EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

1. The rules applicable to financial contributions from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) are laid down in 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] (the 'EGF Regulation').

2. The Irish authorities submitted application EGF/2014/007 IE/Andersen Ireland for a financial contribution from the EGF, following redundancies in Andersen Ireland Limited in Ireland.

3. 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.

SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION

EGF application || EGF/2014/007 IE/Andersen Ireland

Member State || Ireland

Region(s) concerned (NUTS level 2) || Southern and Eastern (IE02)

Date of submission of the application || 16.5.2014

Date of acknowledgement of receipt of the application || 30.5.2014

Date of request for additional information || 30.5.2014

Deadline of provision of the additional information || 11.7.2014

Deadline for the completion of the assessment || 3.10.2014

Intervention criterion || Article 4(2) of the EGF Regulation

Primary enterprise || Andersen Ireland Limited

Sector(s) of economic activity (NACE Rev. 2 division)[2] || Division 32 ('Manufacture of jewellery, bijouterie and related articles')

Number of subsidiaries, suppliers and downstream producers || 0

Reference period (four months): || 21 October 2013 - 21 February 2014

Number of redundancies or cessations of activity during the reference period (a) || 171

Number of redundancies or cessations of activity before or after the reference period (b) || 0

Total number of redundancies (a + b) || 171

Total estimated number of targeted beneficiaries || 138

Number of targeted young persons not in employment, education or training (NEETs) || 138

Budget for personalised services (EUR) || 2 332 000

Budget for implementing EGF[3] (EUR) || 170 000

Total budget (EUR) || 2 502 000

EGF contribution (60 %) (EUR) || 1 501 200

ASSESSMENT OF THE APPLICATION

Procedure

4. The Irish authorities submitted application EGF/2014/007 IE/Andersen Ireland within 12 weeks of the date on which the intervention criteria set out in paragraphs 6 to 8 below were met, on 16 May 2014. The Commission acknowledged receipt of the application within two weeks of the date of submission of the application, on 30 May 2014, and requested additional information from the Irish authorities on the same date. Such additional information was provided within six weeks of the request. The deadline of 12 weeks of the receipt of the complete application within which the Commission should finalise its assessment of the application's compliance with the conditions for providing a financial contribution expires on 3 October 2014.

Eligibility of the application

Enterprises and beneficiaries concerned

5. The application relates to 171 workers made redundant in Andersen Ireland Limited. The enterprise operated in the economic sector classified under NACE Rev. 2 division 32 ('Manufacture of jewellery, bijouterie and related articles'). The redundancies made by the enterprise concerned are mainly located in the NUTS[4] level 2 region of IE02 Southern and Eastern.

Intervention criteria

6. The Irish authorities submitted the application under the intervention criteria of Article 4(2) of the EGF Regulation, derogating from the criteria of Article 4(1)(a), which requires at least 500 workers being made redundant or self-employed persons' activity ceasing, over a reference period of four months in an enterprise in a Member State. In the application, a reference period of four months is demonstrated, while the number of workers being made redundant is lower than the 500 person threshold for an Article 4(1)(a) application. Ireland has argued that exceptional circumstances prevail in this case, as the redundancies have a serious impact on employment and the local and regional economy (see paragraphs 15 to 17).

7. The reference period of four months runs from 21 October 2013 to 21 February 2014.

8. The application relates to:

– 171 workers made redundant[5] in the primary enterprise during the reference period of four months.

Calculation of redundancies and of cessation of activity

9. The redundancies have been calculated as follows:

– 171 from the date of the de facto termination of the contract of employment or its expiry.

Eligible beneficiaries

10. No further workers made redundant before or after the reference period of four months are included. The total number of eligible beneficiaries is therefore 171.

