Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the activities of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund in 2008
Date: 2009-07-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, dismissal, economic recession, employment policy, fund (EU), globalisation, mobile phone, motor vehicle industry, operation of the Institutions, reintegration into working life

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 28.7.2009 
COM(2009) 394 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE  
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 

on the activities of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund in 2008 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The  European  Globalisation  Adjustment  Fund  ("EGF")  was  established  by  Regulation  (EC) 
No.  1927/20061  ("the  EGF  Regulation"2)  with  the  aim  of  showing  solidarity  with,  and 
providing support to, workers made redundant as a consequence of major structural changes 
in world trade patterns. It was designed as a means to reconcile the overall long-term benefits 
of open trade in terms of growth and employment with the short-term adverse effects which 
globalisation  may  have,  particularly  on  the  employment  of  the  most  vulnerable  and  least 
qualified workers. 

Article  16  of  the  EGF  Regulation  states  that  the  Commission  shall  present  to  the  European 
Parliament and to the Council, before 1 July of each year, a quantitative and qualitative report 
on the activities of the EGF in the previous year. The report shall focus mainly on the results 
achieved  by  the  EGF  and  shall  in  particular  contain  information  relating  to  applications 
submitted,  decisions  adopted,  and  actions  funded,  including  their  complementarity  with 
actions  funded  by  the  Structural  Funds,  notably  the  European  Social  Fund  (ESF),  and  the 
winding-up  of  financial  contributions  made.  It  shall  also  document  those  requests  that  have 
been refused owing to a lack of sufficient appropriations or to non-eligibility. 

2. 

GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE EGF IN 2008 

In 2008, the Commission received five applications for a contribution from the EGF. These 
applications, submitted by three Member States, related to 6 587 redundancies and requested a 
total  amount  of  EUR  20 626 022.  After  an  in-depth  analysis  of  their  eligibility,  the 
Commission  had  submitted  three  of  these  applications  to  the  Budgetary  Authority  by  31 
December 2008, while the two others were still being assessed. 

A  total  of  EUR  49 035 729  (i.e.  9.8 %  of  the  annual  amount  available  to  the  EGF)  was 
granted in 2008 in eight EGF contributions, five of which were for applications received in 
2007 and three for applications received in 2008. These funds were used to co-finance active 
labour  market  policy  measures  (mostly  job-search  allowances,  training  and  employment 
incentives) targeted at 9 941 redundant workers in five Member States. 

For  the  first  time  in  2008,  the  Commission  received  reports  on  the  implementation  of  EGF 
contributions.  These  reports  showed  that  the  EGF  had  directly  contributed  to  the  re-
integration  into  employment  of  2 158  workers  who  had  been  made  redundant  in  the 
automotive  industry  and  the  mobile  phone  sector.  The  final  reports  also  suggested  that  the 
EGF contributions allowed the Member States concerned to improve the package of measures 
benefiting  to  the  redundant  workers,  in  particular  through  the  implementation  of  innovative 
social  actions  and  an  extended  duration  of  support,  which  would  not  have  been  available 
without the EGF contribution. 

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OJ  L406,  30.12.2006,  p.1.  Technical  errors  in  the  EGF  Regulation  were  corrected  in  2008  and 
published in OJ L48, 22.02.2008, p.82, for all languages and also in OJ L202, 31.7.2008, p.74, for the 
English language only. 
The "EGF Regulation" refers to the Regulation that was in force on 31 December 2008, notwithstanding 
amendments to this Regulation that were adopted since then. 

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3. 

FOLLOW-UP OF THE 2007 ANNUAL REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE EGF 

Article 20 of the EGF Regulation provides for the possibility to review this Regulation on the 
basis  of  the  first  annual  report  on  the  activities  of  the  EGF  in  order  to  "ensure  that  the 
solidarity objective of the EGF is met". The Commission therefore indicated in its first annual 
report on the EGF, adopted as an integral part of its Renewed Social Agenda3 on 2 July 20084, 
that it would examine ways of improving its impact and simplifying its procedures. 

