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/2009/028 NL/Limburg Division 18 from the Netherlands)
Date: 2010-10-01
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU aid, Netherlands, budgetary discipline (EU), budgetary procedure, commitment of expenditure, dismissal, financial management, fund (EU), globalisation, interinstitutional agreement, reintegration into working life

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 1.10.2010 
COM(2010) 518 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/2009/028 NL/Limburg Division 18 from the 
Netherlands) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

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 
management1  allows  for  the  mobilisation  of  the  European  Globalisation  Adjustment  Fund 
(EGF) 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 Fund2. 

On  30  December  2009,  the  Netherlands  submitted  application  EGF/2009/028  NL/Limburg 
Division  18  for  a  financial  contribution  from  the  EGF,  following  redundancies  in  nine 
enterprises  operating  in  the  NACE  Revision  2  Division  18  (printing  and  reproduction  of 
recorded media)3 in the NUTS II region Limburg (NL42) in the Netherlands. 

This  application  is  part  of  a  package  of  six  interrelated  applications,  all  of  which  concern 
redundancies in eight different NUTS II regions in the Netherlands in enterprises operating in 
the graphics sector, the activities of which are classified under two different NACE Revision 
2 Divisions, namely Division 18 (printing and reproduction of recorded media) and Division 
58 (publishing activities). 

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 
Article 2 
Enterprises concerned 
NUTS II regions 
NACE Revision 2 Division 
Reference period 
Starting date for the personalised services 
Application date 
Redundancies during the reference period: 
Redundant workers targeted for support 

EGF/2009/028 
Netherlands 
(c) 
9 
Limburg (NL42) 
18 (printing and reproduction of recorded media) 
1/4/2009 to 29/12/2009 
1/4/2009 
30/12/2009 
129 
129 

1 
2 
3 

OJ C 139, 14.6.2006, p. 1. 
OJ L 406, 30.12.2006, p. 1. 
Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 
establishing the statistical classification of economic activities NACE Revision 2 and amending Council 
Regulation (EEC) No 3037/90 as well as certain EC regulations on specific statistical domains (OJ L 
393 of 30.12.2006, p. 1). 

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Personalised services: budget in EUR 
Expenditure for implementing EGF4: budget in EUR 
% expenditure for implementing EGF 
Total budget in EUR 
EGF contribution EUR (65 %) 

812 229 
33 843 
4 % 
846 071 
549 946 

1. 

2. 

The  application  was  presented  to  the  Commission  on  30  December  2009  and 
supplemented by additional information up to 6 May 2010. 

The application meets the conditions for deploying the EGF as set out in Article 2(c) 
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. 

In order to establish the link between the redundancies and the global financial and 
economic  crisis,  the  Netherlands  argues  that  the  economic  crisis  resulted  in  a 
substantial  decrease  in  demand  for  the  printing  and  publishing  sector.  The  orders 
from other economic sectors for printed advertising material, which represents 35 % 
of  the  total  turnover  of  the  printing  and  publishing  sector,  decreased  by  5,6 % 
between  2008  and  2009  due  to  the  reduction  of  budgets  for  media  and  advertising 
activities induced by the economic crisis. The application cites several examples. In 
the construction industry, the budget for information and publicity was cut by 36,8 % 
following  the  start  of  the  crisis,  in  the  financial  sector  by  33,3 %  and  in  consumer 
electronics  by  30,6 %.  In  addition,  the  economic  crisis  negatively  affected  demand 
for various types of printed media material: in the first six months of 2009, demand 
for  popular  magazines  decreased  by  18,2 %,  for  newspapers  by  7,5 %,  for 
commercial  newspapers  distributed  free  of  charge  by  16,4 %  and  for  professional 
magazines by 16,5 %. 

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

4. 

5. 