Link between the redundancies and major structural changes in world trade patterns due to globalisation

11. In order to establish the link between the redundancies and major structural changes in world trade patterns due to globalisation, Ireland argues that in terms of both volume and value, non-EU imports have come to dominate the EU costume (i.e. fashion) jewellery market for the past five years or more. The main non-EU producing countries are China, India, Thailand, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Mexico, Philippines, Brazil, Malaysia and South Africa. These countries began to rapidly increase their production during the pre-crisis years 2003-2007, with China predominant among the newer producers, accounting for some 83 % of total volume into the EU in 2007, ahead of India and Thailand.

In 2008, Eurostat figures cited by Ireland show that sales within the EU by both EU and non-EU producers started from an almost identical position of 56 000 tonnes in volume of product. Both experienced drops in volume, perhaps attributable to the aftermath of the 2008/2009 global economic and financial crisis. However, while the EU volume of product sold in the EU market dropped to 10 600 tonnes in 2012, the non-EU imported product, though dropping also, dropped far less to 45 700 tonnes. Where there had been parity in 2008, four year later the EU was outstripped four-fold by imports. Of this volume of non-EU product, 95% was imported from mostly Asian countries such as China, India, Thailand, and the Philippines. These are precisely the same locations where several companies based in the EU had meanwhile moved their production facilities, including market leaders Folli Follie and Swarovski.

This situation has been further exacerbated by the shift in trade in the sector that has seen a move from the traditional marketing model used by Andersen Ireland and its parent Pierre Lang, with thousands of sales personnel across the European market, being replaced by the virtual, global and without borders model of online sales. This has boosted the advantages already enjoyed by non-EU manufacturers and finally led to the redundancy of the 171 strong workforce in Rathkeale as well as reductions in the European sales personnel of the company.

12. This is the first EGF application for workers made redundant in the sector of jewellery, bijouterie and related articles.

Events giving rise to the redundancies and cessation of activity

13. The events giving rise to the redundancies in Andersen Ireland Limited are the closure of the plant in Rathkeale, Co. Limerick, and the dismissal of the entire workforce.

Andersen Ireland, a subsidiary of Pierre Lang, established the plant in 1976. Andersen Ireland was one of two manufacturing plants for the Pierre Lang group, the other based in Vienna. The Rathkeale plant manufactured jewellery on a made-to-order basis for Pierre Lang. The products were then transported to Vienna in a finished or semi-finished state.

The Pierre Lang group, established in 1961, was bought in January 2010 by Helmut Spikker of Germany. In August 2011, following protracted negotiations over loan repayments, the Raiffeisenbank requested that Pierre Lang be put into receivership. In December 2012, SMB (Schoeller Metternich Beteiligungen) acquired all the assets of Pierre Lang. In Ireland, the Industrial Development Authority (IDA Ireland) was actively engaged with Andersen throughout 2012, positioning it as a value option for potential buyers during the 2012 sale. When no solution had been forthcoming by mid-August 2013, senior management in Austria made the decision to voluntarily put Andersen Ireland into liquidation. The full workforce was made redundant, with the first workers laid off in October 2013.

Global factors had been impacting the enterprise over several years already. The enterprise's turnover had fallen from EUR 18 million in 2008 to EUR 8.9 million in 2012, with the wages bill almost halved from EUR 7 million to EUR 3.9 million over the same period. Materials and overheads fell from EUR 11.1 million in 2008 to EUR 3 million in 2012, with 55 % of these costs relating to Irish suppliers.

Expected impact of the redundancies as regards the local, regional or national economy and employment

14. The redundancies have a significant adverse impact on the local and regional economy, as Andersen Ireland was a major employer in this mainly rural area, where it had been active for 37 years. Of the 171 strong workforce, 119 workers (69.6 %) were female. According to the latest census (2011), the unemployment rate for the Rathkeale area (39.3 %) was more than double the national average (19 %).

15. On average, workers had been employed by the company for at least 15 continuous years, with some having worked there for more than 30 years.