The report outlined a number of issues which would be examined with a view to proposing 
changes  to  the  EGF  Regulation  before  issuing  its  next  annual  report.  The  Commission 
suggested  several  reasons  why  it  had  received  only  few  applications  for  contributions  from 
the EGF during its first year of operations. These included uncertainty about the eligibility for 
funding,  the  high  threshold  number  of  redundancies  to  trigger  an  EGF  contribution  and  the 
short  period  for  implementing  measures  funded  by  the  EGF.  The  Commission  therefore 
undertook  a  deeper  analysis  of  the  expectations  and  needs  of  the  main  EGF  stakeholders 
(representatives  of  the  Member  States,  and  of  social  partner  organisations  at  national  and 
European levels) by way of a questionnaire and a conference held in Brussels on 4 September 
2008. It emerged from the consultation that most stakeholders favoured a renewed EGF which 
could intervene in a broader scope of events, which could provide support for workers in mass 
redundancies involving fewer than 1 000 workers, and which could be used during a longer 
implementation  period.  Most  Member  States  also  raised  the  issues  of  the  co-financing  rate 
(i.e.  50 %),  which  was  considered  insufficient  for  those  Member  States  already  struggling 
with the deteriorating economic climate. 

In its European Economic Recovery Plan5, published on 26 November 2008, the Commission 
once again stated that it would revise the rules of the EGF so that the European Union could 
help the workers hit by the crisis and address their long-term job prospects. On 16 December 
2008, with a view to mitigating the social impact of the economic crisis, it adopted a proposal 
for  a  Regulation  amending  the  EGF  Regulation6  which  contained  the  following  major 
provisions: 

•  a reduction of the application threshold from 1 000 redundant workers to 500; 

•  an extension of the implementation period from 12 to 24 months; 
•  an increase in the co-financing rate from 50 to 75 %7; 

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Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  on  Renewed  social  agenda: 
Opportunities, access and solidarity in 21st century Europe, COM(2008) 412 final of 2.7.2008. 
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Solidarity in the 
face of change: The European Globalisation Fund: 2007 Review and Prospects, COM(2008) 421 final 
of 2.7.2008. 
Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Council  on  A  European  Economic  Recovery 
Plan, COM(2008) 800 final of 26.11.2008. 
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 
1927/2006  on  establishing  the  European  Globalisation  Adjustment  Fund,  COM(2008)  867  of 
16.12.2008. 
The amending Regulation as adopted by the European Parliament and the Council in 2009 provides for 
a temporary increase in the co-financing rate from 50 to 65 % until the end of the 'crisis' derogation, set 
on 31 December 2011. 

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•  a temporary derogation by way of which workers made redundant as a result of the global 
financial  and  economic  crisis  would  be  eligible  for  assistance,  provided  the  applications 
based upon that criterion were presented before the end of 2010. 

4. 

ANALYSIS OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE EGF IN 2008 

4.1. 

Applications received in 2008 

The  Commission  received  five  applications  for  a  contribution  from  the  EGF  in  2008, 
including  one  application  which  had  been  withdrawn  in  2007  and  was  re-submitted  at  the 
beginning of 2008. Three of these applications were approved by the Budgetary Authority in 
2008, while the two remaining ones were still being assessed by the Commission services at 
the end of the year. 

Table 1 – Applications received in 2008 

Application 
(Reference) 

Date of 
application 

Intervention 
criterion 

EGF 
support 
requested 
(Euro) 

Workers 
made 
redundant 

Workers 
targeted for 
assistance 

Toscana (IT) 
(EGF/2008/01) 
DELPHI (ES) 
(EGF/2008/02) 
Alytaus Tekstilė (LT) 
(EGF/2008/03) 
Castilla  y  León  and 
Aragón (ES) 
(EGF/2008/04)8 
Cataluña (ES) 
(EGF/2008/05) 
Total 

12.2.2008 

6.2.2008 

8.5.2008 

29.12.2008 

29.12.2008 

b 

a 

a 

b 

b 

3 854 200 

1 558 

10 471 778 

1 589 

298 994 

1 089 

2 694 300 

1 082 

3 306 750 

20 626 022 

1 269 

6 587 

1 558 

1 589 

600 

588 

1 100 

5 435 

No  applications  were  refused  in  2008,  either  on  grounds  of  ineligibility  or  due  to  a  lack  of 
sufficient appropriations. 

