Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers following an application from Germany – EGF/2025/002 DE/Goodyear 2

P10_TA(2025)0219

Committee on Budgets

PE776.828

European Parliament resolution of 8 October 2025 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 Germany – EGF/2025/002 DE/Goodyear 2 (COM(2025)0302 – C10-0182/2025 – 2025/0245(BUD))

– having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2025)0302 – C10-0182/2025),

– 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, 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 letter from the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A10-0168/2025),

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 changes in world trade patterns or of the global financial and economic crisis, and to assist their reintegration into the labour market; whereas this assistance is provided through financial support given to workers and the companies for which they worked;

B. whereas Germany submitted application EGF/2025/002 DE/Goodyear 2 for a financial contribution from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF), following 1 171 displacements in the economic sector classified under the NACE Revision 2 division 22 (Manufacture of rubber and plastic products) in the regions of Kassel (DE73) and Darmstadt (DE71) with 747 displacements within a reference period for the application from 1 September 2024 to 1 January 2025, and 424 displacements before or after the reference period;

C. whereas for the 424 displacements whose activity ceased before or after the 4-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 the application is based on the intervention criteria of Article 4(2), point (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 4 months, in an enterprise in a Member State, including workers displaced in suppliers and downstream producers;

E. whereas the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and rising inflation have had an impact on the cost of energy, materials and labour, increasing pressure on the the Goodyear company’s margins;

F. whereas Goodyear Germany GmbH is specialised in the manufacture of rubber and plastic products, particularly tyres; whereas the company has been significantly affected by intensified competition from low-cost imports originating from Asia;

G. whereas this is the second mobilisation of the EGF requested by the German authorities following a restructuring of the Goodyear company, as the EGF was mobilised following the closure of one of the company’s plants in Philippsburg in 2017;

H. whereas the rapid decline in demand, combined with increasing production costs, compelled the company to undertake a restructuring process, which involved the closure of one of its production sites and the partial closure of another in Germany in 2024;

I. whereas the German Federal budget as well as by Bundesagentur für Arbeit are providing the national pre-financing and co-funding of the measures;

J. whereas the requirements laid down in Union and national legislation concerning collective redundancies have been complied with;

K. 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;

L. whereas the EGF shall not exceed a maximum annual amount of EUR 30 million (in 2018 prices), as laid down in Article 8 of 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 (a), of the EGF Regulation are met and that Germany is entitled to a financial contribution of EUR 3 085 166 under that Regulation, which represents 60 % of the total cost of EUR 5 141 944, comprising expenditure for personalised services of EUR 4 936 274 and expenditure for preparatory, management, information and publicity, control and reporting activities of EUR 205 670;

2. Notes that the German authorities submitted the application on 10 March 2025, and that, following the provision of additional information by Germany, the Commission finalised its assessment on 29 July 2025, more than four months later, and notified it to Parliament on 26 August 2025;

3. Notes that the application relates to 1 171 displaced workers affected by the closure of the production site in Fulda and the partial shut-down of production facilities in Hanau; notes further that 915 displaced workers in total will be targeted beneficiaries and are expected to participate in the measures;

4. Takes note that most of the displaced workers have a low level of education (56 % with lower secondary education or less) and are aged 54 year or over (42 %); underlines that older workers in particular constitute a highly vulnerable group, facing significant barriers to re-employment due to limited opportunities for upskilling and retraining;

5. Points out that the Goodyear redundancies increased the annual unemployment rate in the Fulda region by over 10 %, disproportionately impacting male workers and individuals over the age of 50, many of whom possess outdated qualifications and skill sets that are misaligned with current labour market demands; stresses that swift action is needed to prevent structural regional decline and emphasises the importance of fostering high-quality, future-oriented jobs to ensure long-term economic and social resilience;

6. Recalls that personalised services to be provided to the workers consist of the following actions: substantial upskilling or re-skilling measures, guidance and counselling and vocational orientation and activation measures, business start-up advisory services and grants, job search assistance, upskilling and top-ups incentives, training allowances, digital skills trainings; stresses in this context that a well-trained workforce is key to a future-proof European economy;

7. Considers it a social responsibility of the Union and Member States to provide the workers made redundant with the necessary qualifications for a future-proof European economy that accomplishes the digital and green transformation; considers therefore that the mobilisation of the EGF needs to be embedded in a larger policy response;

8. Calls for thorough final evaluations of the measures implemented, incorporating data on the number of workers successfully reintegrated into employment as well as those who have completed training and upskilling measures;

9. Notes that, as of 20 February 2025, a total of 915 tripartite contracts have been concluded between Goodyear, the employees, and PMB International GmbH, the service provider chosen to manage the transfer company, with 781 entries scheduled for Fulda and 134 for Hanau; welcomes the indication that these numbers are expected to increase as more agreements are signed;

10. Notes that Germany started providing personalised services to the targeted beneficiaries on 1 November 2024 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 decision annexed to this resolution;

11. Notes that Germany started incurring administrative expenditure to implement the EGF on 1 November 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 decision annexed to this resolution;

12. Stresses that the German 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. Recalls that the German authorities acknowledge the origin of and ensure the visibility of Union funding, while highlighting the Union’s added value; stresses that this should be achieved through targeted information measures addressing beneficiaries, social partners and the media;

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

15. Stresses the urgent need for coherent and coordinated Union competitiveness efforts, developed in close partnership with the Member States, in order to safeguard Europe’s industrial employment base and social security; underlines that only a robust and resilient European economy can effectively prevent large-scale redundancies, thereby reducing the need for EGF intervention in the first place;

16. Approves the decision annexed to this resolution;

17. 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;

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

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 Germany – EGF/2025/002 DE/Goodyear 2

(The text of this annex is not reproduced here since it corresponds to the final act, Decision (EU) 2025/2135.)