What changed

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

P10_TA(2024)0062

on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisationMobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers following anFund: application from Belgium – EGF/2024/002 BE/Limburg machinery and paper(COM(2024)0370 – C100166/2024paper –- 2024/0286(BUD))Belgium

Committee on Budgets

PE765.241

European Parliament resolution of 17 December 2024 on the 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/2024/002 BE/Limburg machinery and paper (COM(2024)0370 – C10-0166/2024 – 2024/0286(BUD))

The European Parliament,

– 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 (“EGF Regulation”),

– having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 of 17 December 2020 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021-2027 as amended by Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/765, and in particular Article 8 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, and in particular point 9 thereof,

B. whereas Belgium submitted application EGF/2024/002 BE/Limburg machinery and paper for a financial contribution from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF), following 681 redundancies in the economic sector classified under the NACE Revision 2 division 17 (Manufacture of paper and paper products) and 28 (Manufacture of machinery and equipment) in the region of Provincie Limburg within a reference period for the application from 31 December 2023 to 30 April 2024;

✦ Wording Adds the words "made redundant" in both places, clarifying that the workers were made redundant in the companies.

C. whereas the application relates to 567 workers made redundant in the company Sappi Lanaken NV (paper) and 114 workers made redundant in the company Purmo Group Belgium NV (machinery);

D. whereas the application is based on the intervention criteria of Article 4(2), point (c), of the EGF Regulation, which requires at least 200 workers being made redundant over a reference period of four months in in enterprises operating in the same or different economic sectors and located in the same region;

I. whereas financial contributions from the EGF should be primarily directed at active labour market policy measures and personalised services that aim to reintegrate beneficiaries rapidly into decent and sustainable employment within or outside their initial sector of activity, while preparing them for a greener and more digital European economy;

✦ Formal Adds the word "Council" before "Regulation" in two places, specifying that the regulations are Council regulations.

J. whereas the EGF shall not exceed a maximum annual amount of EUR 30 million (in 2018 prices), as laid down in Article 8 of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 as amended by Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/765;

1. Agrees with the Commission that the conditions set out in Article 4(2), point (c), of the EGF Regulation are met and that Belgium is entitled to a financial contribution of EUR 704 135 under that Regulation, which represents 60 % of the total cost of EUR 1 173 559, comprising expenditure for personalised services of EUR 1 126 559 and expenditure for preparatory, management, information and publicity, control and reporting activities of EUR 47 000;

2. Notes that the Belgian authorities submitted the application on 19 July 2024, and that, following the provision of additional information by Belgium, the Commission finalised its assessment on 5 November 2024 and notified it to Parliament on the same day;

✦ Wording Adds the words "made redundant" in both places, clarifying that the workers were made redundant in the companies.

3. Notes that the application relates to 567 workers made redundant in the company Sappi Lanaken and 114 workers made redundant in Purmo Group Belgium; notes further that 632 workers will be targeted beneficiaries in total, almost exclusively men;

4. Underlines that Lanaken’s and Zonhoven’s labour markets are at disadvantage when compared to Limburg as a whole or to Flanders with a ratio of the working population to available jobs significantly lower than in Limburg as a whole or in Flanders; highlights that the number of industrial jobs available in Limburg decreased by 15 % in 2023;

17. Instructs its President to forward this resolution, including its Annex, to the Council and the Commission;

✦ Formal Replaces the detailed background and opinion sections with the final decision title and enacting terms, removing procedural and explanatory text.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

I. Background

on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers following an application from Belgium – EGF/2024/002 BE/Limburg machinery and paper

The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) was created to provide additional assistance to workers suffering from the consequences of major structural changes in world trade patterns.

(The text of this annex is not reproduced here since it corresponds to the final act, Decision (EU) 2025/47.)

In accordance with point 9 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 16 December 2020, the Commission is required, following the positive assessment of an application, to submit a proposal to mobilise the Fund to the budgetary authority and to complement it with a corresponding request for transfer to the relevant budget lines.

II. Belgium’s application and the Commission's proposal

On 19 July 2024, Belgium submitted an application EGF/2024/002 BE/Limburg machinery and paper for a financial contribution from the EGF, following 681 redundancies - 567 at the company Sappi Lanaken following the closure of this paper-producing site, and 114 at Purmo Group Belgium as the consequence of the stop of its production line of panel radiators at its Zonhoven site. This is the second such application of 2024.

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

On 5 November 2024, the Commission adopted a proposal for a decision on the mobilisation of the EGF in favour of Belgium to support the reintegration in the labour market of 632 targeted beneficiaries, i.e. workers made redundant by Sappi Lanaken and Purmo Group. In total, EUR 704 135 will be mobilised from the EGF for Belgium, representing 60 % of the total costs of the proposed actions.

