EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 20.7.2018 COM(2018) 548 final Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund following an

application from the Netherlands – EGF/2018/001 NL/Financial service activities



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 (the ‘EGF Regulation’). 2.On 23 February 2018, the Netherlands submitted an application EGF/2018/001 NL/Financial service activities for a financial contribution from the EGF, following redundancies in the economic sector classified under the NACE Revision 2 Division 64 - Financial servive activities, except insurance and pension funding in the NUTS level 2 regions of NL12 - Friesland, NL13 - Drenthe and NL21 - Overijssel in the Netherlands. 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/2018/001 NL/Financial service activities Member State The Netherlands Region(s) concerned (NUTS level 2) NL12 - Friesland NL13 - Drenthe NL21 - Overijssel Date of submission of the application 23 February 2018 Date of acknowledgement of receipt of the application 23 February 2018 Date of request for additional information 09 March 2018 Deadline for provision of the additional information 04 May 2018 Deadline for the completion of the assessment 27 July 2018 Intervention criterion Article 4(1)(b) of the EGF Regulation



Number of enterprises concerned 20 Sector(s) of economic activity (NACE Revision 2 Division) Division 64 – Financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding Reference period (nine months): 24 March 2017 – 24 December 2017 Total number of eligible beneficiaries 1 324 Total number of targeted beneficiaries 450 Number of targeted young persons not in employment, education or training (NEETs) 0 Budget for personalised services (EUR) 1 908 000 Budget for implementing EGF (EUR) 79 500 Total budget (EUR) 1 987 500 EGF contribution (60 %) (EUR) 1 192 500 ASSESSMENT OF THE APPLICATION Procedure 4.The Netherlands submitted application EGF/2018/001 NL/Financial service activities within 12 weeks of the date on which the intervention criteria set out in Article 4 of the EGF Regulation were met, on 23 February 2018. The Commission acknowledged receipt of the application on the same day and requested additional information from the Netherlands on 9 March 2018. Such additional information was provided after an extension of the six weeks deadline by two weeks at the duly justified request of the Netherlands. 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 27 July 2018. Eligibility of the application Enterprises and beneficiaries concerned 5.The application relates to 1 324 workers made redundant in the economic sector classified under the NACE Revision 2 Division 64 - Financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding. The redundancies are located in the NUTS level 2 regions of NL12 - Friesland, NL13 - Drenthe and NL21 - Overijssel. Enterprises and number of dismissals within the reference period Rabobank 981 BNP Paribas 3 ING Bank 149 SBOT BV 3 ABN-AMRO 112 KAS Bank NV 2 Volksbank/SNS 29 Pale BV 2 Kredietbank Nederland 11 Royal Bank of Scotland 2 Triodos 6 CEM Finance BV 1 F. Van Lanschot Bankers 5 DNB 1 Lacent BV 5 KBC Bank 1 Santander 5 Krediet Unie BV 1 Kempen & Co NV 4 UBS Europe SE 1



Total no. of enterprises: 20 Total no. of dismissals: 1 324 Total no. of self-employed persons whose activity has ceased: 0 Total no. of eligible workers and self-employed persons: 1 324 Intervention criteria The Netherlands submitted the application under the intervention criteria of Article 4(1)(b) of the EGF regulation, which requires at least 500 workers being made redundant over a reference period of nine months in enterprises operating in the same economic sector defined at NACE Revision 2 Division and located in one or two contiguous regions defined at NUTS 2 level in a Member State. There were 610 redundancies in the NUTS level 2 region NL21 - Overijssel. The reference period of nine months for the application runs from 24 March 2017 to 24 December 2017. Calculation of redundancies and of cessation of activity 6.All the 1 324 redundancies during the reference period have been calculated as from the date of the employer's individual notice to lay-off or to terminate the contract of employment of the worker. 7.The total number of eligible beneficiaries is 1 324.

