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/2013/001 FI/Nokia from Finland)
Date: 2013-10-16
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, Finland, collective dismissal, commitment of expenditure, distribution of EU funding, general budget (EU), mobile phone, payment appropriation













EUR-Lex - 52013PC0707 - EN











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52013PC0707

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/2013/001 FI/Nokia from Finland) /* COM/2013/0707 final */









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 management[1] allows for the mobilisation of
the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) through a flexibility
mechanism, 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 1 February 2013, Finland submitted application EGF/2013/001 FI/Nokia for a financial contribution from the EGF, following redundancies in
Nokia plc, Nokia Siemens Networks and 30 of its
subcontractors in Finland.
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. || EGF/2013/001 
 Member State || Finland 
 Article 2 || (a) 
 Primary enterprise || Nokia plc 
 Subsidiaries, suppliers and downstream producers || 31 
 Reference period || 1.8.2012 – 30.11.2012 
 Starting date for the personalised services || 1.8.2012 
 Application date || 1.2.2013 
 Redundancies during the reference period || 2 863 
 Redundancies before and after the reference period || 1 646 
 Total eligible redundancies || 4 509 
 Redundant workers expected to participate in the measures || 3 719 
 Expenditure for personalised services (EUR) || 18 830 000 
 Expenditure for implementing EGF[3] (EUR) || 790 000 
 Expenditure for implementing EGF (%) || 4.03 
 Total budget (EUR) || 19 620 000 
 EGF contribution (50 %) (EUR) || 9 810 000 
1.           The application was
presented to the Commission on 1 February 2013 and supplemented by additional
information up to 21 August 2013.
2.           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
3.           In order to establish the
link between the redundancies and major structural changes in world trade
patterns due to globalisation, Finland argues that that the current
difficulties of Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks, almost all subcontractors and
the affected regions go back to February 2011. At that time Nokia announced a
significant change in the company's strategy and launched an extensive
cooperation with Microsoft with regard to the use of Microsoft Windows Phone as
its primary smartphone operating system, while keeping Nokia's own Symbian
operating system as a software platform in lower priced phones until the end of
2016. The demand for Symbian phones has meanwhile dropped considerably, and the
development and maintenance operations based on the Symbian system are
therefore being discontinued.
4.           The intention was to keep
the Nokia Salo plant operational while reducing the company's personnel by some
12 % in offices all around the world. This led to the closure of the plant in Cluj, Romania (September 2011), for which another EGF application was presented. Nokia
Siemens Networks also announced major redundancies (November 2011). On 22 March
2012, redundancies in Nokia Salo were announced, numbering 1 000 workers out of
a total of 1 700. Finland submitted application EGF/2012/006 FI/Nokia Salo in
support of these workers, adding that further redundancies were already
planned, and a follow-up application from Finland for the next wave of
redundancies from Nokia itself and its subcontractors would be prepared.
5.           This is the follow-up
application, in support of the remaining Nokia Salo workers, Nokia workers in
other parts of the country (mainly Espoo, Tampere and Oulu) and the resulting
redundancies in Nokia Siemens Networks and 30 other subcontractors in various
regions of Finland. The Salo factory has meanwhile closed down completely, with
the loss of an additional 900 jobs. An extensive product development programme
was also terminated, leading to job cuts in Oulu and Tampere as well as the Salo
Product Development Centre. These closures also led to job losses in support
functions, with the greatest impact on Espoo.
6.           The primary reason for the
redundancies is the transfer of functions within the sector to third countries
outside Europe. Assembly of mobile phones, previously carried out in Salo and
Cluj, has been offshored to Asia (China, South Korea, India and Vietnam, where a new Nokia plant is about to be inaugurated). Component manufacture and
subcontracted production had already been transferred out of Europe. Following
the direction taken by production, both design and product development have
been, or are being, offshored.
7.           The purpose of the
transfer of assembly operations to Asia is to expedite the entry of devices
into the market. By working closer to the subcontractors, it is able to bring
new innovations to the market more rapidly and improve its competitiveness.