The Netherlands submitted this application under the intervention criteria of Article 
2(c) of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006, which provides that, in small labour markets 
or  in  exceptional  circumstances,  where  duly  substantiated  by  the  Member  State 
concerned,  an  application  for  a  contribution  from  the  EGF  may  be  considered 
admissible even if the intervention criteria laid down in Article 2(a) and 2(b) are not 
entirely met, when redundancies have a serious impact on employment and the local 
economy.  In  this  case  the  applicant  must  specify  which  of  the  main  intervention 
criteria its application fails to meet.  

The  Netherlands  has  specified  that  the  application  seeks  to  derogate  from  Article 
2(b),  where  the  required  threshold  is  at  least  500  redundancies  over  a  nine-month 
period in enterprises operating in the same NACE Revision 2 Division in one region 
or two contiguous regions at NUTS II level in a Member State. 

4 

In accordance with the third paragraph of Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006. 

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6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

The  application  cites  129  redundancies  in  nine  enterprises  operating  in  the  same 
NACE  Revision  2  Division  during  the  nine-month  reference  period  from  1  April 
2009 to 29 December 2009 all located in the NUTS II region Limburg (NL42). All of 
the redundancies were calculated in accordance with the second indent of the second 
paragraph of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006. 

The  Dutch  authorities  argue  that  this  application  meets  the  requirements  for  a 
submission  under  Article  2(c)  of  the  Regulation  (EC)  No  1927/2006  citing 
exceptional  circumstances:  it  covers  further  redundancies  in  the  same  NACE  2 
Division  during  the  same  reference  period  as  the  redundancies  covered  by 
application  EGF/2009/027  NL/Noord  Brabant  and  Zuid  Holland  Division  18  that 
was  submitted  by  the  Netherlands  under  Article  2(b)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 
1927/2006.  In  addition,  Limburg  constitutes  a  contiguous  region  at  NUTS  II  level 
with Noord Brabant. The exceptionality of the case lies in the combination of these 
factors, which together pose an unusual and difficult situation on the workers and the 
region concerned. 

According to the Netherlands, Limburg is in a very difficult situation. In the province 
of Limburg, the unemployment rate increased from 6,7 % in October 2008 to 8 % in 
October  2009.  This  province  has  the  second  highest  unemployment  rate  in  the 
Netherlands. The number of people searching for a job increased by 7,5 % between 
February  2009  and  February  2010.  Limburg  counts  amongst  the  provinces  in  the 
Netherlands with a pro capita income significantly below the average.  

At  the  same  time,  the  graphics  sector  in  the  Netherlands  has  suffered  from  large-
scale redundancies, as is also shown by the five other interrelated EGF applications 
submitted  by  the  Netherlands,  which  show  a  high  number  of  redundancies  in 
enterprises in the graphics sector in other parts of the Netherlands. 

The Commission services therefore consider that the redundancies in question have a 
serious impact on employment and the local economy and that the difficult economic 
and labour market situation in Limburg and the further redundancies in other NUTS 
II level regions of the Netherlands due to the same cause and during the same period 
in  the  same  NACE  2  Division  combine  to  meet  the  criteria  of  Article  2(c)  of 
Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006.  

This  interpretation  is  also  in  line  with  the  statement  of  the  Commission  on  the 
occasion  of  the  adoption  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  546/20095  according  to  which  "in 
cases where an EGF application under Article 2(b) is submitted by a Member State, 
if further redundancies have occurred in another NUTS II level region of the same 
Member State due to the same cause and during the same period in the same NACE 
2 Division, the Commission considers that an application for EGF assistance for the 
latter workers can be made under Article 2(c) citing exceptional circumstances".6 

Explanation of the unforeseen nature of those redundancies 

5 

6 

Regulation  (EC)  No  546/2009  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  18 June  2009 
amending Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006 on establishing the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund 
(OJ L 167, 29.6.2009, p. 26). 
Council of the European Union, 10304/09 ADD1, 8.6.2009. 

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12. 

