Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council - Solidarity in the face of Change: the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) in 2007 - Review and Prospects
Date: 2008-07-02
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, dismissal, financial aid, fund (EU), globalisation, reintegration into working life

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 2.7.2008 
COM(2008) 421 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 

Solidarity in the face of Change: 
The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) in 2007 - Review and Prospects 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 

Solidarity in the face of Change: 
The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) in 20071 - Review and Prospects 

The EGF one year on 

One  of  the  main  themes  of  the  Renewed  Social  Agenda2  is  responding  flexibly  and 
confidently to change brought about by globalisation. Part of that response includes showing 
solidarity to those who are negatively affected by globalisation. The European Globalisation 
Adjustment Fund (EGF) was designed as one way to show solidarity – to help workers made 
redundant by  globalisation to  find  a  new  job  quickly. Following the adoption  of Regulation 
(EC) No. 1927/2006 by the European Parliament and Council on 20 December 2006, the EGF 
became operational from 1 January 2007. 

This Communication reviews the EGF after one year in operation and makes suggestions as to 
immediate and longer term ways to improve its performance. 

Helping workers to adjust to change 

The EGF received ten applications in 2007 targeting 11,339 workers. Four applications were 
approved by the Commission before the end of 2007, following mobilisation of the necessary 
funds  by  the  EU  Budgetary  Authority;  five  remained  under  consideration,  and  one  was 
withdrawn (to be re-submitted at the beginning of 2008 after some technical modifications). 
The  EGF  granted  assistance  amounting  to  €  18.6  million  or  3.7%  of  the  maximum  amount 
allowed  under  the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  on  budgetary  discipline  and  sound  financial 
management3. The funds were used for active labour market measures for the 5,113 workers 
concerned.  The  details  for  the  year  2007  of  the  applications  and  decisions  made,  and  the 
actions funded, can be found in the annex to this report. 

The maximum annual amount of € 500 million per year  is not an expenditure target. Rather, it 
is entered in the budget reserve and provides for the possibility of adequate funding, should 
there be a high incidence of restructuring in any given year. The commitment appropriations 
necessary  for  each  intervention  are  mobilised  by  means  of  transfer  to  the  EGF  budget  line, 
following agreement of the Budgetary Authority upon proposal from the Commission. 

That being said, take-up is limited. There are various reasons for this. It is partly due to the 
favourable economic climate in 2007. It is natural that the Member States did not apply for 
support  in  a  period  when  labour  markets  were  working  well.  But  the  limited  take-up  could 
also  reflect  Member  State  uncertainty  about  eligibility  for  funding.  Although  the  EGF  can 

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Report  submitted  under  Article  16  of  Regulation  (EC)  No.  1927/2006  (OJ  L  406,  30.12.2006,  p.  1, 
Regulation as corrected in OJ L 48, 22.02.2008, p. 82) 
COM(2008) 412 of 02.07.2008 
Interinstitutional  Agreement  between  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission  on 
budgetary  discipline  and  sound  financial  management  (2006/C  139/01).  OJ  C139,  14.6.2006,  p.1; 
Agreement as amended by the Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 
2007  amending  the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  of  17  May  2006  on  budgetary  discipline  and  sound 
financial management as regards the multiannual financial framework (2008/29/EC). OJ L6, 10.1.2008, 
p. 4. 

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intervene  immediately  once  workers  are  made  redundant,  the  Member  States  have  been 
hesitant to apply for EGF funding right from the first day of the redundancy crises because of 
uncertainty over whether or not their application would be approved.  

Hence, there is room for improvement in EGF performance. 

Improving the current operation of the EGF 

Immediate steps can be taken to improve the operation of the EGF:  

–  Simplify procedures: The Commission will simplify its procedures to respond quickly and 
clearly  to  Member  States  on  the  eligibility  of  their  applications4.  It  will  also  disseminate 
detailed  information  on  the  previous  cases,  successful  or  unsuccessful,  in  order  to  help 
Member States assess the criteria used by the EU Institutions in coming to their decisions. 
The  Commission  will  examine  ways  to  accelerate  the  processing  of  applications, 
streamlining its internal procedures while maintaining a high quality of analysis. 