Explanation of the exceptional circumstances underlying the admissibility of the application

16. Ireland argues that, despite the fact that fewer than 500 redundancies occurred within the four-month reference period, this application should nevertheless be assimilated to an application under Article 4.1(a) of the EGF Regulation due to exceptional circumstances with a serious impact on employment and the local, regional or national economy. To this end, they cite the fact that 171 jobs lost in Rathkeale is a large number in the circumstances of this small-town and rural area, and that the large majority of the redundant workers are women whose wage was often the sole or most significant income for entire families in this economically challenged area. The 2011 census shows that the area has an exceptionally high dependency ratio (63.2 % dependant, either through age or unemployment, which is significantly higher than the national average of 45.8 %).

17. The census also shows that the levels of both education and skills in the area lag behind the national average, and the proportion of lone families is high. Rathkeale was officially recognised as a disadvantaged community in 2009, when it was included in the government's action plan aimed at revitalising such communities.

18. There have been no recent plant openings in the area that might provide new employment opportunities for the workers. The nearest city is Limerick, some 30 km away, which was affected in 2009 by the closure of the Dell factory, for which an EGF application was submitted and approved. A new pharmaceutical factory in the same city requires workers with different skills sets and greater mobility and adaptability than the redundant Andersen Ireland workers.

Targeted beneficiaries and proposed actions

Targeted beneficiaries

19. The estimated number of targeted workers expected to participate in the measures is 138. The breakdown of these workers by sex, citizenship and age group is as follows:

Category || Number of targeted beneficiaries

Sex: || Men: || 36 || (26.09 %)

|| Women: || 102 || (73.91 %)

Nationality: || EU citizens: || 137 || (99.28 %)

|| non-EU citizens: || 1 || (0.72 %)

Age group: || 15-24 years: || 1 || (0.72 %)

|| 25-29 years: || 2 || (1.45 %)

|| 30-54 years: || 124 || (89.86 %)

|| 55-64 years: || 11 || (7.97 %)

|| over 64 years: || 0 || (0,00 %)

20. Additionally, the Irish authorities will provide personalised services co-financed by the EGF to up to 138 young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs) under the age of 25 on the date of submission of the application, given that the redundancies occur in the NUTS level 2 region of Southern and Eastern (IE02), which is eligible under the Youth Employment Initiative.

21. The total estimated number of targeted beneficiaries expected to participate in the measures, including NEETs, is therefore 276.

Eligibility of the proposed actions

22. The personalised services to be provided to the redundant workers and NEETs consist of the following actions, which will be highly personalised and will seek to open the widest possible range of employment opportunities in an area where there are few expanding sectors or production sites. Significant upskilling of the redundant workers will be required.

– Occupational guidance and career planning supports: The redundant workers will be provided with early guidance, to help them assess their situation and prospects in a clear methodical manner. Further guidance will follow, focusing on a course to new employment once the initial shock of unemployment has been mitigated somewhat. Services include individualised profiling, needs identification, learning assessment, CV preparation, career guidance, job search assistance and other related supports and advice. The EGF Co-ordination Unit is setting up an office in close proximity to the affected location which will serve as a one-stop shop for the workers and NEETs, but will also be able to draw on other agencies as appropriate.

– EGF Training Grants: This scheme, which has been tested in previous EGF applications, allows the redundant workers and NEETs to have full access to the broadest range of training schemes, particularly for courses not accessible via the public system. All courses are formally accredited. The scheme operates at both second and third level education, with annual maxima of EUR 3,000 and 5,000 applying respectively. Course fees are paid directly by the EGF Co-ordination Unit to the service provider, subject to relevant criteria such as attendance, progression, etc.

– Training and second level education programmes: The Andersen workers and NEETs will be given the widest possible choice of education and training programmes. The main objective is to enable the targeted persons to remain in, or return to, the labour market. The Andersen cohort has already expressed interest in varied areas, such as finance and administration, computer skills, healthcare, retail and lifestyle professions as well as manufacturing and production processes. Consideration will also be given to persons wishing to avail of internship, work placement and community oriented employment schemes.

