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 28 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management (application EGF/2009/012 IE/Waterford Crystal, Ireland)
Date: 2010-05-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU aid, European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, Ireland, commitment of expenditure, dismissal, luxury products industry

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 6.5.2010 
COM(2010)196 final 

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 28 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European 
Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound 
financial management (application EGF/2009/012 IE/Waterford Crystal, Ireland) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

The  Interinstitutional  Agreement  of  17 May  2006  between  the  European  Parliament,  the 
Council  and  the  Commission  on  budgetary  discipline  and  sound  financial  management1 
allows for the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) (point 28) 
within  the  annual  ceiling  of  EUR 500 million over  and  above  the  relevant  headings  of  the 
financial framework.  

The rules applicable to the contributions from the EGF are laid down in Regulation (EC) No 
1927/2006  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  20  December  2006  on 
establishing the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund 2. 

On  7  August  2009,  Ireland  submitted  application  EGF/2009/012  IE/Waterford  Crystal  for  a 
financial contribution from the EGF, following redundancies in Waterford Crystal and three 
of its suppliers. 

After  a  thorough  examination  of  this  application,  the  Commission  has  concluded  in 
accordance  with  Article  10  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1927/2006  that  the  conditions  for  a 
financial contribution under this Regulation are met. 

SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION AND ANALYSIS 

Key data: 

EGF Reference no. 
Member State 
Enterprise 
Suppliers / downstream producers 
Article 2 
Reference period 
Starting date for the personalised services 
Application date 
Redundancies during the reference period: 
-- total number 
-- in the main enterprise 
-- in suppliers / downstream producers 
Redundancies before / after the reference period 
Total redundancies 
Redundant workers targeted for support 
Personalised services: budget in EUR 
Administrative expenditure: budget in EUR 
% administrative expenditure 
Total budget in EUR 
EGF contribution EUR (65 %) 

1 
2 

OJ C 139, 14.6.2006, p. 1. 
OJ L 406 of 30.12.2006, p. 1. 

EGF/2009/012 
Ireland 
Waterford Crystal 
3 
(a) 
30.01.2009 - 29.05.2009 
11.03.2009 
07.08.2009 

538 
512 
26 
115 
653 
598 
3 865 659 
89,500 
2.26 
3 955 159 
2 570 853 

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1. 

2. 

The  application  was  presented  to  the  Commission  on  7  August  2009  and 
supplemented by additional information up to 3 November 2009. 

The application meets the conditions for deploying the EGF as set out in Article 2(a) 
of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1927/2006,  and  was  submitted  within  the  deadline  of  10 
weeks referred to in Article 5 of that Regulation.  

Link  between  the  redundancies  and  major  structural  changes  in  world  trade  patterns 
due to globalisation or the global financial and economic crisis 

3. 

4. 

In order to establish the link between the redundancies and the global financial and 
economic  crisis,  Ireland  argues  that  world  trade  in  luxury  goods  has  been 
significantly impacted by the crisis. The reduced purchasing power of consumers has 
caused a decline in demand for non essential goods, such as crystal and ceramics. For 
producers the global changes in credit, finance, production and retail trends has had a 
significant  negative  impact  on  manufacturing  output  with  ensuing  adverse  impacts 
on employment. 

The  global  credit  crisis  had  serious  implications  for  Waterford  Crystal,  which  in 
October 2008 needed to access credits on the capital markets in order to continue its 
operations. As a result of the credit crunch, Waterford Crystal could only raise half 
the amount required. Failure to raise the necessary capital in combination with failure 
to  find  a  buyer  for  the  company  resulted  in  Waterford  Crystal  being  placed  into 
receivership in January 2009. 

Demonstration  of  the  number  of  redundancies  and  compliance  with  the  criteria  of 
Article 2(a) 

5. 

6. 

Ireland  submitted  this  application  under  the  intervention  criteria  of  Article  2(a)  of 
Regulation  (EC)  No  1927/2006,  which  requires  at  least  500  redundancies  over  a 
four-month  period  in  an  enterprise  in  a  Member  State,  including  workers  made 
redundant in its suppliers or downstream producers. 

The application cites 538 redundancies in Waterford Crystal and three of its suppliers 
during the four-month reference period from 30 January 2009 to 29 May 2009. All of 
these  redundancies  were  calculated  in  accordance  with  the  1st  indent  of  the  2nd 
paragraph of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006. 

Explanation of the unforeseen nature of those redundancies 

7. 

