on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF/2017/000 TA 2017 - Technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

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) 1927/2006 (the ‘EGF Regulation’).

SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION AND ANALYSIS

Key data: EGF Reference no. EGF/2017/000 European Commission Technical assistance Administrative expenditure: budget in EUR 310 000 % administrative expenditure (ceiling: 0,5 %) 0,18 %

In accordance with Article 11(1) of the EGF Regulation, a maximum of 0,5 % of the annual maximum amount of the EGF may be made available each year for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission.

Technical assistance to be funded and breakdown of its estimated costs

1.The contribution will be used for expenditure mentioned in Article 11(1) and (4) as well as Article 12(2), (3) and (4) of the EGF Regulation, as detailed hereunder.

2.Monitoring and data gathering: The Commission will collect data on applications received, paid and wound up, and measures proposed and implemented. This data will be made available on the web site and compiled in appropriate form for the Biennial Reports of 2017 and 2019. Building on the work of recent years, costs for this activity will be EUR 20 000.

3.Information: The web site on the EGF, which the Commission has set up within its Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion area, and which it is maintaining as required under Article 12(2) of the EGF Regulation, will be regularly updated and expanded, with each new element also being translated into all EU languages. General awareness of the EGF will be increased and its visibility promoted. A small print run of the EGF mid-term evaluation will be made available together with an online publication. The EGF will be covered in various Commission publications and audio-visual activities as provided for in Article 11(4) of the EGF Regulation. Costs of all these items are estimated at EUR 20 000 in 2017.

4.Creation of a knowledge base / application interface: The Commission is continuing its work setting up standardised procedures for EGF applications and management, using the functionalities of SFC 2014, into which it is being integrated. This allows applications under the EGF Regulation to be simplified, their processing to be speeded up and reports to be more easily extracted for varying needs. Reporting procedures are integrated as well. A back-office module acts as an interface between SFC and the Commission’s accounting and financial information system ABAC, facilitating EGF financial operations. As most of the programming has been done in the past years, only further fine-tuning and adjustments to possible changes are needed. Due to the lower programming costs and equal maintenance costs, the funds needed are lower than in the past years. The cost of these items is estimated at EUR 80 000, as the EGF contribution to the further development and updating of SFC and its regular maintenance.

5.Administrative and technical support: The Expert Group of Contact Persons of the EGF, with one member from each Member State, will be holding two meetings (second half of 2017 / first half of 2018), together estimated at EUR 70 000.

6.In addition, in order to promote networking among the Member States, the Commission will organise two seminars with the participation of EGF implementing bodies and social partners. To the extent possible, these will be scheduled to take place around the same dates as the Expert Group meetings and will focus on issues arising from the practical implementation of the EGF Regulation at grassroots level. The cost of these items is estimated at EUR 120 000.

Items Estimated number Estimated cost per item

(in EUR) Total costs

(in EUR) Monitoring and data gathering Various Various 20 000 Information activities Various Various 20 000 Creation, updating and maintenance of a knowledge base / application interface in SFC Various Various 80 000 Administrative and technical support: Meetings of the Expert Group of Contact Persons of the EGF 2 35 000 70 000 Administrative and technical support: Networking seminars on the implementation of the EGF 2 60 000 120 000 Total estimated costs 310 000

Financing

7.The maximum annual budget available for the EGF in 2017 is 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.