What changed

A. whereas the Union has set up legislative and budgetary instruments to provide additional support to workers who are suffering from the consequences of major structural events and changes in world trade patterns, and to assist their reintegration into the labour market; whereas this assistance is made through a financial support given to workers; whereas maintaining the competitiveness of European industry and strengthening investment in innovation and skills are essential to prevent further industrial decline and job losses across the Union;

E. whereas the workforce affected by the closure of Soliver includes a significant share of older workers, who face specific and compounded barriers to reintegration into the labour market, including age discrimination, skills mismatches and limited access to retraining opportunities; whereas targeted measures must be put in place to address the specific needs of older workers, including age-appropriate training formats, mentoring and cooperation with employers committed to age-diverse recruitment;

G.H. whereas financial contributions from the EGF should be primarily directed at active labour market policy measures and personalised services that aim to reintegrate beneficiaries rapidlydurably and in quality employment conditions into the labour market while offering them skills training to facilitate their reintegration into the labour market;

2. Notes that the Belgian authorities submitted the application on 22 December 2025, and that, following the receipt of additional information from Belgium, the Commission finalised its assessment, almost one month ahead of the deadline, on 30 April 2026 and notified it to Parliament on the same day; stresses the importance of shortening the time between the submission of an application for EGF assistance and the financing decision, while fully safeguarding the rights of the European Parliament as one arm of the budgetary authority;

5. Notes that, while technically skilled workers, or those willing to reskill, have most favourable employment prospects, this is due to a shortage of technical professionals, stemmed by low youth engagement in vocational training and an aging workforce; emphasizes that reintegrating the laid-off workers and providing jobseeker with the skills the labour market demands is key to a future proof European economy with a strong industrial base;

5. Notes that the glass industry is an energy-intensive sector and has been severely affected by persistently high energy prices, which have significantly undermined its competitiveness; stresses that achieving competitive energy prices in the long term requires a substantial increase in reliable and affordable energy supply, including through the diversification of energy sources and supply routes, the development of domestic energy production, and the full completion of the Energy Union;

6. Regrets that the rise in bankruptcies over the past few years had a negative impact on the employment rate in some regions in Belgium, particularly in the region of Flanders;

6. Notes that, while technically skilled workers, or those willing to reskill, have most favourable employment prospects, this is due to a shortage of technical professionals, stemmed by low youth engagement in vocational training and an aging workforce; emphasizes that reintegrating the laid-off workers and ensuring equal access to high-quality training opportunities is key to a future proof European economy with a strong industrial base; underlines the importance of strengthening the Union’s industrial competitiveness in this context;

7. Regrets that the rise in bankruptcies over the past few years had a negative impact on the employment rate in some regions in Belgium, particularly in the region of Flanders; emphasizes that in Flanders the older workers who are made redundant face greater barriers to re-entering the labour market; calls on Belgian authorities to provide specific support tailored to help workers further develop necessary skills to find new quality-jobs, while taking measures to reduce bankruptcies and address social disparities leading to exclusion of workforce;

8.9. Recalls that the EGF is an instrument of solidarity and just transition and while it provides support following job losses, it cannot replace a proactive industrial policy; considers that the mobilisation of the EGF needs to be embedded in a larger policy response on all political levels to ensure that the workers affected find adequate opportunities in line with their qualifications and skills; stresses that the Union’s primary task must be to prevent such closures in the first place, by creating the conditions to keep industrial production competitive,competitive and social security systems financially sustainable, while at the same time investing in skills for both highly qualified and industrial workers; underlines the need to provide specific support tailored to profiles of workers, while taking measures to reduce bankruptcies and address social disparities leading to exclusion from the workforce; underlines that reducing unnecessary regulatory and administrative burdens is essential to support industrial competitiveness, attract investment and preserve quality jobs in the Union;

10. Calls for thorough final evaluations of the measures implemented, including clear information on how the funds have been used, on the success of the reintegrating of workers into the labour market, and whether the measures have achieved the objectives for which the EGF was created;

11. Calls on the Commission to ensure equal visibility of the instrument across Member States and to promote its added value by disseminating targeted information to national authorities, which should further relay such information to companies affected by redundancies, regional and local authorities, social partners, and the wider public;

12. Calls for thorough final evaluations together with social partners of the measures implemented, including clear and transparent information on how the funds were used, the reintegration of workers into the labour market, and whether the EGF objectives were achieved; highlights, in this context, the importance of regular monitoring of the measures financed by the EGF in order to assess their effectiveness;