Opinion on Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers following an application from Belgium - EGF/2025/004 BE/Tupperware

25.2.2026

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/2025/004 BE/Tupperware (2026/0004(BUD))

Dear Mr 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 25 February 2026. 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 28 August 2025, Belgium submitted an application EGF/2025/004 BE/Tupperware for a financial contribution from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF), following displacements in Tupperware General Services NV in Belgium, operating in the economic sector classified under the NACE Revision 2 division 22 (Manufacture of rubber and plastic products), where the redundancies located in the NUTS 2 region of Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen (BE23);

B. Whereas Belgium submitted the application under the intervention criteria of Article 4(2), point (a) of Regulation (EU) 2021/691, which requires the cessation of activity of at least 200 displaced workers over a reference period of four months (in this case from 17 February 2025 to 17 June 2025) in an enterprise in a Member State, including workers displaced in suppliers and downstream producers and / or self-employed persons whose activity has ceased; 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 267 displaced workers (eligible beneficiaries) whose activity has ceased in the economic sectors indicated above;

D. Whereas on 20 January 2026, 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 267 targeted beneficiaries;

E. Whereas the American corporation Tupperware Brands, parent company of Tupperware Belgium, unexpectedly revoked the manufacturing and sales licenses granted to Tupperware General Services NV, rendering the Belgian subsidiary of Tupperware financially inviable and leading to its bankruptcy on 17 February 2025; whereas in October 2024, Tupperware Brands was taken over by creditors, where this acquisition led to a significant restructuring, with the company withdrawing from some non-core markets and closing facilities, such as the European plants;

F. Whereas, in Belgium, bankruptcies are on the rise since 2022; whereas in 2024, more than 11 000 enterprises were declared bankrupt (6 323 in Flanders), the highest number since 2013; whereas this uptrend has continued, where between January and September 2025, 8 493 enterprises went bankrupt of which 4 964 or 58% in Flanders; whereas, as a result of bankruptcies, 32 566 jobs were lost in Belgium in 2024 and 15 351 in the first half of 2025, of which the job losses in Flanders represent 59% and 51% respectively; whereas about 18% of the job losses happened in the industry; whereas, furthermore, recent restructuring events such as the displacements at Van Hool, Sappi and Purmo, BelGaN, Casa and Audi, for which Belgium applied for EGF support, are affecting the Flemish labour market: job openings in the industry have declined;

G. Whereas Tupperware was in Aalst, one of the six administrative districts of the Province of East Flanders; whereas East Flanders saw a decline in the number of vacancies reported to the public employment services by 13,8% in May 2025 year on year; whereas, furthermore, before the closure of Tupperware, Aalst was already struggling with the lowest employment rate of Flanders, 53,82%, which is 20 percentage points lower than Flanders' average employment rate (74,1%); whereas the unemployment rate in Flanders is around 3,8%; whereas, however, it rises to 8,8% (+5 percentage points) among people with low levels of education; whereas one in three former Tupperware workers has a low level of education, specific support tailored to these profiles is needed to help workers overcome their shortcomings and find new jobs;

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;

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), point (a), of the EGF Regulation are met and that Belgium is entitled to a financial contribution of EUR 1 622 650 under that Regulation, which represents 85 % of the total cost of EUR 1 909 000, comprising expenditure for personalised services of EUR 1 843 500 and expenditure for preparatory, management, information and publicity, control and reporting activities of EUR 65 500;

3. Notes the fact that Belgium has provided all necessary assurances that the requirements laid down in national and EU legislation concerning collective redundancies have been complied with and that the principles of equality of treatment and non-discrimination will be respected in access to the proposed measures and their implementation;

4. Recalls the profile of the redundant workers, where more than half of the dismissed workers is over 50 years old and a third lower secondary education or less, and considers that, along with the downward trend in vacancies and its geographical distribution, the workers will need additional tailored support, particularly targeted assistance focusing on upskilling and retraining, 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 the personalised coordinated package to be provided to displaced workers consists of the following measures: (a) taskforce (information sessions to be organised by account managers with in-depth knowledge of the local labour market and consultants experienced in providing guidance in collective redundancies processes), (b) Outplacement (outplacement services provided in group or individual sessions, an initial interview and individual guidance, certification of acquired skills, guidance on using digital platform for job searching, etc.; those in need of ICT training will receive basic training and additional support through digibanks, where workers can borrow a laptop, receive training on how to use it, etc.), (c) assistance in finding a job, (d) guidance, (e) reinforced job-search assistance, (f) training and retraining, (g) training at the workplace, (h) job fair, and (i) job-scouting and job-matching; 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 the package’s ICT training and additional support foreseen within the outplacement services provide support to both digitally illiterate and to those who have some digital skills, supported by digital skills assessment and provisions for workers to borrow a laptop, receive training on how to use it and get answers to their digital questions;

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.