Nokia has been losing its position in its most important markets of China and India, where several companies manufacturing cheap phones are increasing their market
shares. In the basic mobile phone models, Nokia's market share dropped from 33
% (2010) to 24 % (2011), and this decline continued in 2012. As regards
smartphones, Apple and Samsung have squeezed Nokia out of most markets. Thus,
in Q2/2012, Nokia held a market share of 6.6 % (down from 38 % at the
beginning of 2010), while Apple had 16.9 % and Samsung 32.6 %[4].
8.           At its height, the
electronics and electrotechnical industry provided employment to more than 60
000 people in Finland, but by the end of 2012, this number had fallen to 50
000. At the same time, the number of personnel in third-country subsidiaries of
the companies in this industry was growing, constituting a clear statement
about offshoring of functions to Asia in particular.
      Personnel in Finland
       Personnel in
subsidiaries abroad            

9.           To date, the mobile phone
sector has been the subject of several EGF applications, all of which based on
trade related globalisation. This is the fourth application on behalf of
workers made redundant by Nokia; the three previous cases were for former Nokia
workers in Germany, Romania and Finland.
Demonstration of the number of
redundancies and compliance with the criteria of Article 2(a)
10.         Finland 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 and downstream producers.
11.         The application cites 4 509
redundancies in Nokia plc, its subsidiary Nokia Siemens Networks and 30 of its
suppliers and subcontractors, of which 2 863 during
the four-month reference period from 1 August 2012 to 30
November 2012 and a further 1 646 redundancies before and after the reference
period, but related to the same collective redundancies procedure. The
2 544 redundancies from Nokia were all calculated in accordance with the
first indent of the second paragraph of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No
1927/2006, while among those from the subsidiary and the subcontractors, 496
were calculated in accordance with the first indent of the second paragraph of
Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006 and the remaining 1 469 in
accordance with the second indent of the same paragraph.
Explanation of the unforeseen nature
of those redundancies
12.         The Finnish authorities
argue that the redundancies at the Salo plant were unforeseen, as this had been
explicitly exempt when Nokia announced major redundancies in Finland in February 2011. At the time, the role of the Salo plant was expected to be the production
of smartphones based on the Windows Phone platform.
13.         At the end of November
2011, when the plant closure in Cluj (Romania) was announced, Nokia also stated
that it was reconsidering the role of the Salo plant and that some personnel
reductions could be expected in 2012. On 22 March 2012, the reduction of the
Salo staff by 1 000 was announced, to be implemented by the end of June. On 14
June 2012, Nokia announced a further 3 700 redundancies in Finland, including 850 in the Salo mobile phone plant and its support functions. In
addition, it would be significantly reducing its Device and Services headcount.
Plant closure leading to further redundancies in Ulm (Germany) and Burnaby (Canada) were also announced. All this was unforeseen, after the assurances
given only a year earlier, and in light of the fact that Salo was the first
Nokia production plant with product development operations and the place where
Nokia usually launched the assembly and assembly-learning process for new and
important telephone models. In addition, sizeable staff reductions had already
been carried out in Finland, and further cuts of this size were not expected.
Identification of the dismissing
enterprises and workers targeted for assistance
14.         The application relates to 4 509
redundancies of which 2 544 in Nokia itself and another 1 965 in its
subsidiary Nokia Siemens Networks and its other suppliers and subcontractors.
Of this total, it is expected that 3 719 workers will participate in the
EGF co-funded measures. 