The Dutch authorities argue that the financial and economic crisis and its impact on 
the  sector  could  not  be  foreseen.  The  application  states  that  before  the  crisis  the 
printing  and  publishing  industry  in  the  Netherlands  went  through  an  expensive 
restructuring process in order to remain technically competitive with enterprises from 
outside the EU, in particular in Turkey, China and India. The sector was transformed 
from a demand driven to a supply oriented industry. The current crisis bears the risk 
of  cancelling  out  the  benefits  of  the  heavy  investments  and  efforts  made  by  the 
sector. 

Identification of the dismissing enterprises and workers targeted for assistance 

13. 

The  application  cites  a  total  of  129  redundancies,  all  of  whom  are  targeted  for 
assistance in the following nine enterprises: 

Enterprises and number of dismissals 

Drukkerij Van Lieshout Horst BV, 
Horst 

Home Card BV, Weert 

Roto Smeets Groep Limburg, Weert 
Drukkerij Hub Tonnaer BV, Weert 
Drukkerij Crolla BV, Valkenburg 
Total enterprises: 9 

3 

2 

52 
7 
4 

Helio Service BV, Kerkrade 

Boekbinderij Tindemans Van Den 
Burg BV, Weert 
Cortjens BV, Maastricht 
Drukkerij Maenen BV, Meerssen 

54 

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Total dismissals: 129 

14. 

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 
55 to 64 years old 
Over 65 years old 
There  are  five  workers  (4 %)  with  a  longstanding  health  problem  or  disability 
included in the categories above. 

Number 
84 
45 
121 
8 
23 
71 
32 
3 

Percent 
65 
35 
94 
6 
18 
55 
25 
2 

15. 

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

Category 
Manager 
Professional 
Technicians 
Clerical support workers 
Service and sales workers 
Plant and machine operators and assemblers 

Number 
9 
26 
27 
15 
15 
37 

Percent 
7 
20 
21 
12 
12 
28 

16. 

In accordance with Article 7 of the Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006, the Netherlands 
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 

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17. 

18. 

The territory concerned covers the province of Limburg. The population in Limburg 
is concentrated around a few large cities, such as Maastricht, Heerlen and Venlo. 

The main authorities concerned are the Ministry for Social Affairs and the Training 
Fund  for  the  graphics  and  media  sector  (A&O  Fonds  Grafimedia)  by  order  of  the 
Council  for  consultation  in  the  graphics  and  media  sector.  Other  relevant 
stakeholders  are  the  Institute  for  creative  industry  (GOC),  the  public  organisation 
responsible for allowances (UWV werkbedrijf), UWV mobility centre Limburg, the 
organisation for SME's (MKB-ondernemingen), the regional training centers Noord 
and Midden Limburg, Arcuscollege, service point Grafimedia, and the social partner 
organisations:  FNV  Kiem  (trade  union),  CNV  Media  (trade  union),  KVGO 
(employers  organisation)  for 
the  district  Zuid-Nederland,  NUV  (employers 
organisation). 

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

19. 

The  Dutch  authorities  argue  that  the  redundancies  in  the  graphics  sector  will 
aggravate the unemployment situation, which has already deteriorated as a result of 
the  economic  and  financial  crisis.  In  the  province  of  Limburg,  the  unemployment 
rate  increased  from  6,7 %  in  October  2008  to  8 %  in  October  2009.  This  province 
has the second highest unemployment rate in the Netherlands. The number of people 
searching for  a job  increased  by  7,5 % between February 2009 and February 2010. 
The applicant further refers to the fact that in the graphics sector there is a relatively 
high proportion of workers in the older age groups where unemployment is very high 
in the province under consideration. Moreover, Limburg has a general problem of a 
reducing and ageing population with approximately 30 % of the population in the 45 
to 65 years of age group. The additional redundancies in the graphics sector in this 
age  group  will  therefore  have  a  significant  impact.  Limburg  counts  amongst  the 
provinces  in  the  Netherlands  with  a  pro  capita  income  significantly  below  the 
average. 

