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/2025/006 BE/Audi

PR_BUD_Funds

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

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/2025/006 BE/Audi

(COM(2026)0002 – C100002/2026 – 2026/0001(BUD))

– having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2026)0002 – C10-0002/2026),

– 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 Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/765 (“MFF Regulation”), 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,

– having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights,

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

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A100000/2026),

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;

B. whereas Belgium submitted application EGF/2025/006 BE/Audi for a financial contribution from the EGF following 3 414 displacements in the economic sector classified under the NACE Revision 2 division 29 (Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers) in the regions of Bruxelles Capitale (BE10), Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen (BE23) and Provincie Hainaut (BE32) with 3 148 displacements within a reference period from 28 February 2025 to 28 June 2025, comprising 2 580 displaced workers whose activity ceased in Audi S.A./n.V. (Audi) and its subsidiaries, and 568 displaced workers in 5 suppliers and downstream producers, and 266 displacements before or after the reference period;

C. whereas the application is based on the intervention criteria of Article 4(2), point (a), of the EGF Regulation; whereas for the 266 displacements whose activity ceased before or after the four-month reference period, a clear causal link can be established with the event that triggered the cessation of activity for the displaced workers during the reference period as required by Article 6(2) of the EGF Regulation;

D. whereas in the concerned plant of Audi only one model was produced, with production discontinued earlier than planned due to high production costs linked to the plant's location; whereas the plant shut down on 28 February 2025;

E. whereas Belgium is providing the national pre-financing and co-funding of the measures;

F. whereas the requirements laid down in Union and national legislation concerning collective redundancies have been met;

G. 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, while preparing them for a greener and more digital European economy;

H. whereas the EGF shall not exceed a maximum annual amount of EUR 30 million (in 2018 prices);

1. Agrees with the Commission that the conditions set out in the EGF Regulation and in particular in Article 4(2), point (a) thereof are met and that Belgium is entitled to a financial contribution of EUR 7 527 625 under that Regulation, which represents 85 % of the total cost of EUR 8 856 030, comprising expenditure for personalised services of EUR 8 738 968 and expenditure for preparatory, management, information and publicity, control and reporting activities of EUR 117 062;

2. Notes that the Belgian authorities submitted the application on 18 September 2025, and that, following the receipt of additional information by Belgium, the Commission finalised its assessment on 9 January 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 budgetary authority;

3. Notes that the application relates to workers whose activity ceased in Audi and five suppliers and downstream producers and that they will all be targeted beneficiaries;

4. Takes note that the increment in bankruptcies over the past two years has considerably increased the unemployment rate in some regions in Belgium, particularly in Brussels and Hainaut (Wallonia); emphasizes that unemployment risk correlates with education level and one in two individuals with low education and one in three with medium education face higher unemployment risk, with these groups comprising 83 % of displaced workers; regrets that these displacements will further aggravate the situation; calls on Belgian authorities to take measures to reduce bankruptcies and address social disparities leading to exclusion of work force, such as gender inequalities and low level of education;

5. Deplores that Audi ceased activities in Belgium while still gaining profits, and that production will be moved to China and Mexico to maximize company’s profits while making 3 414 people redundant; regrets that reluctance towards timely and sufficient deployment of cheaper energy sources contributed to Audi’s facilities relocation outside the Union;

6. Stresses the importance of finding a solution for repurposing the closed factory to create jobs in the region; urges Belgian authorities to undertake necessary steps to facilitate opening of a new manufacturing site at the former Audi factory;

7. Recalls that, in agreement with trade unions and social partners, personalised services to be provided to the workers consist of the following measures: counselling and information and placement services; training, including IT skills; job day; contribution to business start-up; incentives for participation in job-search activities; emphasises the importance of fostering high-quality, future-oriented jobs to ensure long-term economic and social resilience;

8. Stresses that the Belgian authorities shall ensure the visibility of the Union funding and highlight its added value by providing effective and targeted information to beneficiaries, regional and local authorities, social partners, and the wider public;

9. Calls for thorough final evaluations of the measures implemented, including clear information on how the funds have been used and whether they were spent in line with the approved plans;

10. Notes that Belgium started providing personalised services to the targeted beneficiaries on 17 February 2025 and that the period of eligibility for a financial contribution from the EGF will therefore be from that date until 24 months after the date of the entry into force of the financing decision;

11. Notes that Belgium started incurring administrative expenditure to implement the EGF on 9 July 2024 and that such expenditure shall therefore be eligible for a financial contribution from the EGF from that date until 31 months after the date of the entry into force of the financing decision;

12. Notes that the Belgian authorities provided assurance that the principles of equality of treatment and non-discrimination will be respected in the access to the proposed actions and their implementation, and that any double financing will be prevented;

13. Reiterates that assistance from the EGF must not replace actions that are the responsibility of companies, by virtue of national law or collective agreements;

14. Approves the decision annexed to this resolution;

15. 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;

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

ANNEX: 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/2025/006 BE/Audi

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, 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, 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 30 million (in 2018 prices), as laid down in Article 8 of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 amended by Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/765, and Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2021/691.