– Third level education programmes : A wide range of programmes is being made available in a number of third level institutions and universities. Both part-time and full-time courses are available, and uptake will depend on the targeted persons' educational attainment, needs and suitability. Final choice will be with the individual in accordance with the personalised service ethos characteristic of the EGF.

– Skillsnets training supports : Skillsnets are networks of three or more companies operating in the same industrial sector or geographical area that co-operate to provide training where individual companies may not be able to do so. Training is geared at reintegration to employment and generally includes a period of practical on the job training in locally based companies. Training is provided in the skills needed by the participating companies and could therefore offer good opportunities towards a future job. Working side by side with employed persons also helps the targeted beneficiaries in terms of networking, creating workplace links and keeping up with specific industry skillsets.

– Enterprise/self-employment supports: The Local Enterprise Boards will provide 'soft' services such as mentoring, advice, assistance with preparing business plans, training in areas such as sales and marketing, business management, taxation and book keeping, etc, as well as 'hard' supports in terms of limited grant aids for business start-ups, ranging around EUR 8,000 on average, up to EUR 15,000 maximum for more high potential businesses.

– Income supports including course expense contributions: Various income supports for beneficiaries engaged in education or training will be provided -- the supports in question being strictly limited to a maximum of 35 % of the overall package of personalised measures and conditional on the active participation of the beneficiary in job-search, training and education. The Course Expenses Contribution scheme provides for a contribution to be made towards travel and subsistence, course equipment and materials.

23. The personalised services which are to be provided to NEETs consist of the same actions as those provided to the redundant workers. Progress will be monitored over the course of the programme in order to assess whether particular types of courses are more suited for or requested by the NEET persons and every effort will be made to facilitate a personalised approach.

24. The proposed actions, here described, constitute active labour market measures within the eligible actions set out in Article 7 of the EGF Regulation. These actions do not substitute passive social protection measures.

25. The Irish authorities have provided the required information on actions that are mandatory for the enterprise concerned by virtue of national law or pursuant to collective agreements. They have confirmed that a financial contribution from the EGF will not replace such actions.

Estimated budget

26. The estimated total costs are EUR 2 502 000, comprising expenditure for personalised services of EUR 2 332 000 and expenditure for preparatory, management, information and publicity, control and reporting activities of EUR 170 000.

27. The EGF Coordination Unit, currently based in Raheen (30 kms from Rathkeale), will be establishing a local office in either Rathkeale itself or nearby Newcastle West (between Rathkeale and Limerick City). This will effectively constitute a one-stop-shop for guidance and information. It will enable the redundant workers and NEETs to locally access all relevant supports in terms of both guidance, advice, eligibility, training etc. and to be guided by an experienced EGF team to the relevant external supports as appropriate.

28. The total financial contribution requested from the EGF is EUR 1 501 200 (60 % of total costs).

Actions || Estimated number of participants || Estimated cost per participant (EUR) || Estimated total costs (EUR)

Personalised services (Actions under Article 7(1)(a) and (c) of the EGF Regulation)

Occupational guidance and career planning supports || 200 || 800 || 160 000

EGF Training Grants || 95 || 8 211 || 780 000

Training and second level education programmes || 73 || 4 658 || 340 000

Third level education programmes || 25 || 5 600 || 140 000

Skillsnets training supports || 40 || 4 000 || 160 000

Enterprise / self employment supports || 15 || 6 400 || 96 000

Sub-total (a): || – || 1 676 000

(71,9 %)

Allowances and incentives (Actions under Article 7(1)(b) of the EGF Regulation)

Income supports including course expense contributions || 233 || 2 815 || 656 000

Sub-total(b): || – || 656 000

(28,1 %)

Actions under Article 7(4) of the EGF Regulation

1. Preparatory activities || – || 10 000

2. Management || – || 120 000

3. Information and publicity || – || 20 000

4. Control and reporting || – || 20 000

Sub-total (c): || – || 170 000

(6,8 %)

Total costs (a + b + c): || – || 2 502 000

EGF contribution (60 % of total costs) || – || 1 501 200

29. The costs of the actions identified in the table above as actions under Article 7(1)(b) of the EGF Regulation do not exceed 35 % of the total costs for the coordinated package of personalised services. The Irish authorities confirmed that these actions are conditional on the active participation of the targeted beneficiaries in job-search or training activities.