The Commission deemed the Belgian application admissible under the intervention criteria of Article 4(2)(c) of the EGF Regulation, which requires at least 200 workers being made redundant over a reference period of four months in in enterprises operating in the same or different economic sectors and located in the same region.

EGF co-funding has been requested for the following types of actions, to be provided to redundant workers:

a) Social Intervention Advisor (SIA). A social intervention advisor is the first service provided to laid-off workers. The service begins by providing information about the support available to facilitate the workers' transition to employment. The SIA are a point of reference for workers throughout the process.

b) Guidance, counselling, and vocational orientation. Motivational and inspirational help. Support and information about developments on the job market and possible career paths. Encouragement to upgrade skills or to learn new skills and participate in training measures aimed at finding new employment. Support in job-search activities, assistance with the job application process, preparation for job interviews, etc. Reinforced career guidance is planned for workers with greater distance to the profiles requested in the available job vacancies or with poor command of Dutch.

c) Active job-search support. Among other support activities, this includes job scouting to locate potential job vacancies that are not yet published and which might suit eligible workers. Furthermore, a variety of job search events, like job fairs, will be organised.

d) Training, retraining and vocational training. Workers will have access to the standard training offer of the public employment services. In addition, upon agreement of individual projects with the vocational counsellor, specific training will be offered to cater for the identified needs.

e) Training at the workplace. Workers receive on-the-job training at the enterprise that will employ them after training. Depending on the needs of the worker, the training can last between 4 and 26 weeks. Training is followed by an employment contract, either permanent or fixed term of at least the same duration as the training.

According to the Commission, the described measures constitute active labour market measures within the eligible actions set out in Article 7 of the EGF Regulation and do not substitute passive social protection measures.

Belgium provided the required information on actions that are mandatory for the enterprises concerned by virtue of national law or pursuant to collective agreements. They confirmed that a financial contribution from the EGF will not replace such actions.

Procedure

In order to mobilise the Fund, the Commission has submitted to the Budgetary Authority a request to transfer a global amount of EUR 704 135 from the EGF reserve (budget line 30 04 02; commitment appropriations) to the EGF (budget line 16 02 02; commitment appropriations).

According to an internal agreement within the Parliament, the Employment and Social Affairs Committee and the Committee on Regional Policy should be associated to the process, in order to provide constructive support and contribute to the assessment of the applications from the Fund.

LETTER OF THE COMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

Mr Johan Van Overtveldt

Chair

Committee on Budgets

BRUSSELS

Subject: Opinion on Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers following an application from Belgium — EGF/2024/002 BE/Limburg machinery and paper (2024/0286(BUD))

Dear Chair,

Under the procedure referred to above, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs has been asked to submit an opinion to your committee and decided to send the opinion in the form of a letter.

The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs considered the matter at its meeting of 21 November 2024. At that meeting, it decided to submit the opinion set out below to the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible.

Yours sincerely,

Li Andersson

OPINION

A. Whereas, on 19 July 2024, Belgium submitted an application for a financial contribution from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF) in accordance with Article 8(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/691 (EGF Regulation), in respect of worker’s displacements in the economic sectors classified under the NACE Revision 2 division 17 (Manufacture of paper and paper products) and division 28 (Manufacture of machinery and equipment) in the NUTS 2 region of Provincie Limburg (BE22) in Belgium;

B. Whereas Belgium submitted the application under the intervention criteria of Article 4(2)(c), of the EGF Regulation, which requires the cessation of activity of at least 200 displaced workers over a reference period of four months (in this case 31 December 2023 to 30 April 2024) in enterprises operating in the same or different economic sectors defined at NACE Revision 2 level and located in the same region defined at NUTS 2 level in a Member State; whereas, following its assessment of this application, the Commission has concluded, in accordance with all applicable provisions of the EGF Regulation, that the conditions for awarding a financial contribution from the EGF are met;

C. Whereas the application relates to 681 displaced workers (eligible beneficiaries) whose activity has ceased in the economic sectors indicated above;

D. Whereas on 5 November 2024, the Commission adopted a proposal for a decision on the mobilisation of the EGF in favour of Belgium to support the reintegration in the labour market of 632 targeted beneficiaries;

E. Whereas the events giving rise to the displacements in the paper sector is a decision by Sappi Group (Sappi) to stop production in Lanaken and close the plant; whereas the main cause for this is the declining demand for graphics products resulting from increased digitalisation and the resulting growing overcapacity of the European woodfree coated paper (WCP) industry (in 15 years, the capacity of the European WCP Industry has declined by 50 %, to 4,6 million tons in 2023); whereas this resulted in 567 dismissals;