Link between the redundancies and the global financial and economic crisis addressed in Regulation (EC) No 546/2009"] 8.In order to establish the link between the redundancies and the global financial and economic crisis addressed in Regulation (EC) No 546/2009, the Netherlands argues that the financial and economic crisis had serious impact on the services and functioning of the Dutch banks . 9.The low interest rate environment, introduced as a response to the financial crisis, the stricter regulatory conditions, the substantial decline of the mortgage market and in the credit provision for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) caused falling profitability and created an urgent need for reduction of costs. The Commission 2018 country report confirms the low interest rates, the decline in SME lending and the indebtedness of the private households in the Netherlands. 10.At the mortgage market, a substantial decline can be noticed from 2006 until 2015. As from 2016 there is a slight recovery, although the levels are still much lower than before the financial economic crisis. The growth rate of annual new mortgages is almost zero now; while it was growing by 4-5% per year, before the 2008 crisis. The entry of new players -such as pension funds and insurers- further added to the decline of the mortgage business for banks. 11.In the credit provision for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) a strong decline can be seen in the past 10 years, without a recovery to the 2008 level. 12.As a result banks reduced their staff, mainly by closing of regional branch offices and transforming towards online banking. Half of the branch offices disappeared in 2004-2014 and the trend is still going on. Most of the dismissed persons are those who dealt directly with the clients and who were engaged in related administration. 13.To date, the `Financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding` sector has not been subject of any EGF application. Events giving rise to the redundancies and cessation of activity 14.Low interest rates (low interest margins) had a direct and negative impact on the profitability of the banks. Restoring profitability is mainly achieved by reduction of cost, by closing of regional branches and automation, in order to stay in business. As a result, the number of employees is steadily decreasing in all banks. 15.The number of redundancies in the Dutch banking sector increased between April 2016 and April 2017 by 8,6 %, while the average number of redundancies across sectors decreased by 12,8 %. Rabobank had 1 434 branch offices in 2004; in 2014 only 566 were left (-60 %). ABN-AMRO closed 427 of their offices in the same period (-57 %). The Volksbank (SNS) closed 14 % of its regional offices in 2004-2014. The diminishing of regional offices has been the strongest in Friesland, Drenthe and Overijssel. Since ING has never had as many regional offices as the other banks (276), it did not close any offices, but reduced its staff in the existing offices. 16.In 2010-2016 the overall number of employees at the four banks already mentioned dropped from 158 588 to 122 556; that is a 23 % decline. 17.Furthermore large scale redundancies are foreseen at ABN-AMRO, at INGand Rabobank. The Volksbank, which has not been through an extensive reorganisation or restructuring over the last years, has announced plans for a reorganisation and redundancies. 18.The number of people on unemployment benefits in the sector has more than tripled over the period 2008 - 2015 and in 2016 the number of people from the banking sector that applied for an unemployment benefit rose by 27,7 %, compared to 2015, as a consequence of the reorganisation of the sector. Moreover, the banking sector was the only sector where employment declined in 2016; all other sectors counted less new unemployment benefits. 19.The reductions mainly hit personnel with low or average education levels, such as administrative personnel and receptionists. The labour market perspective for these types of functions is weak. In the banking sector women have mainly held the lower and middle level functions; therefore more women are unemployed (55 %) than men (45%). 45 % of the unemployed in the banking sector are 55 years or older. Expected impact of the redundancies as regards the local, regional or national economy and employment 20.The redundancy in banking is particularly challenging to the three concerned provinces. Unemployment is higher in all the three regions than the 5,4 % national average. In Friesland it is 10,8 %, in Drenthe 7% and in Overijssel it is 6,3 %. In general 66 % of the people could find a new job within one year from their dismissal. In the banking sector only 39 % of the people found a new job within a year. 21.According to the Dutch Employment Insurance Agency (UWV) the prospects of these people to find another job in the same sector are bleak, as the employment in the sector is not expected to recover. According to the forecasts, there will be another decline in employment in the sector in 2018. 22.In Friesland 16 % of the people who apply for unemployment benefits have held functions within the banking sector which types of jobs are no longer needed in the region due to -among others- the closing of the regional branches of the banks. 23.In Overijjssel the banking sector ranks second on the list of occupational backgrounds of people who apply for unemployment benefits. 24.Expected impact of the redundancies in the affected territories is linked to the difficulties of redeployment within the same sector. The UWV advises people in the banking sector in these three provinces to look into changing profession, sector or region. The three regions concerned are not so industrialised and diversified as other regions in the Netherlands, most of the companies are SMEs. However there are new job opportunities in health, ICT, logistics, financial controlling and other sectors.

25.There are vulnerable groups within the 1 324 dismissed workers; clerical/sales staff (52 % in the application), women (59 %) and elderly over 55 years old (27 %). Half of the dismissed worked in professional/technical jobs. Therefore it is important to support a quick reintegration of the dismissed workers into the labour market, as it will be difficult for them to find a new job on their own. 26.The average period of unemployment benefits for unemployed banking personnel is much longer than for unemployed persons of other sectors. Moreover, data from the UWV show that at least 12 % of those who applied for unemployment benefit had a job earlier in the financial sector. Targeted beneficiaries and proposed actions Targeted beneficiaries 27.The estimated number of redundant workers expected to participate in the measures is 450. The other eligible workers are either moving to other sectors or regions, going on retirement or participating in national and local schemes for re-employment. The breakdown of these workers by sex, citizenship and age group is as follows: Category Number of

