Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers following an application from Belgium – EGF/2025/009 BE/Soliver

P10_TA(2026)0201

Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers following an application from Belgium – EGF/2025/009 BE/Soliver

Committee on Budgets

PE787.923

European Parliament resolution of 16 June 2026 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/2025/009 BE/Soliver (COM(2026)0050 – C10-0111/2026 – 2026/0097(BUD))

– having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2026)0050 – C100111/2026),

– 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"), as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1139,

– having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 of 17 December 2020 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021-2027 (“MFF Regulation”) 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 European Pillar of Social Rights,

– having regard to the letter from the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A10-0149/2026),

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; 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;

B. whereas Belgium submitted application EGF/2025/009 BE/Soliver for a financial contribution from the EGF following 803 displacements in Soliver NV (Soliver) in Belgium, in the economic sector classified under the NACE Revision 2 division 46 (Wholesale trade) in the regions of Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen (BE23) and Provincie West-Vlaanderen (BE25), Flanders, within a reference period from 1 July 2025 to 1 November 2025;

C. whereas the application is based on the intervention criteria of Article 4(2), point (a), of the EGF Regulation;

D. whereas Soliver filed for bankruptcy in December 2024; whereas in Belgium bankruptcies are on the rise since 2022 and unemployment is severely affecting several regions in Flanders;

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;

F. whereas VDAB is providing the national pre-financing and co-funding of the measures;

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

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 durably and in quality employment conditions into the labour market while offering them skills training to facilitate their reintegration into the labour market;

I. 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 2 132 535 under that Regulation, which represents 85 % of the total cost of EUR 2 508 865, comprising expenditure for personalised services of EUR 2 412 465 and expenditure for preparatory, management, information and publicity, control and reporting activities of EUR 96 400;

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;

3. Notes that the application relates to 803 targeted beneficiaries, made redundant in the company Soliver;

4. Takes note that Soliver, a manufacturer of glass products for construction and the automotive sector, shifted its focus to exclusively high-tech automotive glass after its acquisition by American Glass Products Holding (AGP) in 2018; notes that the company began experiencing difficulties mainly linked to a downturn in the automotive sector, stemming from delayed production of car models its products were intended for, and which ultimately resulted in severe reduction of profitability and cumulated in bankruptcy;

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. 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. Recalls that, in agreement with experts and social partners, personalised services to be provided to the workers consist of the following measures: task force of experienced consultants and account managers, providing personalised advisory services; outplacement services providing individual guidance; assistance in finding a job; reinforced job-search assistance; training and re-training, including training at the workplace; participation at job fairs; emphasises the importance of fostering high-quality, future-oriented jobs that strengthen competitiveness and support digital transformation;

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 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. 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;

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;

13. Notes that Belgium started providing both personalised services to the targeted beneficiaries and incurring administrative expenditure to implement the EGF on 11 June 2025 and that the period of eligibility for a financial contribution from the EGF will therefore be from that date until 24 months and until 31 months after the date of the entry into force of the financing decision, respectively;

14. 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;

15. Reiterates that assistance from the EGF must not replace actions that are the responsibility of public authorities or companies under national law or collective agreements; recalls that the EGF is a limited, targeted and complementary mechanism;

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.

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/2025/009 BE/Soliver

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 22 December 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 Soliver NV 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 in order to provide a financial contribution of EUR 2 132 535 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 2 132 535 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