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 

20. 

The  following  types  of  measures  are  proposed,  all  of  which  combine  to  form  a 
coordinated package of personalised services aimed at re-integrating the workers into 
the labour market. They will be offered to the dismissed workers through a mobility 
centre, called Centre Creative Careers (Centrum Creatieve Carrières). 

Preparatory activities 

–  Intake  and  registration:  covers  an  initial  interview  in  order  to  register  the 

dismissed worker and to identify the most suitable types of measures. 

–  Information and helpdesk: relates to collective meetings and a helpdesk function 
to provide information to the dismissed workers about the available measures. 

Accompaniment 

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–  Job  to  job  accompaniment:  covers  an  individualised  programme  including 
screening, the establishment of a career and vocational action plan and short time 
mentoring at the new workplace. 

–  Outplacement:  seeks  to  give  active  support  to  dismissed  workers  in  their 

exploration of new job opportunities. 

–  Application  training:  covers  the  analysis  of  available  job  vacancies,  support  for 
the drafting of a CV and an application letter and preparation for job interviews. 

–  Accompaniment towards business creation: seeks to assist dismissed workers who 
envisage  creating  their  own  business.  This  covers  the  provision  of  legal  advice, 
assistance  for  the  elaboration  of  a  business  plan,  support  on  administrative 
requirements. 

Training 

–  Training and re-training: covers vocational training, management and social skills 
training and specific technical re-training for workers whose technical training has 
become obsolete. 

–  Recognition  of  prior  experience:  covers  the  evaluation  of  prior  knowledge  and 
experience of each individual worker as well as the identification of areas where 
further training is required. 

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

The personalised services presented by the Dutch authorities are active labour market 
measures  within  the  eligible  actions  defined  by  Article  3  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 
1927/2006.  The  Dutch  authorities  estimate  the  total  costs  of  these  services  at 
EUR 812 228,54  and  the  expenditure  for  implementing  EGF  at  EUR 33 842,86 
(=4 %  of  the  total  amount).  The  total  contribution  requested  from  the  EGF  is 
EUR 549 946 (65 % of the total costs). 

Estimated 
number of 
workers 
targeted 

Estimated cost 
per worker 
targeted 
(in EUR) 

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

21. 

22. 

Actions 

Personalised services (first paragraph of Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006) 

1. Preparatory activities 

1.1. Intake and registration (intake en 
registratie) 

1.2. Information and helpdesk 
(voorlichting en helpdesk) 

129

129

195,62 

25 234,78

86,94 

11 215,46

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2. Accompaniment 

2.1. Job to job accompaniment (werk naar 
werk begeleiding) 

2.2. Outplacement 

2.3. Application training 
(solicitatietraining) 

2.4. Accompaniment towards business 
creation (begeleiding eigen onderneming) 

3. Training 

3.1. Training and retraining (opleiding en 
omscholing) 

3.2. Recognition of prior experience 
(erkenning verworven competenties) 

Sub total personalised services 

62

50

50

8

60

17

3 804,37 

235 870,70

4 526,30 

226 315,17

1 434,51 

71 725,34

5 337,84 

42 702,74

2 521,34 

151 280,84

2 816,69 

47 883,71

812 228,54

Expenditure  for  implementing  EGF  (third  paragraph  of  Article  3  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 
1927/2006) 

Management 

Information and publicity 

Control activities 

Sub total expenditure for implementing 
EGF 

Total estimated costs 

EGF contribution (65 % of total costs) 

* Totals do not tally due to rounding. 

8 460,71

8 460,71

16 921,43

33 842,86

846 071

549 946

23. 

The  Netherlands  confirms  that  the  measures  described  above  are  complementary 
with  actions  funded  by  the  Structural  Funds,  in  particular  with  a  number  of  ESF 
training  projects  for  workers  in  the  graphics  sector,  the  timing  of  which  coincides 
with the EGF implementation period. The managing authority for the EGF, which is 
also  managing  authority  for  the  ESF  has  put  in  place  the  necessary  control 
procedures to eliminate any risk of double funding. 