4.1.1.  Applications received in 2008 per Member State 

Three Member States applied for assistance from the EGF in 2008: Spain (three applications), 
Italy (one application) and Lithuania (one application). 

4.1.2.  Applications received in 2008 by the amount of contribution requested 

The Member State applying for EGF support must design a coordinated package of measures 
that best fits the targeted workers' profile and decide the amount of assistance it requests from 
the EGF. The EGF Regulation does not recommend nor limit the total amount requested, but 
the assessment of an application by the Commission services may raise questions which cause 
the applicant Member State to revise the proposed package of personalised services, thereby 
affecting the amount requested. 

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As revised on 23 February 2009. 

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The  EGF  contributions  requested  in  2008  ranged  from  EUR  298 994  in  the  Lithuanian 
application  (EGF/2008/03)  to  EUR  10 471 778  in  the  Spanish  application  in  respect  of  the 
DELPHI case (EGF/2008/02). 

4.1.3.  Applications received in 2008 by the number of workers targeted for assistance 

The number of redundant workers directly targeted for measures funded by the EGF in 2008 
amounted to 5 435. It ranged from 588 workers in the application prepared by Spain in respect 
of former workers of the automotive industry in Castilla y León and Aragón (EGF/2008/04) 
up to 1 589 workers in the Spanish application related to DELPHI (EGF/2008/02). Three of 
the  five  applications  submitted  in  2008  targeted  over  1 000  redundant  workers  while  two 
contributions aimed a perceptibly smaller number (600 workers for EGF/2008/03 and 588 in 
EGF/2008/04). 

The difference in the number of workers targeted for EGF support can in some cases result 
from the choice of the applicant Member State to provide support to all the dismissed workers 
or  to  focus  the  assistance  on  only  some  of  them,  in  particular  those  who  face  exceptional 
difficulties in remaining in the labour market. 

4.1.4.  Applications received in 2008 by the amount of contribution requested per worker 

The  package  of  individualised  services  that  the  applicant  Member  States  propose  for  the 
redundant workers concerned is at their discretion, within the terms of the EGF Regulation. 
The amount requested per worker affected can therefore vary according to the severity of the 
redundancy event, the situation of the labour market affected, the individual circumstances of 
the workers targeted, the measures already provided by the Member State… 

In practice, the amounts proposed per worker in 2008 varied from just below EUR 500 in the 
case  of  Lithuania  (EGF/2008/04)  to  over  EUR  6 500  in  the  case  of  the  Spanish  application 
related to the DELPHI case (EGF/2008/02). 

4.1.5.  Applications received in 2008 by intervention criteria 

Two of the applications submitted in 2008 were made on the basis of Article 2(a) of the EGF 
Regulation  which  refers  to  redundancies  in  an  enterprise  and  its  suppliers  and  downstream 
producers.  The  three  other  applications  of  2008  were  based  on  Article  2(b)  which  targets 
redundancies in a same NACE 2 division in one region or two contiguous regions at NUTS II 
level. 

4.2. 

Contributions granted in 2008 

The Budgetary Authority took eight Decisions granting funding from the EGF in 2008: five 
were related to applications submitted in 2007 which had not yet been approved by the end of 
that year, while the three other Decisions were based on applications received and assessed in 
2008. 

The Budgetary Authority did not reject any proposal put to it by the Commission for funding 
from the EGF, nor did it modify the proposals. 

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Table 2 – Contributions granted in 2008 in terms of financing decisions 

Application 
(Reference) 

Date of 
application 

Intervention 
criterion 

9.8.2007 

12.9.2007 

17.8.2007 

10.8.2007 

Sardegna (IT) 
(EGF/2007/05) 
Piemonte (IT) 
(EGF/2007/06) 
Lombardia (IT) 
(EGF/2007/07) 
Textiles (MT) 
(EGF/2007/08) 
Lisboa-Alentejo (PT) 
(EGF/2007/10) 
Sub-total for applications received in 2007 
Toscana (IT) 
(EGF/2008/01) 
DELPHI (ES) 
(EGF/2008/02) 
Alytaus Tekstilė (LT) 
(EGF/2008/03) 
Sub-total for applications received in 2008 
Total 