30. The Irish authorities confirmed that the costs of investments for self-employment and business start-ups will not exceed EUR 15 000 per beneficiary.

Period of eligibility of expenditure

31. The Irish authorities started providing the personalised services to the targeted beneficiaries on 21 October 2013. The expenditure on the actions referred to in point 22 shall therefore be eligible for a financial contribution from the EGF from 21 October 2013 to 16 May 2016, with the exception of third level education, which will be eligible for a financial contribution until 16 November 2016.

32. The Irish authorities started incurring the administrative expenditure to implement the EGF on 24 September 2013. The expenditure for preparatory, management, information and publicity, control and reporting activities shall therefore be eligible for a financial contribution from the EGF from 24 September 2013 to 16 November 2016.

Complementarity with actions funded by national or Union funds

33. The sources of national pre-financing or co-funding are the Irish Exchequer, which is pre-financing the services and will also co-finance the programme upon approval of the EGF contribution. Expenditure will be drawn from the National Training Fund and voted expenditure subheads of the Department of Education and Skills and other relevant Government Departments.

34. The Irish authorities have confirmed that the measures described above receiving a financial contribution from the EGF will not also receive financial contribution from other Union financial instruments.

Procedures for consulting the targeted beneficiaries or their representatives or the social partners as well as local and regional authorities

35. The Irish authorities have indicated that the co-ordinated package of personalised services has been drawn up in consultation with the targeted beneficiaries and the representatives of the targeted beneficiaries as well as the social partners. This process was started immediately after the notification to the relevant public authorities of the impending collective redundancies, when the EGF Managing Authority contacted the company management and trade union / worker representatives to discuss and identify the potential needs of the redundant workers. The EGF Co-ordination Unit has already carried out a comprehensive survey of the affected workers to identify the targeted cohort, their educational and training background and their potential personalised service needs in order to improve their re-employability prospects.

36. Further meetings were held with inter alia worker representatives in March and May 2014 on the EGF process, data gathering and application progression. It is intended to establish a consultative forum to complement the work of the EGF Co-ordination Unit in order to afford the redundant workers with the opportunity to input on an ongoing basis to the EGF programme's implementation.

37. A local open day for both affected redundant workers and NEET persons was held on 9 June 2014 in Rathkeale to showcase the range of supports available under the programme and to enable prospective EGF beneficiaries to discuss options with service providers. The event was launched by the Minister for Training and Skills, Ciaran Cannon, T.D.

Management and control systems

38. The application contains a description of the management and control system which specifies the responsibilities of the bodies involved. Ireland has notified the Commission that the financial contribution will be managed by the designated staff of the Department of Education and Skills, who have been appointed as the EGF Managing Authority. The Managing Authority examines and pays EGF claims submitted by Intermediate Bodies on behalf of public expenditure bodies.

39. Intermediate Bodies are responsible for claiming EGF funding from the Managing Authority and in most cases for its disbursement. Intermediate Bodies are also responsible for verification that the purpose, scope and scale of funding is appropriate within the terms of the EGF application. In addition, they ensure that monitoring and adequate recording and internal control procedures in relation to all EGF-related expenditure and claims are established by public beneficiary bodies and duly documented.

40. The EGF Certifying Authority is responsible for the certification of expenditure statements related to EGF co-financed measures. In doing so, the Certifying Authority satisfies itself on compliance with all requirements relating to the accuracy, legality, eligibility and regularity of expenditure. It also certifies the Statement Justifying the Expenditure to be sent as part of the final report.