–  Promoting  exchange  of  experience  and  good  practice,  including  the  methodologies 
extensively  tested  through  the  ESF,  and  in  particular  the  EQUAL  Community  Initiative. 
This can reduce delays arising in the Member States while they devise adequate measures 
for  a  large-scale  redundancy  crisis.  A  commendable  example  is  the  approach  used  by 
Portugal, where a Ministerial Decision adopted a set of measures which can be drawn on at 
short notice in typical EGF cases. 

–  Intensify awareness-raising activities in order to achieve greater visibility of the Fund. 

Looking to the future - adjusting the EGF Regulation 

In the light of experience, with a view to reinforcing the impact of the EGF on the creation of 
jobs, training and opportunities for Europe's workers, the Commission is actively examining 
ways  in  which  the  Fund  could  be  modified,  within  the  present  budgetary  limits,  so  as  to 
improve its performance.  

The  EGF  Regulation  (in  its  Article  20)  indeed  provides  that  the  Commission  may  submit  a 
proposal, on the basis of the first annual report, for the European Parliament and the Council 
to review the Regulation. 

Covering redundancies not directly attributable to changes in trade patterns: 

The EGF focuses on redundancies caused by major structural changes in global trade patterns. 
Globalisation may also work through other types of structural change. Such changes include 
major  progress  in  production  and  product  technology;  changes  in  the  organisation  of 
production (such as company outsourcing); and the access to, and price of, raw materials and 
other inputs. This is particularly illustrated by recent increases in oil prices and their impact 
on sectors where fuel inputs represent a high cost factor. Such major and abrupt changes may 
lead to redundancies which cannot  be  covered by the existing Regulation. The Commission 

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Including: the definition of a redundancy (Article 1 of the EGF Regulation); the interpretation to give to 
criteria  such  as  'a  substantial  increase'  or  'a  rapid  decline'  (Article  2);  the  definition  of  small  labour 
markets  and  exceptional  circumstances  (Article  2);  the  precise  meaning  of  the  'use'  of  a  financial 
contribution (Article 13.2). 

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will examine these drivers of globalisation to see if they could be considered triggers for EGF 
support. 

Expanding the scope of the EGF to smaller redundancy events: 

The general requirement of at least 1,000 redundancies could be reduced in order to give more 
flexibility to Member States to present applications, including for SMEs and isolated labour 
markets5.  The  Commission  is  analysing  the  implications  of  reducing  this  threshold  on 
numbers  of  eligible  persons  and  the  budget.  A  possible  alternative  to  reducing  the  existing 
threshold  could  be  to  include  not  just  the  redundancies  in  the  suppliers  or  downstream 
producers of the main company in question but also other redundancies in other companies in 
the concerned geographical area. 

Expanding the duration of EGF assistance: 

As not all workers who lose jobs find employment during the period of EGF support, there is 
a  need  for  longer  term  support.  Consideration  could  be  given  to  extending  the  maximum 
period for the use of EGF funding beyond the 12 months specified in the current regulation. 
Other  possibilities  such  as  using  the  EGF  to  foster  mobility  of  workers  between  Member 
States  are  also  being  examined.  Consideration  might  also  be  given  to  devoting  a  limited 
amount of funds to analysis and anticipation of the changes due to globalisation. 

Conclusion 

The Commission invites the European Parliament and the Council to take note of the positive 
impact  of  the  EGF  in  its  first  year  of  operation.  The  Commission  will  simplify  procedures, 
promote  exchange  of  good  practice  and  intensify  awareness-raising  about  the  EGF.  It  will 
assess the feasibility of modifying the Regulation and will make appropriate proposals in this 
regard before issuing the next annual report.  

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The  report  "l’Europe  dans  la  mondialisation"  presented  to  the  French  Ministers  for  the  Economy, 
Industry and Employment, and for Work, Social Relations, Family and Solidarity, and published on 15 
April 2008, alluded to such a possibility. 

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ANNEX 

1. 