9.10.2007 

12.2.2008 

6.2.2008 

8.5.2008 

b 

b 

b 

c 

b 

b 

a 

a 

Decision of 
the 
Budgetary 
Authority 
(Date) 
2008/916/EC 
(19.11.2008) 
2008/916/EC 
(19.11.2008) 
2008/916/EC 
(19.11.2008) 
2008/370/EC 
(10.4.2008) 
2008/370/EC 
(10.4.2008) 

2008/916/EC 
(19.11.2008) 
2008/818/EC 
(22.10.2008) 
2008/818/EC 
(22.10.2008) 

Financing 
Decision of 
the 
Commission 
(Date) 
C (2008) 8074 
(8.12.2008) 
C (2008) 8070 
(8.12.2008) 
C (2008) 8071 
(8.12.2008) 
C (2008) 2176 
(22.5.2008) 
C (2008) 7278 
(21.11.2008) 

C (2008) 8073 
(8.12.2008) 
C (2008) 7292 
(24.11.2008) 
C (2008) 7278 
(21.11.2008) 

EGF 
Support 
granted 
(Euro) 

10 971 000 

7 798 750 

12 534 125 

681 207 

2 425 675 

34 410 757 

3 854 200 

10 471 778 

298 994 

14 624 972 
49 035 729 

Table 3 – Contributions granted in 2008 in terms of workers helped 

Application 
(Reference) 

Sector affected 

Textiles 

Textiles 

Textiles 

Textiles 

Sardegna (IT) 
(EGF/2007/05) 
Piemonte (IT) 
(EGF/2007/06) 
Lombardia (IT) 
(EGF/2007/07) 
Textiles (MT) 
(EGF/2007/08) 
Lisboa-Alentejo (PT) 
(EGF/2007/10) 
Sub-total for applications received in 2007 
Toscana (IT) 
(EGF/2008/01) 
DELPHI (ES) 
(EGF/2008/02) 
Alytaus Tekstilė (LT) 
(EGF/2008/03) 
Sub-total for applications received in 2008 
Total 

Automotive 

Automotive 

Textiles 

Textiles 

Workers 
made 
redundant 

Workers 
targeted 
for 
assistance 

EGF 
Support 
granted 
(Euro) 

Average 
amount per 
targeted 
worker 
(Euro) 

1 044 

1 044 

10 971 000 

10 509 

1 537 

1 537 

7 798 750 

5 074 

1 816 

1 816 

12 534 125 

6 902 

675 

675 

681 207 

1 009 

1 549 

6 621 

1 558 

1 122 

6 194 

1 558 

2 425 675 

34 410 757 

3 854 200 

2 162 

5 555 

2 474 

1 589 

1 589 

10 471 778 

6 590 

1 089 

4 236 
10 857 

600 

3 747 
9 941 

298 994 

14 624 972 
49 035 729 

498 

3 903 
4 933 

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4.2.1.  Actions funded 

Article  3  of  Regulation  1927/2006  provides  that  the  EGF  can  co-finance  only  active  labour 
market  measures  aiming  at  the  re-integration of the redundant workers  into employment. In 
addition, it sets out that the EGF may finance Technical Assistance activities carried out by 
the  Member  State  to  facilitate  the  preparation,  management,  information,  publicity  and 
control of the use of the contribution.  

The breakdown of the estimated costs of the proposed actions in the eight EGF contributions 
granted  in  2008,  along  with  their  supporting  Technical  Assistance  activities,  is  given  in  the 
table below. 

