5.2.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 45/113

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having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2013)0119 — C7-0059/2013),

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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 (A7-0134/2013),

A.

whereas the European Union with its European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) has set up a legislative and budgetary instruments to provide additional support to workers made redundant as a result of major structural changes in world trade patterns and to assist their reintegration into the labour market;

B.

whereas the scope of the EGF was broadened for applications submitted from 1 May 2009 to 30 December 2011 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 Austria submitted application EGF/2011/010 AT/Austria Tabak for a financial contribution from the EGF, following 320 redundancies in Austria Tabak GmbH and in 14 suppliers and downstream producers with 270 workers targeted for EFG co-funded measures, during the four-month reference period from 20 August 2011 to 19 December 2011;

E.

whereas the application fulfils the eligibility criteria set up by the EGF Regulation;

1.

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

2.

Notes with regret that the Austrian authorities submitted the application for EGF financial contribution on 20 December 2011 and that its assessment was made available by the European Commission on 7 March 2013; regrets the lengthy evaluation period of 15 months; calls on the Commission to conclude the evaluation phase and finally present proposals for decisions on the remaining cases submitted in 2011;

3.

Notes that the redundancies were caused by the closure of Austria Tabak's last remaining production site in Hainburg in the Bruck an der Leitha district (Niederösterreich/Lower Austria) following a decision in May 2011 by their owners, Japan Tobacco International (JTI) (3); notes that this cigarette factory has been wound down in stages from the 2nd half of 2011 up to mid- 2012 making a total of 320 workers redundant;

4.

Emphasises the fact that the closure of Austria Tabak, the then second-largest employer in the Bruck an der Leitha district, with many small businesses linked to the enterprise, has put the district in a particularly difficult situation; notes that in September 2011, the number of job vacancies had almost halved (- 47 %), compared to the same month in the previous year, whereas for Niederösterreich (NUTS II level) and at national level, this decline was much lower (- 4 % and — 7 %, respectively); furthermore, refers to statistical data showing that already from 2006 to 2010, this region has had the highest unemployment figures among the seven NUTS III regions of Niederösterreich (4), so moving away to other areas is therefore not an easy option for the dismissed workers, and the fact that many of them had relatively low-paid jobs makes a new start even more difficult;

5.

Recalls that at NUTS II level, the Land of Niederösterreich was also affected by other mass redundancies, for which EGF applications were submitted to the Commission: 704 redundancies in the metal sector in 2009 (5) and 1 274 redundancies related to the road transport sector in 2010 (6);

6.

Welcomes the fact that in order to provide workers with speedy assistance, the Austrian authorities decided to initiate the implementation of the personalised measures on 15 November 2011, well ahead of the final decision on granting the EGF support for the proposed coordinated package;

7.

Notes that the coordinated package of personalised services to be co-funded includes measures for the reintegration of 270 workers into employment such as career advice, job search assistance, job mentoring, various types of training and qualification measures, including vocational training in higher technical and vocational schools, apprenticeships/internships in enterprises, practical on-the-job training, intensive support for workers aged over 50 as well as training and subsistence allowances during the training and active job search;

8.

Welcomes the fact that the social partners were consulted on the design of the measures of the coordinated EGF package and that a policy of equality of women and men as well as the principle of non-discrimination have been applied and will be applied during the various stages of the implementation of the EGF and access to the EGF;

9.

Welcomes the fact that the EGF supported measures will be provided to workers by means of a labour foundation established as a part of the social plan which was agreed with the social partners; recalls that labour foundations are institutions set up by sectoral social partners in order to accompany workers in industrial change with training measures to enhance their employability; recalls, further, that this model of providing active labour market measures was very successful in the past regarding the reintegration of workers into the labour market and the use of the EGF funds for this purpose;

10.

Calls on the Austrian authorities to use the EGF support to its full potential and encourage the maximum number of workers to participate in the measures;

11.

Welcomes the proposed coordinated package of personalised services and the detailed descriptions of the measures presented in the Commission proposal; welcomes the fact that the training on offer is combined with the future economic prospects and the future skills and qualification needs in the region;

12.

Recalls the importance of improving the employability of all workers by means of adapted training and the recognition of skills and competences gained throughout a worker's professional career; expects the training on offer in the coordinated package to be adapted not only to the needs of the dismissed workers but also to the actual business environment;

13.

Draws the attention to the subsistence allowance for workers on training and on job search which is said to amount EUR 1 000 per worker per month (calculated for 13 months, unemployment benefit will be interrupted during that period) which will be combined with training allowance of EUR 200 per worker per month; recalls that the EGF should in the future be primarily allocated to training and job search as well as occupational orientation programs and its financial contribution to allowances should always be of additional nature and in parallel to what is available to dismissed workers by virtue of national law or collective agreements;

14.

Regrets that EUR 4 266 000 of the total cost of the package amounting to EUR 5 864 615 is devoted to various financial allowances, a similar proportion to previous cases; recommends that a proportionate amount should be dedicated to training-related measures in future mobilisations;

15.

Notes that the information provided on the coordinated package of personalised services to be funded from the EGF includes information on 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;

16.

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 the accelerated 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;

17.

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 towards helping workers who have been made redundant as a result of globalisation and the economic crisis; emphasises the role that the EGF can play in the reintegration of workers made redundant into the labour market;

18.

Stresses that, in accordance with Article 6 of the EGF Regulation, it should be ensured that the EGF supports the reintegration of individual workers made redundant into employment; stresses, furthermore, that 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;

19.

Welcomes the fact that following requests from Parliament, the 2013 budget shows payment appropriations of EUR 50 000 000 on the EGF budget line 04 05 01; recalls that the EGF was created as a separate specific instrument with its own objectives and deadlines and that, therefore, it deserves a dedicated allocation, which will avoid as far as possible transfers from other budget lines, as has happened in the past, which could be detrimental to the achievement of the policy objectives of the EGF;

20.

Regrets the decision of the Council to block the extension of the ‘crisis derogation’, allowing to provide financial assistance to workers made redundant as a result of the current economic crisis, in addition to those losing their jobs because of changes in global trade patterns and allowing for an increase in the rate of Union co-financing to 65 % of programme costs for applications submitted after the 30 December 2011 deadline; calls on the Council to reintroduce this measure without delay;

21.

Approves the decision annexed to this resolution;

22.

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

23.

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