Applications received in 2007 

Table 1: Applications received in 2007 

Date 
application 

of 

Member 
State 

Firm, sector or 
region affected 

1 

9/3/2007 

France 

23/3/2007 

France 

Suppliers to 
Peugeot-
Citroën 

Suppliers to 
Renault 

27/6/2007 

Germany  BenQ 

18/7/2007 

Finland 

Perlos 

9/8/2007 

Italy 

10/8/2007 

Italy 

17/8/2007 

Italy 

Textile sector 
in Sardinia 

Textile sector 
in Piedmont 

Textile sector 
in Lombardy 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

Number 
of 
workers 
affected 

Workers 
targeted 
for 
assistance 

EGF 
support 
requested 

(Euro) 

Intervention 
criterion 
(Art.  2  of  R. 
1927/2006) 

1,345

267

2,558,250  Art. 2 (a) 

1,057

628

1,258,030  Art. 2 (a) 

3,303

915

1,044

3,303

12,766,150  Art. 2 (a) 

915

2,028,538  Art. 2 (c) 

1,044

12,038,700  Art. 2 (b) 

1,537

1,537

9,286,850  Art. 2 (b) 

1,848

1,848

14,660,750  Art. 2 (b) 

12/9/2007  Malta 

Textile sector 

675

675

681,207  Art. 2 (c) 

8/10/2007 

Spain 

Delphi 

(withdrawn) 

10 

9/10/2007 

Portugal  Automobile 

1,549

1,122

2,425,675  Art. 2 (b) 

sector in 
Lisboa-
Alentejo 

Total 

13,273

11,339

57,704,150 

Of the 10 applications for assistance received by the EGF in 2007, four were approved before 
the  end  of  the  year,  five  remained  under  consideration,  and  one  was  withdrawn  (to  be  re-
submitted at the beginning of 2008 after some technical modifications).  

No  applications  were  refused  in  2007,  either  on  grounds  of  ineligibility  or  due  to  a  lack  of 
sufficient appropriations. 

Details of all applications are available on the Commission's EGF web site, at: 

http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/egf/applications07_en.html 

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EGF Applications in 2007 per Member State: 

Seven Member States applied for a contribution from the EGF, including Italy in respect of 
the textile sector in three separate regions, and France in respect of two separate redundancy 
events. The application from Spain was withdrawn and subsequently re-submitted in 2008. 

EGF Applications in 2007 by the amount of contribution requested: 

The  amount  of  assistance  requested  is  at  the  discretion  of  the  applicant  Member  State,  and 
depends inter alia upon the severity of the redundancy event to which the application refers. 
There is no recommended or maximum amount. The requested amounts range from € 681,207 
in  the  Maltese  application  (EGF/2007/008)  to  €  14,660,750  in  the  Ital ian  application  in 
respect of the textile sector in Lombardy (EGF/2007/007). 

EGF Applications in 2007 by the number of workers targeted for assistance: 

Although  the  EGF  is  designed  primarily  to  assist  in  cases  of  large-scale  redundancies, 
Member States may also make applications in respect of small labour markets or exceptional 
circumstances. Furthermore, a Member State may choose to focus the assistance on only some 
of  the  redundant  workers,  if  it  feels  that  these  face  exceptional  difficulties  in  remaining  in 
employment.  While  most  applications  (5  out  of  9)  target  over  1,000  workers,  two  others 
concerning  'small  labour  markets'  target  a  smaller  number,  and  in  the  case  of  the  two 
contributions  granted  to  France  (EGF/2007/001  and  EGF/2007/002),  the  Member  State 
specifically  aimed  the  assistance  at  a  sub-set  of  the  workers  affected,  whose  employer  had 
gone bankrupt. 

EGF Applications in 2007 by the amount of contribution requested per worker (Euro): 

The package of individualised services that the applicant Member States propose to offer is at 
their discretion. The amount requested per worker affected can therefore vary according to the 
severity  of  the  redundancy  event,  the  labour  market  situation  in  the  region  affected,  the 
individual  circumstances  of  the  workers  affected,  or  even  the  general  cost  structures  in  the 
Member State or region concerned. In practice, the amounts proposed per worker have varied 
greatly, from just over € 1,000 in the case of  Malta (EGF/2007/008) up to over € 11,000 in the 
case of the Italian application in respect of the textile sector in Sardinia. In general terms, the 
assistance proposed per worker tends to be higher in regions, or sectors, in which the workers 
face particular labour market problems, or in which the costs are higher than the EU average. 