Table 4 – Actions funded in 2008 on the basis of the EUROSTAT classification9 

EUROSTAT  Classification  of  Labour  Market  Policy  (LMP) 
Interventions 
LMP services 
1 

Client  services  (job-search  assistance,  career  guidance, 
skills certification…) 
Job-search allowances 

LMP measures 
2 

Training 

  Training allowances 

Job rotation and job sharing 
Employment incentives 
Recruitment incentives 
Employment maintenance incentives 
Supported employment and rehabilitation 
Direct job creation 
Start-up incentives 

3 
4 
4.1 
4.2 
5 
6 
7 
Technical Assistance (Article 3 of R. 1927/2006) 
Total 

EGF Amount 
(Euro) 
30 537 989 
4 519 185 

26 018 804 
16 718 820 
7 899 843 
3 033 250 
N/A 
4 709 608 
2 666 896 
2 042 712 
N/A 
N/A 
1 076 119 
1 778 920 
49 035 729 

% of total 

62.28 %
9.22 %

53.06 %
34.09 %
16.11 %
6.19 %
N/A
9.60 %
5.44 % 
4.17 % 
N/A
N/A
2.19 %
3.63 %
100 %

4.2.2.  Profile of the workers benefiting from EGF assistance 

The contributions granted in 2008 aimed at supporting a total of 9 941 redundant workers in 
five Member States (see Annex - Profile of the workers targeted for EGF assistance in 2008).  

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

The  EGF  and  the  ESF  are  major  EU  instruments  aiming  at  increasing  employability  and 
ensuring  rapid  re-integration  into  the  labour  market  through  the  implementation  of  active 
labour  market  policy  measures.  Their  complementarity  lies  in  their  ability  to  address  those 
issues in two different temporal perspectives: while the EGF provides tailor-made assistance 
to  redundant  workers  in  response  to  a  specific,  European  scale  mass  redundancy  event,  the 
ESF acts in support of strategic, long-term goals (e.g. increase of human capital, management 

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This  table  does  not  perfectly  correspond  to  the  methodology  used  by  EUROSTAT  as  described  in 
"Labour  market  policy  database  –  Methodology  –  Revision  of  June  2006"  because  some  of  the 
measures  co-financed  by  the  EGF  do  not  fit  any  of  its  categories  (e.g.  job-search  allowances  and 
training allowances). The categories of the EUROSTAT classification that are marked N/A in this table 
were not proposed by the Member States in the eight EGF interventions approved in 2008. 

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of change) through multi-annual programmes. In the light of the social impact of the recent 
economic  crisis,  the  Commission  proposed  in  its  European  Economic  Recovery  Plan  to 
amend the functioning of both Funds, so that they could react with greater flexibility for the 
duration of the crisis. 

A good example of successful complementarity between the ESF and the EGF can be found 
in the BenQ case (EGF/2007/03) for which a contribution was granted in 2007. In that case 
assistance  was  provided  to  redundant  workers  who  accepted  to  register  into  a  'Transfer 
company' (Transfergesellschaft) within which measures carried out under ESF programmes10 
were  also  made  available  to  the  workers  dismissed  by  BenQ.  Some  of  those  workers  first 
benefited from a short-term training co-financed by the ESF to obtain the European Computer 
Driving  Licence,  which  was  followed  by  a  5-month  training  leading  to  a  qualification  as  a 
"Management assistant" co-financed by the EGF. 

4.2.4.  Results achieved 

The main source of information on the results achieved by the EGF is the final report to be 
presented  by  the  Member  State  no  later  than  six  months  after  the  end  of  the  intervention 
period of the EGF, as stated in article 15 of the EGF Regulation. 

In  2008,  the  Commission  received  three  final  reports  related  to  the  following  applications: 
PSA  (France),  Renault  (France)  and  BenQ  (Germany).  These  final  reports  highlighted  the 
added value of the EGF as it allowed both Member States to use successful new approaches 
(e.g. interaction in peer groups, increased guidance and counselling) specifically designed for 
low-skilled workers over 45 years old. Besides, in the case of BenQ, the EGF made it possible 
to extend the duration of some training and counselling measures beyond the usual period and 
thus offered reinforced and more effective assistance. 

PSA (EGF/2007/01) 

In the first application submitted to the EGF on 9 March 2007, France targeted 267 workers 
made redundant in suppliers to the French car maker PSA. According to the final report, 256 
of  those  workers  benefited  from  EGF  supported  measures.  At  the  end  of  the  EGF 
implementation period, 106 workers assisted (41 %) were still unemployed while 150 (59 %) 
had found sustainable employment, as follows:  

•  76 worked under a contract of indefinite duration; 

•  20 had created their own enterprise; 

•  54 worked under a fixed-term contract or a temporary contract with a duration longer than 

six months. 