The dismissing enterprises are the following :
 Enterprise || Redundancies within reference period || Redundancies before or after reference period 
 Nokia plc || 2 348 || 196 
 Nokia Siemens Networks || 23 || 644 
 Accenture ||   || 263 
 Are || 14 ||   
 Autobar Finland || 3 ||   
 Barona || 2 ||   
 Cencorp ||   || 13 
 Crelint || 35 ||   
 DHL Global Forwarding || 5 ||   
 DHL Supply Chain || 75 || 31 
 Digia ||   || 69 
 Flander ||   || 2 
 Foxconn || 14 || 102 
 Infocare || 35 || 3 
 ISS Palvelut || 15 ||   
 Ixonos || 14 || 9 
 Lionbridge || 1 ||   
 Life-on Mobile Corporation || 25 || 1 
 Logica Suomi || 158 ||   
 Mehiläinen || 1 ||   
 Mitron || 4 ||   
 Neusoft Mobile Solutions ||   || 17 
 Nice-business Solutions Finland || 3 || 6 
 Relacom || 6 || 18 
 RR Donneley || 10 ||   
 Saloteam || 4 ||   
 Sasken || 15 ||   
 Sodexo || 21 ||   
 ST-Ericsson ||   || 56 
 Teleca Finland || 10 || 17 
 Tieto ||   || 199 
 Turvatiimi || 22 ||   
 Total || 2 863 || 1 646 
15.         The break-down of the 3 719
workers expected to participate in the measures is as follows:
 Category || Number || Percent 
 Men || 2 338 || 62.87 
 Women || 1 381 || 37.13 
 EU citizens || 3 525 || 94.78 
 Non EU citizens || 194 || 5.22 
 15-24 years old || 30 || 0.81 
 25-54 years old || 3 302 || 88.79 
 55-64 years old || 385 || 10.35 
 > 64 years old || 2 || 0.05 
16.         Among the workers expected
to participate in the measures are 38 workers with longstanding health problems
or a disability.
17.         In terms of occupational
categories, the break-down of the 3 719 workers expected to participate in
the measures is as follows:
 Category || Number || Percent 
 Legislators, senior officials and managers || 464 || 12.48 
 Professionals || 2 070 || 55.66 
 Technicians and associate professionals || 256 || 6.88 
 Clerks || 74 || 1.99 
 Service workers and shop and market sales workers || 40 || 1.08 
 Craft and related trade workers || 62 || 1.67 
 Plant and machine operators and assemblers || 537 || 14.44 
 Elementary occupations || 216 || 5.81 
18.         In accordance with Article
7 of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006, Finland 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
19.         There are several regions
of Finland affected by the redundancies, three of which (Southwest Finland,
Usimaa and Pirkanmaa) are in the southern part of the country and another (North Ostrobothnia) in the north. The region of Southwest Finland is the most severely affected,
with 1 050 new redundancies from Nokia and another 360 from the
subcontractors. This is the region where Salo is located, which has already
suffered from the earlier waves of redundancies from Nokia.
20.         The Salo area is part of
the province of South-West Finland, which is one of the most export-driven
provinces of the country (over 60 % of its industrial output is exported). The
region rose to its highly productive status during the 1990s, with the strong
growth of Nokia, which was then becoming the world's leading mobile phone
manufacturer. As Nokia's position weakened and the global financial and
economic crisis struck, the situation in Salo deteriorated in terms of
employment and production, and it suffered more than other regions of Finland. The economic structure of the Salo area has been exceptionally specialised since
the late 1990s, with the information and communications sector accounting for
more than 50 % of added value in 2008.
In the Southwest Finland region, the target
group consists of more low-skilled workforce than in the other regions. They
are guided to training opportunities in the fields of health and the social
sector; transport and logistics; services such as lodging, catering businesses
and security; financial administration; IT updating education especially in the
gaming sector and business know-how.
21.         The region of Usimaa
includes the capital, Helsinki. Although the Helsinki region has been one of Finland's most rapidly growing areas, it has not been able to avoid the consequences of the
global financial and economic crisis. Turnover in industry fell in 2009 by 29
%, and commerce also declined rapidly. At the same time, numbers of unemployed
job seekers rose by almost one half compared to the situation in 2008. While
economic prospects began to stabilise in 2010, they turned gloomier again in
2012. In the city of Espoo, where Nokia is headquartered, 91 % of industry
turnover came from the electronics industry in 2010, with Nokia and its
subcontractors constituting a major part of this whole.
In the Uusimaa region, most of the people in
the target group have an academic degree. The aim is to guide them to updating
education in their own fields. In the IT sector, there is a labour shortage in
the gaming sector for both employees and managers. Therefore this sector is given
specific attention for EGF measures in the Uusimaa region.
22.         The region of Pirkanmaa, in
the West of Finland, is one of the most export-driven areas. As a major centre
of culture, education and services, it has provided better employment
opportunities to its population than many more peripheral regions of the
country. The region suffered considerably from the effects of the global
financial and economic crisis, and now from the redundancies in Nokia and those
resulting from them, estimated at about 1 000 in the area.