EGF Applications in 2007 by intervention criteria: 

The EGF permits applications that respect one of the three criteria in Article 2 of Regulation 
(EC) No. 1927/2006. An application may be made if major structural changes in world trade 
patterns lead to a serious economic disruption, notably a substantial increase of imports into 
the EU, or a rapid decline of the EU market share in a given sector or a delocalisation to third 
countries, resulting in: 

(a) 

(b) 

at least 1,000 redundancies over a period of 4 months in an enterprise in a Member 
State, including workers made redundant in its suppliers or downstream producers, or  

at  least  1,000  redundancies,  over  a  period  of  9  months,  particularly  in  small  or 
medium-sized  enterprises,  in  a  NACE  2  sector  in  one  region  or  two  contiguous 
regions at NUTS II level. 

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Three of the applications received in 2007 cited the criteria of Article 2(a). Four more cited 
the criteria of Article 2(b). 

In addition, taking into account the small size of some EU labour markets, or other undefined 
exceptional circumstances, an EGF contribution may be made; 

(c) 

in  small  labour  markets  or  in  exceptional  circumstances,  duly  substantiated  by  the 
Member State(s) concerned, even if the conditions set out in (a) and (b) above are not 
entirely met, when redundancies have a serious impact on employment and the local 
economy.  

Two of the applications received in 2007 cited the criteria of Article 2(c).  

2. 

Contributions granted in 2007 

Following mobilisation of the necessary funds by the Budgetary Authority, the Commission 
took decisions to award financial contributions from the Fund in the following four cases: 

Table 2: Contributions granted by the Commission in 2007 

EGF number 

Member 
State 

Case 

Amount 
granted 

(Euro) 

Decision  of 
Budgetary 
Authority 

the 

Financing 
Decision  of 
Commission 

the 

EGF/2007/001 

France 

Suppliers 
to PSA 

2,558,250 2007/726/EC  

C (2007) 6150  

23/10/2007  
of 
294, 
L 
(OJ 
13/11/2007, p.21) 

of 4/12/2007 

EGF/2007/002 

France 

Suppliers 
to Renault 

1,258,030 2007/726/EC  

C (2007) 6149  

of 23/10/2007  

of 4/12/2007 

EGF/2007/003 

Germany  BenQ 

12,766,150 2008/30/EC  

C (2007) 6747  

(OJ 
L 
13/11/2007, p.21) 

294, 

18/12/2007  
6, 

of 
(OJ 
10/01/2008, p. 9) 

L 

of 18/12/2007 

EGF/2007/004 

Finland 

Perlos 

2,028,538 2008/30/EC  

C (2007) 6742  

of 18/12/2007  

of 18/12/2007 

(OJ 
10/01/2008, p. 9) 

L 

6, 

Total 

18,610,968  

The Budgetary Authority did not reject any proposal put to it by the Commission for funding 
from the EGF, and did not modify in any way the proposals as submitted by the Commission. 

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3. 

Actions funded 

The  EGF  Regulation  limits  the  Fund  to  financing  Active  Labour  Market  Policy  (ALMP) 
measures  that  form  part  of  a  coordinated  package  of  personalised  services  designed  to 
reintegrate  redundant  workers  into  the  labour  market.  In  addition,  the  EGF  may  finance 
Technical Assistance activities carried out by the Member State to facilitate the preparation, 
management, information and publicity, and control of the contribution. 

The breakdown of the estimated costs of the proposed actions in the four EGF interventions 
granted in 2007, along with their supporting Technical Assistance activities, is as below. 

Table 3: Expenditure of specific Active Labour Market Policy measures 

Eurostat Classification of Labour Market Policy (LMP) Interventions 

EGF  Amount 
(Euro) 

% of total 

LMP services 

1 

Job-search assistance 

1.1.2 

Individual case-management services 

306,623 

1.6%

LMP measures 

2 

Labour market (re-)training 

2.1 

Institutional training 

2,715,632 

14.6%

  Training allowances/Job search allowances 

13,476,688 

72.4%

4 

4.1 

4.2 

7 

Employment incentives 

Recruitment incentives 

Employment maintenance incentives 

Start-up incentives 

Technical Assistance (Article 3 of R. 1927/206) 

Total 

821,050 

325,000 

326,475 

639,500 

4.4%

1.7%

1.8%

3.4%

18,610,968 

100%

Measures  not  shown  above  were  not  proposed  by  the  Member  States  in  the  four  EGF 
interventions granted in 2007. 

4. 

