EN Official Journal of the European Union C 234/54

P8_TA(2014)0020

Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund: application EGF/2014/002 NL/Gelderland-Overijssel construction – The Netherlands

European Parliament resolution of 17 September 2014 on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, in accordance with point 13 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management (application EGF/2014/002 NL/Gelderland-Overijssel construction from the Netherlands) (COM(2014)0455 – C8-0100/2014 – 2014/2055(BUD))

(2016/C 234/15)

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2014)0455 – C8-0100/2014),

— having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (2014-2020) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006 (1) (new EGF Regulation),

— having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 (2), and in particular Article 12 thereof,

— having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management (3) (IIA of 2 December 2013), and in particular point 13 thereof,

— having regard to the trilogue procedure provided for in point 13 of the IIA of 2 December 2013,

— having regard to the letter of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs,

— having regard to the letter of the Committee on Regional Development,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A8-0005/2014),

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 and to assist their reintegration into the labour market;

B. whereas the Union’s financial assistance to workers made redundant should be dynamic and made available as quickly and efficiently as possible, in accordance with the Joint Declaration of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission adopted during the conciliation meeting on 17 July 2008, and having due regard for the IIA of 2 December 2013 in respect of the adoption of decisions to mobilise the EGF;

C. whereas the number of beneficiaries expected to participate is 475 out of the total 562 eligible workers;

D. whereas the Netherlands submitted application EGF/2014/002 NL/Gelderland-Overijssel construction for a financial contribution from the EGF, following redundancies in 89 enterprises operating in the NACE Rev.2 division 41 (‘Construction of buildings’) (4) in the contiguous NUTS level 2 regions of Gelderland and Overijssel with 475 workers targeted for EGF co-funded measures, during the reference period from 1 March 2013 to 1 December 2013;

E. whereas the vast majority (92,6 %) of the workers targeted by the measures are men and 7,4 % are women; whereas 65,3 % of the workers are between 30 and 54 years old; whereas 21,9 % of the workers are between 55 and 64 years old;

F. whereas the application fulfils the eligibility criteria set up by the EGF Regulation;

1. Agrees with the Commission that the conditions set out in Article 4(1)(b) of the new EGF Regulation are met and that, therefore, the Netherlands is entitled to a financial contribution under that Regulation;

2. Notes that the Dutch authorities submitted the application for EGF financial contribution on 20 February 2014, supplemented it by additional information until 17 April 2014, and that its assessment was made available by the Commission on 10 July 2014; welcomes the speedy evaluation of five months;

3. Considers that the redundancies in 89 enterprises operating in the NACE Rev.2 division 41 (‘Construction of buildings’) in the contiguous NUTS level 2 regions of Gelderland and Overijssel are linked to global financial and economic crisis, referring to the observation that the policy of banks to implement more stringent rules for the provision of mortgages and credits reduced the provision of mortgages and credits considerably, while the austerity measures of the government to reduce national debt and budget deficit reduced public spending and the sharp decline of prices and values on the housing market makes it difficult to sell and buy houses;

4. Notes that 562 redundancies will further aggravate the unemployment situation in Gelderland and Overijssel bearing in mind that a substantial rise of redundancies in the construction sector is noted and compared with the national figures the number of unemployed in both provinces constitutes 39 % of the total number of redundancies in 2012;

5. Welcomes the fact that, in order to provide workers with speedy assistance, the Dutch authorities decided to initiate the implementation of the personalised services to the affected workers on 1 February 2014, well ahead of the final decision on granting the EGF support for the proposed coordinated package;

6. Notes that application does not contain allowances or incentives in the proposed measures;

7. Notes that the coordinated package of personalised services to be co-funded includes measures for workers made redundant, such as job search assistance and intakes, training and retraining measures, outplacement assistance, mobility pool;

8. Notes that demolition of asbestos is listed amongst the opportunities for training the participants for occupations outside the construction sector; calls on the Dutch authorities to ensure that workers participating in this specific training must be thoroughly informed of the health and safety risks related to working with asbestos;

9. Welcomes the fact that the coordinated package of personalised services has been drawn up in consultation with trade unions and employers' organisations, the social partners in the construction sector and educational institutions, and that a policy of equality of women and men as well as the principle of non-discrimination will be applied during the various stages of the implementation of and in access to the EGF; stresses the importance of future cross-border initiatives such as border desks or alignment of rules in order to enhance the exchange of information and to stimulate the cross-border mobility of workers;

10. Welcomes the idea of creating a mobility pool, which will provide for flexible deployment of workers with the aim to gain work experience and find work through this instrument; expects that the participants will find a non-temporary job;

11. Recalls the importance of improving the employability of all workers by means of adapted training and the recognition of skills and competences gained throughout a worker's professional career; expects the training on offer in the coordinated package to be adapted not only to the needs of the dismissed workers but also to the economy as a whole;

12. Recalls that, in line with Article 7 of the new EGF Regulation, the design of the coordinated package of personalised services for training and retraining should anticipate future labour market perspectives and required skills and should incorporate the shift towards a resource-efficient and sustainable economy;

13. Notes that the information provided on the coordinated package of personalised services to be funded from the EGF includes information on complementarity with actions funded by the Structural Funds; stresses that the Dutch authorities confirm that the eligible actions do not receive assistance from other Union financial instruments; reiterates its call to the Commission to present a comparative evaluation of those data in its annual reports in order to ensure full respect of the existing regulations and that no duplication of Union-funded services can occur;

14. Notes that the total costs of information and publicity actions is estimated at EUR 27 096; reminds of the importance of raising a better awareness about the EGF contribution and ensuring more visibility of the role of the Union in it;

15. Appreciates the improved procedure put in place by the Commission, following Parliament's request for the accelerated release of grants; notes that the Commission finalised the assessment of the application’s compliance with the conditions for providing a financial contribution within 12 weeks of the receipt of the complete application;

16. Stresses that, in accordance with Article 9 of the new EGF Regulation, it shall be ensured that the EGF assistance is limited to what is necessary to provide solidarity and temporary one-off support for targeted beneficiaries, and will not furthermore replace actions which are the responsibility of companies by virtue of national law or collective agreements;

17. Welcomes the adoption of the new EGF Regulation which reflects the agreement reached between the Parliament and the Council to reintroduce the crisis mobilisation criterion, to increase Union financial contribution to 60 % of the total estimated cost of proposed measures, to increase efficiency for the treatment of EGF applications in the Commission and by the Parliament and the Council by shortening time for assessment and approval, to widen eligible actions and beneficiaries by introducing self-employed persons and young people and to finance incentives for setting up own businesses;

18. Approves the decision annexed to this resolution;

19. 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;

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

(1) OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 855

(2) OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884.

(3) OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1.

(4) Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 establishing the statistical classification of economic activities NACE Revision 2 and amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3037/90 as well as certain EC regulations on specific statistical domains (OJ L 393, 30.12.2006, p. 1).