The  Irish  authorities  argue  that  the  severity  of  the  global  credit  crisis  and  the 
resultant  impact  on  the  financial  markets  was  impossible  to  predict.  Even  though 
Waterford  Crystal  had  heavily  invested  in  new  products  in  previous  years,  totally 
revamped  its  range  and  rationalised  its  costs  through  outsourcing  production  to 
lower-cost countries, it was severely hit by the global crisis in October 2008 while it 
was in the process of restructuring its debt. The Irish authorities believe that, without 
the difficulties in getting access to additional funding, Waterford Crystal would have 
been able to restructure its debt and continue its activities while focusing on its core 
products.  

Identification of the dismissing enterprises and workers targeted for assistance 

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8. 

The  application  cites  a  total  of  538  redundancies  in  Waterford  Crystal  (512)  and 
three  of  its  suppliers  (Thomas  Fennell  Engineering  Ltd:  8  redundancies;  RPS 
Engineering  Services:  12  redundancies  and  Abbey  Electric:  6  redundancies)  during 
the  four-month  reference  period.  A  further  115  workers  were  made  redundant  at 
Waterford  Crystal  after  the  reference  period.  Of  this  total  of  653  workers,  598  are 
targeted for assistance. 

9. 

The break-down of the targeted workers is as follows : 

Category 
Men 
Women 
EU citizens 
Non EU citizens 
15 to 24 years old 
25 to 54 years old 
Over 54 years old 
More than 72 % of the dismissed workers are over 45 years of age and have never 
worked in any company other than Waterford Crystal. 

Number 
473 
125 
598 
0 
4 
449 
145 

Percent 
79.1 
20.9 
100.0 
0.0 
0.7 
75.1 
24.2 

10. 

In terms of professional categories, the break-down is as follows : 

Category 
Operative 
Administrators 
Managers 
Fitters 
Engineers 
Stores 
Co-ordinators 
Electricians 
Others 

Number 
425 
41 
33 
17 
8 
8 
7 
6 
53 

Percent 
71.1 
6.9 
5.5 
2.8 
1.3 
1.3 
1.2 
1.0 
8.9 

11. 

12. 

The  8.9  %  listed  under  "others"  fall  into  various  categories,  such  as  team  leader, 
analyst, designer, customer service representative, auditor, accountant, financial and 
IT professional. 

In  accordance  with  Article  7  of  the  Regulation  (EC)  No  1927/2006,  Ireland  has 
confirmed  that  a  policy  of  equality  between  women  and  men  as  well  as  non-
discrimination has been applied, and will continue to apply, during the various stages 
of the implementation of and, in particular, in access to the EGF. 

Description of the territory concerned and its authorities and stakeholders 

13. 

Waterford  is  situated  in  the  NUTS  III  South-East  region,  comprising  Counties 
Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, South Tipperary and Waterford. The South-East region 
has  a  population  of  460 820  people.  Waterford  city  has  the  fifth  largest  urban 
population in the State. 

14. 

The main public authorities concerned are: 

–  The  Department  of  Enterprise,  Trade  and  Employment  with  responsibility  for 
national  employment  and  training  policy  formulation  and  national  funding. 

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Responsibility at operational level resides in Foras Áiseanna Saothair (FÁS), the 
National Training and Employment Authority. 

–  Enterprise Ireland (EI) is the State authority responsible for assisting the growth 
of  Irish  enterprises  by  providing  locally  controlled  businesses  with  a  single 
integrated source of development advice, funding and support services. 

–  The  Department  of  Education  and  Science  is  responsible  for  policy  formulation 
and  national  funding  of  education.  Operational  responsibility  resides  with  the 
Vocational  Education  Committees  (VECs)  in  terms  of  the  provision  of  adult 
learning  as  well  as  in  a  number  of  higher  educational  institutions,  including 
universities and institutes of technology. 

–  The  City  and  County  Enterprise  Boards  (CEB)  were  established  in  1993  to 

provide support for micro-enterprises at local level. 

15. 

Another  relevant  stakeholder  is  the  Inter  Agency  Forum  set  up  in  the  wake  of  the 
Waterford  Crystal  redundancies  with  the  aim  of  assessing  the  impact  of  these 
redundancies on the local economy. It comprises i.a. the mayor, representatives from 
FÁS,  the  Department  of  Social  and  Family  Affairs,  Money  Advice  and  Budgeting 
Service,  Revenue  Commissioners,  City  Enterprise  Board,  Waterford  Area 
Partnership and two workers' and two company management representatives. 

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

16. 

17. 

18. 