Profile of the workers benefiting from EGF assistance 

A  total  of  5,113  workers  have  benefited  from  assistance  from  the  EGF  in  the  four 
contributions  granted  in  2007.  These  workers  are  spread  across  a  number  of  regions  of 
France, Germany and Finland. 

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Table 4: Profile of the workers benefiting from EGF assistance in 2007 

  EGF/2007/001 EGF/2007/002 EGF/2007/003  EGF/2007/004 Total 

  PSA (France)  RSA (France) 

BenQ 
(Germany) 

Perlos 
(Finland) 

Total  workers  targeted  for 
assistance 

of which: women 

% 

of which: non-EU citizens 

of which, aged: 

15-24 

25-54 

55-64 

65+ 

of  which,  with  a 
long-
standing  health  problem  or 
disability 

267 

628 

3,303 

915 

5,113

41 

15% 

0 

2 

236 

29 

0 

4 

155 

25% 

5 

15 

553 

60 

0 

49 

797 

24% 

91 

34 

3,149 

121 

0 

n/a 

302 

1,295

33% 

25% 

0 

96 

91 

787 

37 

0 

50 

142 

4,725

247 

0 

103 

5. 

Complementarity with actions funded by the Structural Funds, notably the ESF 

The EGF funds only Active Labour Market Measures and, like the ESF, cannot contribute to 
passive  social  protection  measures.  However,  while  the  Structural  Funds  consist  of  multi-
annual  programmes  in  support  of  strategic,  long-term  goals  –  notably  anticipation  and 
management of change and restructuring, with activities such as life-long-learning – the EGF 
is a response to a specific, large-scale crisis. Thus, while its actions are similar to those of the 
ESF, it provides one-off, time-limited individual support, geared directly to helping workers 
who have suffered trade-related redundancies. Member States can start to implement actions 
under the EGF immediately upon learning of a major redundancy event, and therefore do not 
have to change an existing Structural Fund programme in order to do so. 

Member  States  are  encouraged,  however,  to  use  the  period  of  implementation  of  the  EGF 
contribution (12 months from the date of application) to assess the longer-term needs caused 
by the redundancy event, and to modify any ESF programmes necessary. 

All  applicants  are  required,  as  part  of  the  application  process  for  the  EGF,  to  describe  how 
they intend to promote the complementarity of the EGF actions with those of the Structural 
Funds. 

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6. 

Results achieved 

2007 was the first year of implementation of the EGF. The principal source of information on 
results achieved by the EGF will be the final report to be presented by the Member State after 
the end of the period specified for the use of the contribution, which is twelve months from 
the date of application. This final report must be submitted by the Member States no later than 
six months after the end of the period of use of the contribution. None of the Final Reports in 
respect of contributions granted in 2007 were due during 2007, and thus the Commission has 
as yet no detailed information on the results obtained.  

Table 5: The reporting timetable for the contributions granted in 2007 

Date 
application 

of 

Member State 

Contribution 
granted 

End of 12 month 
period  for  use  of 
the contribution 

Deadline  for 
Final Report 

1 

2 

3 

4 

9/3/2007 

France 

23/10/2007 

8/3/2008 

8/9/2008 

23/3/2007 

France 

23/10/2007 

22/3/2008 

22/9/2008 

27/6/2007 

Germany 

18/12/2007 

26/6/2008 

26/12/2008 

18/7/2007 

Finland 

18/12/2007 

17/7/2008 

17/1/2009 

The Commission will wind up the financial contribution no later than six months after it has 
received all of the information required in the Final Report. 

7. 

Technical Assistance activities undertaken by the European Commission 

Information and publicity 

Regulation (EC) No. 1927/2006 (Article 9) places a responsibility on the Commission to: 

"set up an Internet site, available in all Community languages, to provide information on the 
EGF, guidance on the submission of applications, as well as updated information on accepted 
and refused applications, highlighting the role of the budgetary authority." 

Internet site 

The  internet  site  (http://ec.europa.eu/egf)  has  been  operational  since  March  2007,  and 
contains  sections  on  basic  questions  and  answers  about  the  EGF,  news,  key  documents, 
applications,  a  library  of  relevant  reports  and  links,  and  details  of  the  EGF  responsible 
authorities in the Member States. The website was updated and improved on a regular basis, 
with documents in different languages being added as they became available.  