41. An independent audit body will submit its opinion with the final report.

Commitments provided by the Member State concerned

42. The Irish authorities have provided all necessary assurances regarding the following:

– the principles of equality of treatment and non-discrimination will be respected in the access to the proposed actions and their implementation;

– the requirements laid down in national and EU legislation concerning collective redundancies have been complied with;

– the dismissing enterprise has complied with its legal obligations governing the redundancies and has provided for the workers accordingly;

– the proposed actions will provide support for individual workers and will not be used for restructuring companies or sectors;

– the proposed actions will not receive financial support from other Union funds or financial instruments and any double financing will be prevented;

– the proposed actions will be complementary with actions funded by the Structural Funds;

– the financial contribution from the EGF will comply with the procedural and material Union rules on State aid.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION

Budgetary proposal

43. The EGF shall not exceed a maximum annual amount of EUR 150 million (2011 prices), as laid down in Article 12 of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020[6].

44. Having examined the application in respect of the conditions set out in Article 13(1) of the EGF Regulation, and having taken into account the number of targeted beneficiaries, the proposed actions and the estimated costs, the Commission proposes to mobilise the EGF for the amount of EUR 1 501 200, representing 60 % of the total costs of the proposed actions, in order to provide a financial contribution for the application.

45. The proposed decision to mobilise the EGF will be taken jointly by the European Parliament and the Council, as laid down in 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[7].

Related acts

46. At the same time as it presents this proposal for a decision to mobilise the EGF, the Commission will present to the European Parliament and to the Council a proposal for a transfer to the relevant budgetary line for the amount of EUR 1 501 200.

47. At the same time as it adopts this proposal for a decision to mobilise the EGF, the Commission will adopt a decision on a financial contribution, by means of an implementing act, which will enter into force on the date at which the European Parliament and the Council adopt the proposed decision to mobilise the EGF.

Proposal for a

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on the 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/2014/007 IE/Andersen Ireland)

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) 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[8], and in particular Article 15(4) 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[9], and in particular point 13 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Whereas:

(1) The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) was established to provide support for workers made redundant and self-employed persons whose activity has ceased as a result of major structural changes in world trade patterns due to globalisation, as a result of a continuation of the global financial and economic crisis addressed in Regulation (EC) No 546/2009[10], or as a result of a new global financial and economic crisis and to assist them with their reintegration into the labour market.

(2) The EGF shall not exceed a maximum annual amount of EUR 150 million (2011 prices), as laid down in Article 12 of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013[11]

(3) Ireland submitted an application to mobilise the EGF, in respect of redundancies[12] in Andersen Ireland Limited in Ireland, on 16 May 2014 and supplemented it by additional information as provided for in Article 8(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013. This application complies with the requirements for determining a financial contribution from the EGF as laid down in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013.

(4) In accordance with Article 6 (2) of Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013, Ireland has decided to provide personalised services co-financed by the EGF also to NEETs.

(5) The EGF should, therefore, be mobilised in order to provide a financial contribution of an amount of EUR 1 501 200 for the application submitted by Ireland,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

For the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2014, the European Globalisation adjustment Fund shall be mobilised to provide the sum of EUR 1 501 200 in commitment and payment appropriations.

Article 2

This decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

[1] OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 855.

[2] 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).

[3] In accordance with the fourth paragraph of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013.

[4] Commission Regulation (EU) No 1046/2012 of 8 November 2012 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) as regards the transmission of the time series for the new regional breakdown (OJ L 310, 9.11.2012, p. 34).

[5] Within the meaning of Article 3(a) of the EGF Regulation.

[6] OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884.

[7] OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1.

[8] OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 855.

[9] OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1.

[10] Regulation (EC) No 546/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 amending Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006 on establishing the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (OJ L 167, 29.6.2009, p.26).

[11] Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884).

[12] Within the meaning of Article 3(a) of the EGF Regulation.