Ireland  argues  that  the  South-East  region  is  more  dependent  on  industrial  activities 
than Ireland as a whole. This makes the region much more vulnerable to an economic 
downturn. In March 2007 industry accounted for 31.3 % of total employment in the 
South-East region compared to a national average of 26.6 %.  

Following  significant  job  losses  culminating  in  the  512  redundancies  at  Waterford 
Crystal in early 2009, the share of industry in total employment in the region fell to 
26.6 %,  against  a  national  average  of  22.1 %.  The  number  of  persons  on  the  'Live 
Register'  (the  barometer  of  unemployment  levels)  in  the  region  increased  from 
52 210 in early January 2009 to 65 029 by end June 2009, mainly due to a decrease 
in  manufacturing  activities  in  enterprises  such  as  Waterford  Crystal,  Bausch  & 
Lomb, Honeywell Turbo Technologies, Snowcream and ABB. 

The Irish authorities argue that Waterford Crystal made a substantial contribution to 
the  local  economy.  In  2007  Waterford  Crystal  employed  990  workers  and  had  an 
annual  payroll  of  more  than  EUR  47 million.  It  is  estimated  that  the  job  losses  at 
Waterford Crystal and its suppliers equates to at least EUR 40 million annual fall in 
personal consumption in Waterford city and surroundings with a potential additional 
knock-on  impact  on  local  employment.  The  closure  of  Waterford  Crystal  has  also 
affected tourism, as the Crystal Visitor Centre and the factory, which used to attract 
about 320 000 visitors per year, no longer exist. 

Co-ordinated  package  of  personalised  services  to  be  funded  and  a  breakdown  of  its 
estimated  costs,  including  its  complementarity  with  actions  funded  by  the  Structural 
Funds 

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19. 

The  proposed  measures  are  mainly  arranged  along  the  needs  of  three  identified 
priority groups with different educational levels. These measures are complemented 
by measures applicable across the three groups. All these measures combine to form 
a co-ordinated package of personalised services aimed at re-integrating the workers 
into the labour market, as follows : 

–  FÁS  occupational  guidance:  consists  of  group  briefing  sessions  and  one-to-one 
interviews for redundant workers, so as to identify workers' current qualifications 
and job requirements and to provide information on job opportunities regionally, 
nationally  and  in  the  EU.  Upskilling  and  training  requirements  are  also  being 
identified.  A  broad  range  of  relevant  training  and,  where  appropriate,  onward 
referral  to  educational  providers  or  to  enterprise  advisory  bodies  in  relation  to 
business initiatives will be initiated. 

–  FÁS  training  course:  Planning  for  the  future:  This  course,  which  is  part  of  the 
FÁS  advice  and  occupational  guidance  services,  includes  CV  preparation,  time 
management,  career  guidance,  stress  management,  job  interview  skills  and 
information regarding appropriate agencies to contact for setting up a business. 

–  FÁS training allowances: These are allowances payable to the participants of the 
various measures, in order to permit their participation. These cover a subsistence 
allowance,  as  well  as  allowances  for  travel,  accommodation  as  well  as  a  meal 
allowance, where applicable, for a 7-week full-time course. 

–  FÁS Technical Employment Support Grant (TESG): This allows the Employment 
Service  Officers  to  purchase  any  relevant  training  in  order  to  support  dismissed 
workers,  where  this  need  cannot  be  met  by  FÁS  directly  or  by  any  other  State 
provider, within a reasonable time frame or at a convenient location. 

–  FÁS training courses. FÁS has identified three key priority groups with different 
needs, and has identified modular packages of measures appropriate to these 
groups: 
1. Redundant workers with low educational/occupational attainment (76 % of 
redundant workers) 
2. Redundant workers with middle level education, semi-skilled (20 % of 
redundant workers) 
3. Redundant workers with third-level education (4 % of redundant workers) 

–  Measures targeting workers with a low educational/occupational level. This group 
is most at risk of long-term unemployment and will require substantial training. 
FÁS, in consultation with the VEC responsible for adult and further education in 
Waterford City, has identified both FÁS mainstream courses and VEC services as 
best meeting the educational and guidance requirements of this group of workers. 
These measures include: 
- computer basic courses run by FÁS aimed at enabling learners to gain the skills, 
knowledge and competencies to carry out a range of practical computing tasks; 
- FÁS evening classes, made available to dismissed workers who wish to upskill, 
and providing an initial entry point to the education system for those dismissed 
workers who left school early and may be fearful of attempting full-day training 
courses; 
- VEC foundation programme for further education (National Framework of 

