption,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

For the general budget of the Union for the financial year 2023, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers shall be mobilised to provide the amount of EUR 1 956 397 in commitment and payment appropriations.

Article 2

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It shall apply from [the date of its adoption] 34*.

Done at Brussels,

(1)    OJ L 153, 3.5.2021, p. 48.

(2)    Commission Delegated Regulation 2019/1755 of 8 August 2019 amending the Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS). OJ L 270, 24.10.2019, p. 1–56.

(3)    OJ L 393, 30.12.2006, p. 1.

(4)    In accordance with Article 7(5) of Regulation (EU) 2021/691.

(5)    The intended number of displacements was reduced during the mandatory procedure for informing and consulting workers' representatives, as described in paragraphs 23 and 24.

(6)    Average of last four quarters available (Q3 2021-Q2 2022). Source: Statbel . « Population active (travailleurs et chômeurs) et inactive depuis 2017 basé sur l’Enquête sur les Forces de Travail reformée, par trimestre, province, sexe, classe d’âge et niveau d’éducation. Dernières 4 Trimestre (2ème trimestre 2021, 3ème trimestre 2021, 4ème trimestre 2021, 1er trimestre 2022) ».

(7)     Le Forem , « Emploi du temps. Photo locale de la demande d’emploi ».

(8)     Le Forem , « Emploi du temps. Photo locale de la demande d’emploi ».

(9)    Ibid

(10)    IWEPS, Tendances Économiques nº 63, p. 21.

(11)    Wallonia Government Decree of 29 January 2004, as amended by the Decree of 30 April 2009.

(12)     Forem. Restructuring event: redeployment units

(13)    The Royal Decree (Arrêté Royal) of 10 November 2006 amending the Royal Decree of 9 March 2006

(14)     Forem. Restructuring event: employment units

(15)    Fédération générale du travail de Belgique.

(16)    Conféderation des syndicats chrétiens.

(17)    ISCED 0-2

(18)    ISCED 3

(19)    ISCED 4

(20)    ISCED 5-8

(21)     List of jobs in demand and difficult to be covered or linked to critical functions. « Métiers en tension de recrutement en Wallonie. Liste des métiers/fonctions critiques et en pénurie ». Le Forem 2020 .
Updates to the list are available in Forem website . 

(22)    COM(2021) 212.

(23)     www.formation-environnement.be

(24)    To avoid decimals, the estimated costs per worker have been rounded. However, the rounding has no impact on the total cost of each measure, which remains as in the application submitted by Belgium.

(25)    Totals do not tally due to rounding.

(26)    EGF co-financing is requested for training not included in Forem’s offer, nor covered by TNT’s specific budget for retraining referred to in point nº24. 

(27)    Preparatory activities are financed by Forem’s operating budget for collective reconversions.

(28)    OJ L 433 I, 22.12.2020, p. 11.

(29)    OJ L 433 I, 22.12.2020, p. 29.

(30)    Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1

(31)    OJ L 153, 3.5.2021, p. 48.

(32)    OJ L 433 I, 22.12.2020, p. 29

(33)    Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2020/2093 of 17 December 2020 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027 (OJ L 433 I, 22.12.2020, p. 11).

(34) *    Date to be inserted by the Parliament before the publication in OJ.