Renault (EGF/2007/02) 

In  the  second  application  for  EGF  support  received  on  23  March  2007,  France  initially 
targeted  628  workers  made  redundant  in  suppliers  to  Renault.  The  final  report  showed  that 

10 

The so-called ESF Federal Employment Office programme, the operational programme objective 2 of 
the Land North Rhine Westphalia and the programme of the Free State of Bavaria. 

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366  of  these  had  benefited  from  measures  funded by the EGF, whereas 262  had considered 
themselves  able  to  find  a  job  without  any  additional  measures  or  had  already  found  a  job 
before  the  start  of  the  co-financed  measures.  At  the  end  of  the  implementation  of  the  EGF 
support,  133  of  the  targeted  workers  (36 %)  were  either  unemployed  or  involved  in  jobs  or 
training programmes with a duration of less than six months. In addition, 105 (29 %) of them 
were involved in training programmes with a duration of at least six months while 129 (35 %) 
had found sustainable employment, as follows: 

•  77 worked under a contract of indefinite duration; 

•  10 had created their own enterprise; 

•  42 worked under a fixed-term contract or a temporary contract with a duration longer than 

six months. 

BenQ (EGF/2007/03) 

On  27  June  2007,  Germany  submitted  an  application  for  an  EGF  contribution  initially 
targeting for support 2 400 workers who had been made redundant by BenQ, a mobile phone 
producer. The implementation report showed that out of the 2 528 redundant workers who had 
actually registered in the 'Transfer company' (Transfergesellschaft) set up on 1 January 2007 
in  order  to  benefit  from  active  labour  market  policy  measures,  561  (22 %)  were  still 
unemployed at the end of the EGF implementation period, 88 were no longer available on the 
labour  market  (for  reasons  of  long-term  training,  illness  or  retirement),  while  1 879  (74 %) 
had found sustainable employment, among whom 77 had created their own enterprises. 

Table 5 – Results reported in final reports received in 2008 

Number of workers initially 
targeted 
Number of workers not needing 
EGF help 
Number of workers helped 
Of which received: 

Training / Re-training 
Job-search / Training allowances 
Job-search assistance / 
Counselling 
Entrepreneurship incentives 
Employment incentives 

Number of workers re-integrated 
into employment after EGF 
intervention 

EGF/2007/01 EGF/2007/02 EGF/2007/03 
Renault 
(France) 

BenQ 
(Germany) 

PSA 
(France) 

267 

9 

256 

628 

262 

366 

2 400 

- 

2 528 

Total 

3 295 

271 

3 150 

198 (77 %) 
256 (100 %) 

198 (54 %) 
- 

256 (10 %) 

652 (21 %) 
2 528 (100 %)  2 784 (88 %) 

- 

366 (100 %) 

2 055 (81 %) 

2421 (77 %) 

- 
150 (59 %) 

- 
38 (10 %) 

99 (4 %) 
408 (16 %) 

99 (3 %) 
596 (19 %) 

150 (59 %) 

129 (35 %) 

1 879 (74 %)  2 158 (69 %) 

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4.2.5.  Technical Assistance activities undertaken by the Commission 

Information and publicity 

Article  9  of  the  EGF  Regulation  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 

In 2008, the EGF website (http://ec.europa.eu/egf) recorded 81 206 pages consulted by 36 937 
visitors.  The  most  popular  pages  in  2008  were  the  EGF  main  page,  the  pages  giving  an 
overview of applications received and the key documents related to the EGF. The EGF leaflet 
the  Commission  had  produced  in  2007  was  downloaded  almost  2 800  times  over  the  year 
2008. 

In  line  with  the  requirements  of  Article  9  EGF  Regulation,  the  Commission  services  have 
translated the EGF website into all 23 Community languages. 

EuroBarometer 

The Standard EuroBarometer wave 70 was carried out from 6 October to 6 November 2008. 
To the question "Have you ever heard or read about the European Globalisation adjustment 
Fund that is a fund to help victims of globalisation?", people were asked to answer as follows: 

–  "Yes, and you are very familiar with it", or 

–  "Yes, but you are not very familiar with it", or 

–  "No, you have never heard or read about it". 