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

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24. 

The Netherlands started the personalised services to the affected workers included in 
the co-ordinated package proposed for co-financing to the EGF on 1 April 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 

25. 

The  social  partners  were  consulted  through  the  Foundation  Labour  Market  and 
Training  Fund  for  the  graphics  and  media  sector  (Arbeids  &  Opleidingsfonds 
Grafimedia  branche),  which  in  the  light  of  the  crisis  agreed  on  the  creation  of  a 
mobility centre for the sector named C3 (Centrum Creatieve Carrières). The aim of 
this  mobility  centre  is  to  coordinate  the  various  active  labour  market  measures  in 
consultation with the social partners. 

26. 

The  Dutch  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 

27. 

As regards the criteria contained in Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006, the 
Dutch 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  above  do  not  receive 

assistance from other Community financial instruments. 

Management and control systems  

28. 

The Netherlands has notified the Commission that the financial contribution will be 
managed  and  controlled  by  the  same  bodies  that  manage  and  control  the  European 
Social  Fund  (ESF)  funding  in  the  Netherlands.  The  Agency  for  Social  Affairs  and 
Employment  (Agentschap  SZW)  will  be  the  intermediate  body  for  the  managing 
authority. 

Financing 

29. 

30. 

On the basis of the application from the Netherlands, the proposed contribution from 
the  EGF  to  the  coordinated  package  of  personalised  services  is  EUR 549 946, 
representing 65 % of the total cost. The Commission's proposed allocation under the 
Fund is based on the information made available by the Netherlands. 

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 

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31. 

32. 

33. 

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. 

The  aggregated  amount  of  EGF  contributions  for  EGF  applications  referring  to 
exceptional  circumstances  for  2010,  including  the  amount  proposed  in  the  present 
Proposal,  will  not  exceed  15 %  of  the  annual  maximum  amount  of  the  EGF,  as 
required by Article 2(c) 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  Interinstitutional 
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 
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.  

34. 

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. 

Source of payment appropriations 

35. 

36. 

In  the  current  state  of  implementation,  it  is  foreseeable  that  the  payment 
appropriations available in 2010 under the budget line 01.0404 "Competitiveness and 
Innovation  Framework  Programme  -  Entrepreneurship  and  innovation  programme" 
will not be fully used this year. 

This line covers expenditure related to the implementation of the financial instrument 
of this programme, the main objective of which is to facilitate the access of SMEs to 
finance. Some time lag exists between transfers to the trust accounts managed by the 
European Investment Fund and disbursement to the beneficiaries. The financial crisis 
has a major effect on the forecasts in terms of disbursements for 2010. As a result, in 
order  to  avoid  excessive  balances  on  the  trust  accounts,  the  methodology  for 
calculation  of  payment  appropriations  has  been  reviewed,  taking  into  account  the 
expected  disbursements.  The  amount  of  EUR 549 946  can  therefore  be  made 
available 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/2009/028 NL/Limburg Division 18 from the 
Netherlands) 

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 
management7, 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  Fund8, 
and in particular Article 12(3) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission9, 

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. 

The  Netherlands  submitted  an  application  to  mobilise  the  EGF,  in  respect  of 
redundancies in nine enterprises operating in NACE Revision 2 Division 18 (printing 
and  reproduction  of  recorded  media)  in  the  NUTS  II  region  Limburg  (NL42)  on  30 
December 2009 and supplemented it by additional information up to 6 May 2010. This 
application complies with the requirements for determining the financial contributions 

7 
8 
9 

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

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11 

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as  laid  down  in  Article  10  of  Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006.  The  Commission, 
therefore, proposes to mobilise an amount of EUR 549 946. 

(5) 

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

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 549 946 
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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   EN