EGF video 

In  2007  the  Commission  released  a  video  on  the  EGF  for  the  use  of  the  media,  and  other 
interested  parties.  The  nine  minute  video  includes  coverage  of  the  French  and  Finnish  EGF 
activities, and can be viewed at: 

http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/video/video_prod_en.cfm?type=detail&prodid=4097 

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Leaflet 

In  2007  the  Commission  published  an  information  leaflet  on  the  EGF  in  22  languages  (all 
official languages apart from Irish). This leaflet is available in limited quantities on paper, but 
is also freely available on the Commission's EGF internet site, at: 

http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/egf/docs/egf_leaflet_en.pdf  
(for other languages the 'en' can be replaced with the relevant two-letter code). 

Audit and control activities 

There were no specifically EGF audit or control activities carried out by the Commission in 
2007. 

Evaluation 
The EGF Regulation does not provide for an evaluation of the EGF until 31 December 2011. 
The Commission has already taken steps to ensure that appropriate information is gathered by 
the Member States from the start of the EGF. 

Meetings with the National Authorities 

At the start of 2007 the Commission established a network of contact points in the Member 
States, in order to assist the Member States to prepare for potential applications as well as the 
implementation  of  the  Fund.  The  network  is  registered  formally  as  the  'Expert  group  on 
Contact  Persons  of  the  European  Globalisation  Adjustment  Fund',  or  in  short,  the  'EGF 
Contact Persons' (code E02100). 

The Commission regularly updates the members of the group on the Fund, and invites them to 
meetings  for  exchanges  of  experience  and  information.  The  members  of  the  group  are 
officials  within  the  ministries  in  the  Member  States  that  either  have,  or  are  likely  to  have, 
responsibility for applying for or implementing a contribution from the EGF. 

Two meetings of the group were held in Brussels during 2007, on 1 March and 9 October. 

8. 

Financial report 

Funds contributed 

Under the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006, the EGF may not exceed a maximum 
annual  amount  of  EUR  500  million  (2006  prices)  which  can  be  drawn  from  any  margin 
existing  under  the  global  expenditure  ceiling  of  the  previous  year,  and/or  from  cancelled 
commitment appropriations from the previous two years, excluding those related to heading 
1B  of  the  financial  framework.  In  addition,  under  Article  12.6  of  Regulation  (EC)  No. 
1927/2006, at least one quarter of the annual maximum amount must remain available on 1 
September of each year in order to cover needs arising until the end of the year. 

During 2007 four EGF contributions were granted by the Budgetary Authority (see Table 2). 

The  funds  granted  by  the  Budgetary  Authority  represent  3.72%  of  the  maximum  annual 
amount.  No  contributions  were  granted  before  1  September  2007,  and  therefore  the  entire 
amount remained available in order to cover needs arising until the end of the year. 

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Reimbursements 

There were no reimbursements made during 2007. 

Technical assistance expenditure 

There was no expenditure during 2007 under the Technical Assistance provisions of Article 8 
of Regulation (EC) No. 1927/2006, as the relevant budget line had not yet been created. 

Irregularities reported during 2007 

There were no irregularities reported to the Commission under Commission Regulation (EC) 
No 1681/946 during 2007 in respect of the EGF. 

Irregularities closed during 2007 

As 2007 was the first year of operation of the EGF, there were no irregularities from previous 
years to be closed. 

9.  Winding up of financial contributions made 

None  of  the  contributions  granted  since  the  start  of  the  EGF  were  wound  up  in  2007.  The 
Regulation  governing  the  EGF  provides  for  a  period  of  twelve  months  from  the  date  of 
application  for  the  Member  State  to  use  the  contribution,  followed  by  a  maximum  of  six 
months in which it must present a report on the execution of the financial contribution. Only 
after  receiving  that  report  may  the  Commission  proceed  to  wind  up  the  contribution. 
Expenditure on the first contribution granted by the Budgetary Authority, which relates to the 
application  EGF/2007/001  made  on  9  March  2007  by  France,  was  eligible  until  8  March 
2008, and France then has until 8 September 2008 to present its final report. 

6 

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1681/94 of 11 July 1994 concerning irregularities and the recovery of 
sums wrongly paid in connection with the financing of the structural policies and the organization of an 
information system in this field OJ L 178, 12/07/1994 p. 43 

EN 

12 

   EN