(3) On 18 September 2025, Belgium submitted an application to mobilise the EGF in accordance with Article 8(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/691, in respect of workers’ displacements in Audi Brussels S.A.:n.V. and five of its suppliers and downstream producers in Belgium. It was supplemented by additional information provided in accordance with Article 8(5) of Regulation (EU) 2021/691. That application is considered to comply with the conditions for providing a financial contribution from the EGF as laid down in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2021/691, on the basis of the assessment made by the Commission in the Proposal for a mobilisation decision of the European Parliament and of the Council.

(4) The EGF should, therefore, be mobilised to provide a financial contribution of EUR 7 527 625 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 2026, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers shall be mobilised to provide the amount of EUR 7 527 625 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]*.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

I. Background

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.

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 18 September 2025 Belgium submitted an application EGF/2025/006 BE/Audi for a financial contribution from the EGF, following 3 414 redundancies at Audi. This is the sixth such application of 2025, and the first to be examined under the 2026 budget.

Following the 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 9 January 2026, the Commission adopted a proposal for a decision on the mobilisation of the EGF in favour of Belgium for tailored measures to support the reintegration in the labour market of 3 414 targeted beneficiaries, i.e. workers from Audi and subcontractors, suppliers and downstream producers made redundant. In total, EUR 7 527 625 will be mobilised from the EGF for Audi, representing 85% of the total costs of the proposed actions.

The Commission deemed the Belgian application admissible under the intervention criteria of Article 4(2) (a) of the EGF Regulation, which requires the cessation of activity of at least 200 displaced workers or self-employed persons over a reference period of four months, in an enterprise in a Member State, including workers displaced in suppliers and downstream.

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

(a) Information services, vocational counselling and guidance, and placement services: This measure builds on the outplacement services provided according to Belgian national labour law and includes information sessions, profiling of the workers, individual coaching and support to job-search in the form of active job-search and job-matching, workshops on preparing job applications, and looking for jobs using social networks. Information sessions on other relevant topics such as taxation or how to avoid running into over-indebtedness will also be provided. Special attention is paid to the psychological impact of the dismissal.

(b) Training and retraining: After the workers profiling and agreement of individual projects with the vocational counsellors, specific training will be offered to cater for the identified needs.

(c) Job day: This job-search event brings together jobseekers and employers that seek to fill their vacancies. Before attending the event, counselling sessions help to prepare the meeting with potential employers. The first of such events took place on 3 April 2025.

(d) Promotion of entrepreneurship: 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.

(e) Contribution to business start-up: The workers who start a business or a self-employed activity will receive a contribution up to EUR 15 000. The contribution will be paid in two instalments, after proving the start and development of the business activity with supporting documents.

(f) Incentives and allowances:

(1) Job-search allowances. Workers will receive EUR 2 per hour of effective participation in certain job-search activities entitled to the allowance.

(2) Bonus for improving IT skills. Workers who follow both the module for access to and the one to strengthen digital autonomy will receive a lump sum of EUR 700 conditional on their active participation and completion of the training. The bonus aims to reduce digital illiteracy by encouraging workers to improve their IT skills.

(3) Return-to-school allowance. A monthly allowance of EUR 350 will be granted to workers who embark on full-time secondary and tertiary studies, or qualifying training related to acquire the necessary skills for jobs that are in demand and for which recruiting is difficult or linked to critical functions, based on a specific list provided by the Wallonia province.

(4) Allowance towards business creation. To support workers during setting up business, a monthly allowance of EUR 350 will be granted for a maximum of 12 months or up to 18 months under certain conditions. Belgium has provided the required information on actions that are mandatory for the enterprise concerned by virtue of national law or pursuant to collective agreements. They confirmed that a financial contribution from the EGF would not replace such actions.

III. Procedure

In order to mobilise the Fund, the Commission has submitted to the Budgetary Authority a request to transfer a global amount of EUR 7 527 625 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 Development should be associated to the process, in order to provide constructive support and contribute to the assessment of the applications from the Fund.