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Qualifications (NFQ) level 4) consisting of modules in communications, personal 
effectiveness, IT skills and research skills; 
- VEC evening classes (NFQ level 5) covering courses in areas such as childcare, 
special needs assistant, healthcare support, business studies, make-up, ECDL, 
photography, social studies, music industry studies, sound engineering and print 
journalism; 
- Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) Foundation Programme for older 
workers with limited skills (NFQ level 5), including a recognition of prior 
learning module aimed at actively assisting dismissed workers in mapping their 
experiences in terms of entry requirements as well as programme and module 
learning outcomes and identifying possible credits for modules or parts of 
programmes; 
- training course by Waterford Local Employment Service (LES), covering 
training in job skills to 4 dismissed workers living in the Waterford City 
catchment area.  

–  Measures targeting workers with middle level education or semi-skilled. These are 
workers  who  have  up  to  NFQ  levels  4  and  5  standards  of  education.  They  can 
immediately avail of FÁS training and upskilling services. The following courses 
are  targeting  at  this  group:  heavy  goods  vehicle  driving,  warehouse  operations, 
forklift truck driving, and introduction to life sciences. 

–  Measures  targeting  workers  with  third-level  qualifications  with  a  demand  for 
further  qualifications  to  enable  them  to  change  or  modify  their  career  direction. 
One former Waterford Crystal worker has been offered the possibility to attend an 
MBA Masters programme in business at the University of Limerick. It is further 
proposed to offer a range of suitable third level courses (NFQ levels 6 - 9) in areas 
such  as  IT,  Business  and  engineering  to  redundant  workers  from  Waterford 
Crystal and its suppliers, geared towards improving their employability potential. 
Waterford  Crystal,  a  company  which  operated  for  over  100  years  in  Waterford 
city, used to recruit most of its workers from primary and secondary schools. This, 
together  with  the  high  age  profile  of  the  redundant  workforce,  explains  the  low 
proportion  of  workers  qualifying  for  third-level  support.  Following  assessment 
interviews and profiling of the educational qualifications of the redundant workers 
and the information session organised by the educational and training providers, it 
has been estimated that 25 of the redundant workers holding a Leaving Certificate 
or third level qualifications are likely to take up this offer. In order to maximise 
the  opportunities  available  to  workers  embarking  on  degree  courses  as  well  as 
their  capacity  to  remain  in  and  make  progress  within  the  education  system,  a 
recognition  of  prior  learning  module  is  included  in  the  measures,  which  also 
contain allowances facilitating their participation. 

–  Measures in support of entrepreneurship. These include 

- EI/CEB Entrepreneurship promotion, consisting of workshops, presentations, 
one to one interviews and information days targeted at dismissed workers seeking 
to start their own business; 
- EI/CEB entrepreneurship programme, covering a number of Enterprise Start and 
Start you own business short programmes, open to all individuals wishing to start 
up their own business; 
- EI Commercialisation Of Research and Development (CORD) Campus 
enterprise programmes generally given to start up companies / promoters / 

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researchers who attend a full-time third-level Enterprise Platform Programme 
delivered by Waterford Institute of Technology, provided they meet the strict 
entry requirements; 
- CEB aid for self-employment, covering grants which may be used for 
recruitment of staff to a company or self-employment of start-up promoters, 
which have the potential of creating at least one full-time job; 
- EI financial support for start-ups, providing feasibility grants for promoters with 
a business proposal to allow them to ascertain whether or not there is a niche in 
the market for their product offering, to validate the actual market potential and 
fine tune their proposal before finalising an investment proposal. 

20. 

21. 

The  administrative  expenditure,  which  is  included  in  the  application  in  accordance 
with  Article  3  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1927/2006,  covers  preparatory,  management 
and control activities as well as information and publicity. 

The personalised services presented by the Irish authorities are active labour market 
measures  within  the  eligible  actions  defined  by  Article  3  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 
1927/2006.  The  Irish  authorities  estimate  the  total  costs  of  these  services  at  EUR 
3 865 659 and the administrative expenditure at EUR 89 500 (= 2.26 % of the total 
amount). The total contribution requested from the EGF is EUR 2 570 853 (65 % of 
the total costs). 