In the Pirkanmaa region, about 80 % of the
target group have an academic degree. The aim is to integrate the strong IT
knowledge of the target group into the main sectors where growth is expected
which are bio / organic products, environment and health technologies,
renewable energy and smart machinery.
23.         The region of North
Ostrobothnia, with its capital Oulu, is Northern Finland's most important
financial, educational and cultural centre. Since the 1990s, this region has
also become an international innovation hub, thanks to the success of Nokia. It
has attracted young people in search of education and international specialists
in search of employment. It is also a major transport hub, both by land, air
and sea, and it stands to benefit from the urban expansion at the beginning of
2013, when several surrounding towns were merged into it.
In the North Osthrobotnia region, the aim is to
take advantage of the target group's experience and knowledge in the growing
sectors, which are wellbeing, environment, bio technology and culture.
Furthermore new IT businesses are expected to arise.
24.         The stakeholders in all the
regions concerned are the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the
Environment, the Regional Employment and Economic Development Offices, and the
City administrations. In addition, every region has its own co-ordination
groups dealing with structural change, which will be involved in the
implementation of the application.
Expected impact of the redundancies
as regards local, regional or national employment
25.         According to the Ministry
of Employment and the Economy, the total number of people seeking jobs within
the ICT branch in Finland in 2012 (including the latest redundancies from Nokia
and its subcontractors) amounted to some 7,700 people. This large number poses
considerable problems, particularly for job-seekers aged 45 and over (as these
are assumed to have outdated expertise) and for young graduates looking for a
first job.
26.         The suddenness and scale of
the redundancies covered by this application cause further difficulties not
only for the workers themselves, but also for the localities with Nokia
premises and the Finnish economy as a whole. Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks
together accounted for about one-fifth of all jobs in the Finnish ICT sector.
Nokia Group's (Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks) share of Finnish GDP in 2000
was 4 %; by 2011 it had dropped to only 0.6 % with a further decline in 2012.
27.         The share of the Nokia
cluster in all private sector investments in research and development in Finland in the past amounted to more than half. With these redundancies, it is expected
that investments will be halved, and that Finland will lose EUR 1 billion in
R&D investments.
28.         Another major problem is
that the subcontractors have been specialised in supplying Nokia and have not
developed their own markets and strategies. As a result of the closures, they
will need to develop these quickly if they wish to survive.
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
29.         Finland is planning three
types of measures for the redundant workers covered by this application, (i)
helping them to transfer to a new job, (ii) helping them to start their own
business, and (iii) providing training or education. All the following measures
combine to form a co-ordinated package of personalised services which aims at
re-integrating the redundant workers into employment:
–     
Coaching measures and other preparatory measures
: The unemployed workers can be helped in job-seeking techniques, with
counselling and guidance, visits to job fairs, help with job applications and
CVs. This service is normally provided to groups of varying sizes. Depending on
the group, the training will be given for between 5 and 20 days. Detailed
career guidance is also given to groups, with focus for interaction and work
practice. This coaching can be up to 40 days. Individuals or groups can be
provided with job coaches, who can act as sparring partners during the job
search and as mentors to both employers and employees during the early periods
of a new job. Up to 50 hours of coaching can be provided per job-seeker.
–     
The workers can also benefit from a range of
expert assessments. These, for instance, can assess the individual's work
capacity, including health related aspects, the competence and vocational
skills, or the entrepreneurial skills and potential of the worker.
–     
Job seekers can also be given the opportunity to
carry out training trials, where they can test their aptitude for various
fields of study for a training trial period of around 10 days. They may also
try out entrepreneurship on a trial basis, in a group setting, where business
ideas are discussed and developed, or where the job seekers work on a business
idea provided by another person. A teacher is provided for 8 to 12 days. If an
idea has been finalised and tested, the budding entrepreneur can try it out for
up to 6 months, with another 4 to 6 days of contact teaching during this
period.
–     
Training and re-training : The goal of the training measures is the acquisition of a basic
or vocational qualification within an industry with a high employment rate; continuing
training serves to strengthen existing competencies, and guidance / preparatory
labour market training is made available to persons with no future career plan.
Training is tailored according to the target group, and the courses can
contain, for instance, expansion of ICT sector competencies; project, quality
and financial management, and development of business skills. Most vocational
labour market training is aimed at a qualification; in certain conditions,
completion of a higher education degree is possible.