Results – not yet published by the time this report was being drafted – show that across the 
EU-27, 22 % of people had heard of the EGF, although only 3 % were very familiar with it, 
while 71% had never heard of the EGF. 

Meetings with the National Authorities and social partners 

The  third  meeting  of  the  'Expert  group  on  Contact  Persons  of  the  European  Globalisation 
Adjustment  Fund'  (code  E2100),  composed  of  representatives  of  the  Member  States,  took 
place on 6 March 2008. 

In order to prepare for the revision of the EGF Regulation, the Commission services invited 
the EGF stakeholders to a conference held in Brussels on 4 September 2008. The aim of the 
event  was  to  meet  the  Member  States  and  social  partners  to  discuss  the  responses  to  the 
questionnaire sent out in July 2008 and the core issues identified in the 2007 Annual Report 
on the EGF (see 3. above). 

EN 

10 

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4.2.6.  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, 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.  In  addition,  Article  12  of  the  EGF  Regulation 
states  that  at  least  25 %  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 2008 the Budgetary Authority decided to mobilise the EGF for eight applications and 
for an amount of EUR 49 035 729 (see Tables 2 and 3 above, on contributions granted from 
the EGF). 

Technical assistance expenditure 

Technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission, as defined in Article 8 of the EGF 
Regulation, was not available in 2008. 

Irregularities reported during 2008 

There were no irregularities reported to the Commission under Regulation (EC) No 1681/94 
in 2008 in respect of the EGF. 

Irregularities closed during 2008 

There were no irregularities closed in 2008. 

4.2.7.  Winding up of financial contributions made 

None of the contributions granted since the start of the EGF were wound up in 2008. 

EN 

11 

   EN 

 
Annex - Profile of the workers targeted for EGF assistance in 2008 

Application 
(Reference) 

Date of 
application 

Workers 
made 
redundant 

Workers 
targeted 
for 
assistance 

Of which:  

Women 
(%) 

Non EU-
citizens 

15-24 

25-54 

55-64 

65+ 

Of which with a 
long-standing 
health problem or 
disability11 

Sardegna (IT) 
(EGF/2007/05) 
Piemonte (IT) 
(EGF/2007/06) 
Lombardia (IT) 
(EGF/2007/07) 
Textiles (MT) 
(EGF/2007/08) 
Lisboa-Alentejo (PT) 
(EGF/2007/10) 

9.8.2007 

10.8.2007 

17.8.2007 

12.9.2007 

1 044 

1 537 

1 816 

675 

9.10.2007 

1 549 

Sub-total for applications received in 2007 

6 621 

Toscana (IT) 
(EGF/2008/01) 
DELPHI (ES) 
(EGF/2008/02) 
Alytaus Tekstilė (LT) 
(EGF/2008/03) 

12.2.2008 

6.2.2008 

8.5.2008 

1 558 

1 589 

1 089 

1 044 

1 537 

1 816 

675 

1 122 

6 194 

1 558 

1 589 

600 

Sub-total for applications received in 2008 

4 236 

3 747 

Total 

10 857 

9 941 

11 

According to national classifications. 

EN 

427 
(41 %) 
1 013 
(66 %) 
1 230 
(68 %) 
533 
(79 %) 
339 
(30 %) 
3 542 
(57 %) 
746 
(48 %) 
23 
(2 %) 
494 
(82 %) 
1 263 
(38 %) 
4 805 
(48 %) 

12 

1 

55 

71 

0 

16 

143 

998 

0 

0 

5 

23 

6 

899 

1 347 

1 537 

242 

401 

39 

1 024 

315 

5 208 

102 

1 276 

138 

167 

272 

32 

59 

668 

175 

2 

4 

1 524 

63 

372 

224 

462 

998 

108 

3 172 

1 141 

423 

8 380 

1 130 

2 

0 

1 

0 

0 

3 

5 

0 

0 

5 

8 

N/A 

N/A 

N/A 

4 

12 

N/A 

N/A 

5 

34 

N/A 

N/A 

EN