F. Whereas the number of industrial jobs available in Limburg decreased by 15 % in 2023, compared to the previous year; whereas the events giving rise to the displacements in the machinery sector is a decision by Purmo Group Belgium NV (Purmo) to stop production of 50 mm panel radiators in its Zonhoven plant and close the relevant production line; whereas the reason to discontinue production is the sharp decline in demand for panel radiators in the EU, related to the increasing demand for alternative heating systems, such as heat pumps and low-temperature systems, as a result of rising gas prices resulting from the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and knock-on effects for consumer spending as well as the decarbonisation of buildings and industry in order to reduce energy consumption; whereas this resulted in 114 dismissals;

G. Whereas redundant workers are concentrated in Lanaken (83 %) and Zonhoven (27 %), so the province of Limburg in Flanders is the territory most affected by the redundancies; whereas Lanaken’s and Zonhoven’s labour markets are at disadvantage when compared to Limburg as a whole or to Flanders; whereas the ratio of the working population to available jobs is 49 % in Lanaken and 55 % in Zonhoven, that is between 19 and 13 pp lower than in Limburg (68 %) and between 24 and 18 pp lower than in Flanders (73 %); whereas, the ratio of job seekers to vacancies in Lanaken and its surrounding area (Maasland) is 4,5 (about twice the ratio in Flanders); whereas Maasland’s labour market was also negatively affected by a restructuring event in the Netherlands, where the Dutch car manufacturer VDL reported a loss of about 2 000 jobs as from 1 March 2024 in its production plant in Born, of which 700 were cross-border workers living in Maasland;

H. Whereas Belgium has indicated that the co-ordinated package of personalised services has been drawn up in consultation with the social partners, in compliance with Article 7(4) of the EGF Regulation; whereas trade unions and employer organisations are involved in activities of Public Employment Services in Flanders (VDAB) at all levels;

I. Whereas the EGF shall not exceed a maximum annual amount of EUR 30 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;

Therefore, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to integrate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution:

1. Recalls that the objective of the EGF is to demonstrate solidarity with, and provide support to beneficiaries; considers that financial contributions from the EGF should be primarily directed at active labour market policy measures and personalised services that aim to reintegrate beneficiaries rapidly into decent and sustainable employment within or outside their initial sector of activity; stresses the importance of preparing and supporting workers for the urgently needed green and digital transitions of the European economy and society; reiterates in this context the important role the Union plays, including through the EGF, in contributing to the financing of necessary qualifications for the just transition in line with the European Green Deal;

2. Agrees with the Commission that the conditions set out in Article 4(2)(c), of the EGF Regulation are met and that Belgium is entitled to the requested financial contribution of EUR 704 135 under that Regulation, which represents 60 % of the total cost of EUR 1 173 559 (comprising expenditure for personalised services of EUR 1 126 559 and expenditure for preparatory, management, information and publicity, control and reporting activities of EUR 47 000); recalls that, in line with the EGF Regulation, Belgium is entitled to a maximum co-financing rate of 85 % of total cost;

3. Notes the fact that the dismissing enterprises complied with Belgian law on collective redundancies, which establishes a mandatory procedure for informing and consulting workers' representatives. Welcomes the fact that Belgium has reported that the first information sessions to the workers started on 26 December 2023 and the employment units followed immediately after the redundancies and that already on 13 March 2024, VDAB organised a job fair in Lanaken for former Sappi and Purmo workers, with around 20 enterprises taking part;

4. Notes the profile of the redundant workers, one third of which are aged 55 years or more and 30 % are with low education, and considers that, along with the downward trend in vacancies and its geographical distribution, the workers will need additional tailored support to help them succeed the transition to employment;

5. Stresses that Belgium has confirmed that the measures supported by the EGF will not receive any financial contributions from other Union financial instruments;

6. Notes that personalised services to be provided to the workers consist of the following measures: (a) social Intervention Advisor (SIA), (b) guidance, counselling, and vocational orientation, (c) active job-search support, (d) training, retraining and vocational training, and (e) training at the workplace; given the age and educational profile of the targeted beneficiaries stresses the specific needs of these groups should be taken into account when providing personalised services;

7. Stresses in particular the importance of Article 7.2 of the EGF Regulation, which requires the coordinated package to anticipate future labour market perspectives and required skills, which are compatible with the shift towards a resource-efficient and sustainable economy and with a particular focus on the dissemination of skills required in the digital industrial age; welcomes the fact that VDAB's standard support to redundant workers includes digital tools and training in digital skills as well as skills required in a resource efficient economy;

8. Recalls the possibility for special time-limited measures within the coordinated package including, inter alia, to pay childcare allowances, as provided in Article 7.2 b of the EGF regulation to facilitate job seekers’ participation in the activities proposed.