7.3.2014   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 68/106

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having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2012)0502 – C7-0292/2012),

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having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management (1) (IIA of 17 May 2006), and in particular point 28 thereof,

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having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on establishing the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (2) (EGF Regulation),

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having regard to the trilogue procedure provided for in point 28 of the IIA of 17 May 2006,

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having regard to the letter of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs,

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having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A7-0345/2012),

A.

whereas the European Union has set up the appropriate legislative and budgetary instruments to provide additional support to workers who are suffering from the consequences of major structural changes in world trade patterns and to assist their reintegration into the labour market;

B.

whereas the scope of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) was broadened for applications submitted from 1 May 2009 to include support for workers made redundant as a direct result of the global financial and economic crisis;

C.

whereas the Union’s financial assistance to workers made redundant should be dynamic and made available as quickly and efficiently as possible, in accordance with the Joint Declaration of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission adopted during the conciliation meeting on 17 July 2008, and having due regard for the IIA of 17 May 2006 in respect of the adoption of decisions to mobilise the EGF;

D.

whereas Denmark has requested assistance for 720 redundancies, all of which are targeted for assistance, in wind turbine manufacturer Vestas Group in Denmark;

E.

whereas the application fulfils the eligibility criteria laid down by the EGF Regulation;

1.

Agrees with the Commission that the conditions set out in Article 2 (a) of the EGF Regulation are met and that, therefore, Denmark is entitled to a financial contribution under that Regulation;

2.

Notes that the Danish authorities submitted the application for EGF financial contribution on 14 May 2012 and that its assessment was made available by the Commission on 13 September 2012; welcomes the speedy evaluation process;

3.

Notes that attracting an innovative enterprise such as Vestas provided many high-skilled and high-quality industrial jobs for workers in the municipalities concerned and that the loss of these jobs has put the region into difficulties; notes that the redundancies have occurred at a time when unemployment is rising rapidly, for instance, in February 2012, it was 36 426 in Midtjylland and 40 004 in Syddanmark (compared with 28 402 and 29 751 respectively in August 2011);

4.

Welcomes the fact that, in order to provide workers with speedy assistance, the Danish authorities decided to start the implementation of the measures ahead of the final decision on granting the EGF support for the proposed coordinated package;

5.

Welcomes the fact that the implementation of the coordinated package of personalised services started on 12 August 2012 - well ahead of the decision to grant EGF support by the budgetary authority;

6.

Recalls the importance of improving the employability of workers by means of adapted training and recognition of skills and competences gained through out the professional career; expects the training on offer in the coordinated package to be tailored not only to the needs of the dismissed workers, but also to the actual business environment, especially, considering that many of the dismissed workers were highly-skilled experts and technicians;

7.

Notes that this is the third EGF application addressing the layoffs in the wind turbine industry, all of them from Denmark (EGF/2010/017 DK/Midtjylland Machinery and EGF/2010/022 DK/LM Glasfiber);

8.

Welcomes the fact that the social partners have been consulted during the design phase of the package and that they will be briefed on the implementation of the project;

9.

Notes that the dismissals in the municipality of Ringkøbing-Skjern are the direct result of the strategic decision taken by Vestas group in November 2011 to reorganise its structure and increase proximity to its customers in the regional markets, especially in China; notes that this reorganisation will result in 2 335 layoffs world-wide and is estimated to bring EUR 150 million reduction in fixed costs to the group;

10.

Highlights the fact that lessons should be learned from the preparation and implementation of this and other applications addressing mass dismissals;

11.

Notes that the EGF has already supported 325 of 825 Vestas group workers made redundant in the first round of dismissals taking place in 2009; inquires about the results of the coordinated package in terms of the reintegration rate of the dismissed workers on the labour market and if any lessons were learnt for the new deployment of the EGF in the region;

12.

Welcomes the fact that the package contains considerable financial incentives for setting-up own businesses which will strictly be linked to participation in entrepreneurship courses and monitoring exercise at the end of the EGF project;

13.

Notes, however, that more than half of the EGF support will possibly be spent on financial allowances - 720 workers are said to receive subsistence allowance (including student grants) which is estimated at EUR 10 400 per worker;

14.

Recalls that that the EGF support should primarily be allocated to job search and training programs instead of contributing directly to financial allowances; considers that, if included in the package, the EGF support should be of complementary nature and should never replace allowances under the responsibility of Member States or companies by virtue of national law or collective agreements;

15.

Requests the institutions involved to make the necessary efforts to improve procedural and budgetary arrangements in order to accelerate the mobilisation of the EGF; appreciates the improved procedure put in place by the Commission, following Parliament's request for accelerating the release of grants, aimed at presenting to the budgetary authority the Commission's assessment on the eligibility of an EGF application together with the proposal to mobilise the EGF; hopes that further improvements in the procedure will be integrated in the new Regulation on the EGF (2014–2020) and that greater efficiency, transparency and visibility of the EGF will be achieved;

16.

Recalls the institutions’ commitment to ensuring a smooth and rapid procedure for the adoption of the decisions on the mobilisation of the EGF, providing one-off, time-limited individual support geared to helping workers who have been made redundant as a result of globalisation and the financial and economic crisis; emphasises the role that the EGF can play in the reintegration of workers made redundant into the labour market;

17.

Stresses that, in accordance with Article 6 of the EGF Regulation, it should be ensured that the EGF supports the reintegration of individual redundant workers into employment; further stresses that the EGF assistance can co-finance only active labour market measures which lead to durable, long-term employment; reiterates that assistance from the EGF must not replace actions which are the responsibility of companies by virtue of national law or collective agreements, nor measures restructuring companies or sectors; deplores the fact that the EGF might provide an incentive for companies to replace their contractual workforce with a more flexible and short-term one;

18.

Notes that the information provided on the coordinated package of personalised services to be funded from the EGF includes information on the complementarity with actions funded by the Structural Funds; reiterates its call to the Commission to present a comparative evaluation of those data in its annual reports in order to ensure full respect of the existing regulations and that no duplication of Union-funded services can occur;

19.

Welcomes the fact that following requests from Parliament, the 2012 budget shows payment appropriations of EUR 50 000 000 on the EGF budget line 04 05 01;

20.

Approves the decision annexed to this resolution;

21.

Instructs its President to sign the decision with the President of the Council and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;

22.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution, including its annex, to the Council and the Commission.