targeted beneficiaries* Sex: Men: 183 (40,7 %) Women: 267 (59,3 %) Citizenship: EU citizens: 450 (100,0 %) non-EU citizens: 0 (0 %) Age group: 15-24 years: 38 (8,4 %) 25-29 years: 50 (11,1 %) 30-54 years: 241 (53,6 %) 55-64 years: 104 (23,1 %) over 64 years: 17 (3,8 %) *:% is rounded Eligibility of the proposed actions 28.The personalised services to be provided to redundant workers consist of the following actions: –Intake: this measure will map the participants according to their capabilites, potentials and job perspectives. Every intake will conclude with an advice. –Job search assistance: this measure will start with an offer for a customised programme. Among others it will include preparation of transfer documents, intensive job application training, organising job markets and intensive contacting of employers. –Mobility pool: this measure consists of a flexible pool for the job seekers and employers with temporary jobs. Regional mobility pools, specialised for former banking sector workers will be founded. This measure will provide work experience for the (re-trained) workers and help them to present themselves to new employers. –Entrepreneurship promotion training and coaching: some of the participants can use their skills and experience to start their own business. This measure will provide training and coaching to them, by developing their skills, drafting a sustainable business plan and by guiding them through the legislative procedures. –Training and re-training: this measure will provide training, re-training and other educational facilities, for the retail sector and for new occupational profiles, such as transport, IT services, technical professions and others. –Outplacement assistance: this measure will offer job orientation, job counseling and competence training. –Entrepreneurship promotion grant: this measure will give a grant for covering investment costs, if the participant will obtain the necessary skills and will have a sustainable business plan. 29.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. 30.The Netherlands has provided the required information on actions that are mandatory for the enterprises 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 31.The estimated total costs are EUR 1 987 500, comprising expenditure for personalised services of EUR 1 908 000 and expenditure for preparatory, management, information and publicity, control and reporting activities of EUR 79 500.

32.The total financial contribution requested from the EGF is EUR 1 192 500 (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) Intake (Intake) 250 1 152 288 000 Job search assistance (Trajectbegeleiding reintegratie) 450 900 405 000 Mobility pool (Mobiliteitspool) 175 3 200 560 000 Entreprenurship promotion training and coaching (Promotie, cursussen en begeleiding ondernemerschap) 20 2 000 40 000 Training and re-training (Scholing en cursussen) 75 3 500 262 500 Outplacement assistance (Outplacement begeleiding) 35 1 500 52 500 Entrepreneurship promotion grant (Toelage ondernemerschap) 20 15 000 300 000 Sub-total (a): Percentage of the package of personalised services – 1 908 000 (100 %) Allowances and incentives (Actions under Article 7(1)(b) of the EGF Regulation) 0 0 0 Sub-total (b): Percentage of the package of personalised services: – 0 (100 %) Actions under Article 7(4) of the EGF Regulation 1. Preparatory activities – 0 2. Management – 19 875 3. Information and publicity – 39 750 4. Control and reporting – 19 875 Sub-total (c): Percentage of the total costs : – 79 500 (4 %) Total costs (a + b + c): – 1 987 500 EGF contribution (60 % of total costs) – 1 192 500 *: figures are rounded 33.The Netherlands confirmed that the costs of investments for self-employment, business start-ups and employee take-overs will not exceed EUR 15 000 per beneficiary. Period of eligibility of expenditure 34.The Netherlands started providing the personalised services to the targeted beneficiaries on 1 January 2018. The expenditure on the actions will therefore be eligible for a financial contribution from the EGF from 1 January 2018 to 23 February 2020. 35.The Netherlands started incurring the administrative expenditure to implement the EGF on 1 October 2017. The expenditure for preparatory, management, information and publicity, control and reporting activities shall therefore be eligible for a financial contribution from the EGF from 1 October 2017 to 23 August 2020. Complementarity with actions funded by national or Union funds 36.The sources of national pre-financing or co-funding are the funds of the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV), the provinces, educational funds and of social partners. 37.The Netherlands has confirmed that the measures described above receiving a financial contribution from the EGF will not also receive financial contributions 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 38.The Netherlands has indicated that the co-ordinated package of personalised services has been drawn up in close consultation with stakeholders and social partners such as the Dutch Banking Association (NVB), the Dutch Federation for Trade Unions (FNV) and the National Christian Trade Union Federation (CNV), especially concerning the drafting of the coordinated package of services offered. The social partners will also participate in the steering committee, which will be founded to coordinate all the labour market measures. 39.The preparation activities included meetings with sector representatives, the municipality of Leeuwarden and the three provinces. The concerning partners (social partners, representatives of the banking sector) together with the UWV made an inventory of the nature and magnitude of the problem. A plan has been prepared for the redundant workers to increase their chances of reassignment. Management and control systems 40.The application contains a description of the management and control system which specifies the responsibilities of the bodies involved. It is identical to the structure as for ESF. The costs related to these activities are included in the total project costs. The Netherlands has notified the Commission that the management will be done by the Implementation of Policy part of the Service, Collaboration and Implementation department (SZV; Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment). 41.The financial control will be done by the General Director of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy as certifying authority. The independent audit authority will be the Central Government Audit Service (Ministry of Finance). 42.As regards internal control and accounting systems, the provincial Government of Drenthe is obliged to keep verifiable administrative records, for audits. Commitments provided by the Member State concerned 43.The Netherlands has 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 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 44.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. 45.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 1 192 500, representing 60 % of the total costs of the proposed actions, in order to provide a financial contribution for the application. 46.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. Related acts 47.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 1 192 500. 48.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 following an

application from the Netherlands – EGF/2018/001 NL/Financial service activities 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, 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, and in particular point 13 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,