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Actions 

Estimated 
number of 
workers 
targeted 

Estimated cost 
per worker 
targeted 
(in EUR) 

Total costs 
(EGF and 
national 
cofinancing) 
(in EUR) 

Personalised services (first paragraph of Article 3 EGF Regulation) 

FÁS occupational guidance 

FÁS training course - planning for the 
future 

FÁS training allowances 

FÁS TESG training grants 

FÁS training courses 

FÁS evening classes 

VEC foundation programme for further 
education (NFQ level 4) 

VEC evening classes (NFQ level 5) 

WIT foundation programme for older 
workers with lower skills (NFQ level 5) 

WIT foundation programme: recognition 
of prior learning programme 

Waterford LES training course 

University Level Master in Business 
(TESG funded) 

3rd level Degree courses – engineering, 
IT, business 

3rd level Degree courses – recognition of 
prior learning module 

3rd level courses - BTEA 

468

226

423

265

430

110

25

55

50

50

4

1

25

25

25

50 

339 

23 400

76 614

1 890 

799 470

725 

192 2073

2 351 

1 010 9434

350 

1 200 

1 200 

3 500 

38 500

30 000

66 000

175 000

750 

37 500

81 

2 500 

3255

2 500

10 000 

250 000

750 

18 750

8 780 

219 500

3 

4 

5 

Difference  in  total  costs  due  to  adding  up  costs  of  different  subservices  and  rounding  up  different 
subtotals 
Difference  in  total  costs  due  to  adding  up  costs  of  different  subservices  and  rounding  up  different 
subtotals 
Difference in total costs due to rounding of unit costs (EUR 81,18) 

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3rd level courses – Student maintenance 
grants 

EI/CEB entrepreneurship promotion 

EI/CEB entrepreneurship programme 

EI CORD campus enterprise programme 

CEB aid for self-employment (grants) 

EI financial support for start-ups 

Sub total personalised services 

25

598

50

7

10

10

12 000 

300 000

25 

1 000 

14 950

50 000

30 000 

210 000

20 000 

200 000

15 000 

150 000

3 865 659

Technical assistance for implementing EGF (third paragraph of Article 3 EGF Regulation) 

Preparatory activities 

Management 

Information and publicity 

Control activities 

Sub total technical assistance 

Total estimated costs 

EGF contribution (65 % of total costs) 

22 500

14 000

40 000

13 000

89 500

3 955 159

2 570 853

22. 

Ireland confirms that the measures described above are complementary with actions 
funded  by  the  Structural  Funds.  Ireland  will  also  ensure  a  clear  audit  trail  for  EGF 
funded activities, so that no other EU funding is sought or used for these activities. 

Date(s)  on  which  the  personalised  services  to  the  affected  workers  were  started  or  are 
planned to start 

23. 

Ireland started the personalised services to the affected workers included in the co-
ordinated  package  proposed  for  co-financing  to  the  EGF,  on  11  March  2009.  This 
date therefore represents the beginning of the period of eligibility for any assistance 
that might be awarded from the EGF. 

Procedures for consulting the social partners 

24. 

The  Irish  authorities  stated  that  FÁS,  upon  receipt  of  notification  of  the  closure  of 
Waterford Crystal, made contact with the Receiver to discuss the services available 
and the potential needs of the workers. The Receiver provided the workers' details. 
FÁS also made immediate contact with the Unite Trade union to inform it about the 
actions it was taking. The Interagency Forum set up by the Waterford City Council is 
currently  assessing  the  impact  of  the  redundancies  on  the  region.  This  Forum 
includes  representatives  from  both  social  partners  and  State  agencies,  whose  views 

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are being and will be taken into account during the development and implementation 
of the package of measures. 

25. 

The  Irish  authorities  confirmed  that  the  requirements  laid  down  in  national  and 
Community legislation concerning collective redundancies have been complied with. 

Information  on  actions  that  are  mandatory  by  virtue  of  national  law  or  pursuant  to 
collective agreements 

26. 

As regards the criteria contained in Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006, the 
Irish authorities in their application:  

•  confirmed that the financial contribution from the EGF does not replace measures 
which are the responsibility of companies by virtue of national law or collective 
agreements, 

•  demonstrated that the actions provide support for individual workers and are not 

to be used for restructuring companies or sectors, 

•  confirmed that the eligible actions referred to under points 14 and 16 above do not 

receive assistance from other Community financial instruments. 

Management and control systems  

27. 

Ireland has notified the Commission that the financial contributions will be managed 
and  controlled  by  the  same  authorities  and  bodies  charged  with  the  delivery  and 
oversight  of  European  Social  Fund  (ESF)  funding  in  Ireland.  The  management 
authority will thus be the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with a 
separate certifying authority and auditing authority delegated within the Department. 

Financing 

28. 

29. 

30. 

31. 

On the basis of the application from Ireland, the proposed contribution from the EGF 
to the coordinated package of personalised services is EUR 2 570 853, representing 
65  %  of  the  total  cost.  The  Commission's  proposed  allocation  under  the  Fund  is 
based on the information made available by Ireland. 

Considering the maximum possible amount of a financial contribution from the EGF 
under  Article  10(1)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1927/2006,  as  well  as  the  scope  for 
reallocating  appropriations,  the  Commission  proposes  to  mobilise  the  EGF  for  the 
total  amount  referred  above,  to  be  allocated  under  heading  1a  of  the  financial 
framework. 

The  proposed  amount  of  financial  contribution  will  leave  more  than  25 %  of  the 
maximum annual amount earmarked for the EGF available for allocations during the 
last  four  months  of  the  year,  as  required  by  Article  12(6)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 
1927/2006. 

By  presenting  this  proposal  to  mobilise  the  EGF,  the  Commission  initiates  the 
simplified  trialogue  procedure,  as  required  by  Point  28  of  the  Inter-institutional 
Agreement of 17 May 2006, with a view to securing the agreement of the two arms 
of the budgetary authority on the need to use the EGF and the amount required. The 

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Commission invites the first of the two arms of the budgetary authority that reaches 
agreement on the draft mobilisation proposal, at appropriate political level, to inform 
the other arm and the Commission of its intentions. In case of disagreement by either 
of  the  two  arms  of  the  budgetary  authority,  a  formal  trialogue  meeting  will  be 
convened.  

32. 

The Commission presents separately a transfer request in order to enter in the 2010 
budget specific commitment and payment appropriations, as required in Point 28 of 
the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006. 

Alternative sources of payment appropriations  

The practice followed until now has been of sourcing the necessary payment appropriations 
from the ESF budget because of the policy "proximity", and given that the annual requirement 
for  the  EGF  in  payment  appropriations  thus  far  have  been  in  the  range  of  1%  of  the  ESF 
payment endowment. However, the European Parliament contests that practice arguing that it 
takes  away  budgetary  means  to  an  instrument  (ESF)  which  is  a  priority  for  the  European 
Parliament, and calling on the Commission to use  alternative sources. At this early stage of 
the budget year, such alternative sources are difficult to identify. 

Nevertheless,  with  a  view  to  meet  this  request  for  future  EGF  cases,  the  Commission  is 
willing to look into the possibility of finding alternative sourcing of payment appropriations 
whenever this is possible and reasonable and where there is no risk of delay to the processing 
of the request for transfer.  

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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 28 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European 
Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound 
financial management (application EGF/2009/012 IE/Waterford Crystal, 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  the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  of  17 May  2006  between  the  European 
Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission  on  budgetary  discipline  and  sound  financial 
management6, and in particular point 28 thereof, 

Having  regard  to  Regulation  (EC)  No  1927/2006  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  20 December  2006  establishing  the  European  Globalisation  Adjustment  Fund7, 
and in particular Article 12(3) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission8, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

The  European  Globalisation  Adjustment  Fund  (EGF)  was  established  to  provide 
additional support for workers made redundant as a result of major structural changes 
in world trade patterns due to globalisation and to assist them with their reintegration 
into the labour market. 

The scope of the EGF was broadened for applications submitted from 1 May 2009 to 
include support  for workers made  redundant  as a direct result of the global financial 
and economic crisis. 

The Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 allows the mobilisation of the EGF 
within the annual ceiling of EUR 500 million. 

Ireland submitted an application to mobilise the EGF, in respect of redundancies in the 
enterprise Waterford Crystal and three of its suppliers or downstream producers, on 7 
August 2009 and supplemented it by additional information up to 3 November 2009. 
This  application  complies  with  the  requirements  for  determining  the  financial 
contributions  as  laid  down  in  Article  10  of  Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006.  The 
Commission, therefore, proposes to mobilise an amount of EUR 2 570 853. 

6 
7 
8 

OJ C 139, 14.6.2006, p. 1. 
OJ L 406, 30.12.2006, p. 1. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 

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(5) 

The EGF should, therefore, be mobilised in order to provide a financial contribution 
for the application submitted by Ireland. 

HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Article 1 

For  the  general  budget  of  the  European  Union  for  the  financial  year  2010,  the  European 
Globalisation  Adjustment  Fund  (EGF)  shall  be  mobilised  to  provide  the  sum  of  EUR 
2 570 853 in commitment and payment appropriations. 

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

Article 2 

Done at, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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