–     
SME development training will be made available;
this combines the development needs of SMEs with the competences of specially
trained unemployed persons. The goal of such training is to provide trainees
with a practical understanding of how SMEs operate and to provide them with the
skills necessary to working profitably in a company, as well as the
competencies to develop it. Trainees learn about the company's business processes
and understand the importance of quality in the operations of a company.
–     
Entrepreneurship promotion and services for
new entrepreneurs : Protomo is an environment for
open innovation, allowing participants to process ideas into prototypes, work
in teams with pilot projects, develop new kinds of products and services and
start up new businesses with new jobs. Protomo brings new ideas and innovative
people together. The goal of the Protomo concept, currently under redevelopment
in Uusimaa, is to further lower the threshold for becoming an entrepreneur.
–     
The Protomo concept works like a matching
service for new entrepreneurs. The Protomo database is a collection of
promising ideas proposed by individuals or enterprises of the region.
Protomo-appointed tutors then help small groups of redundant workers to respond
to the ideas in the form of a new enterprise that could either produce the
goods or services for which there appears to be a need, or enable them to join
the generator of the idea and work on it from the inside of an existing
enterprise. The Protomo team provide the facilities and advice for this group
work, and they assess the feasibility of the proposal as well as providing the
necessary experts where required. Protomo normally works with groups of 4
persons who have signed in to develop a selected idea further.
–     
Potential new entrepreneurs are helped with
advice, relevant training, counselling, consultation and support, premises and
facilities for the duration of the Protomo project, and some start-up grants
can also be provided when the eligibility conditions are met. Protomo can
provide external experts with specific know-how for the aspiring entrepreneurs.
University lecturers and students can be involved, to test and encourage
radical innovations that may be refined and lead to new business creations.
–     
Support for starting independent business
operations : This is a start-up grant, assuring an
income for an aspiring entrepreneur for up to 18 months of initial operation.
The basic allowance consists of EUR 31,36 per day. A variable supplement
is added to this, which may not exceed 60 % of the basic allowance. It is
estimated that some 150 persons will qualify for this allowance, and that the
average paid out to them over the course of the implementation period will be
EUR 6 000.
–     
Mobility assistance : This provides both for travel and accommodation expenses caused
by job-seeking or training, and for removal expenses. Job seekers may not be
able to find new employment in the immediate area, so may need to travel to
attend job interviews, and may need to move to a new place outside their
communting area to take up vacancies. Travel expenses are calculated on a
mileage basis, with accommodation reimbursed if necessary. Removal expenses are
reimbursed up to EUR 700.
–     
Employment services at the Service Point : The redundant workers are provided with Service Points which take
care of them during the implementation phase. Initially started inside Nokia
premises, the Service Points set out to advise the affected workers from the
outset by providing a much more personal and in-depth service to them than the
public employment office would normally be able to deliver. Special attention
is paid to ensuring that none of the workers slip into long-term unemployment.
Following the intensive initial effort of the Service Point, it remains
available to guide the workers as they proceed with their individual measures.
–     
Pay subsidies :
These can be made available to employers willing to hire the targeted workers
in the full knowledge of deficiencies in the competence or vocational skills of
the person to be employed, and willing to ensure that they are paid a
reasonable salary and given every support and the necessary on-the-job training
as they settle into unfamiliar jobs. The duration is fixed according to the
needs of the worker, and it is estimated that it will amount to an average of
EUR 7 453 per worker benefiting from this scheme.
–     
Company based data acquisition scheme : This scheme enables the Employment and Economic Development
Offices, the Centres for Economic Development, and the Ministry of Employment
and the Economy to conduct telephone interviews with companies and gather
up-to-date information on the enterprises' personnel needs. This information
enables the offices to guide the workers in the right direction and help them
with their choices of training courses. The interviews are carried out in a
centralised manner and the results made available to the actors in a sorted
form.
30.         The expenditure for
implementing the EGF, 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 at
national, regional and local levels. The workers participating in the EGF
co-funded measures will be informed that the services offered are financed with
EGF assistance. The Finnish authorities are planning a conference, which
will involve both Nokia applications together.
31.         The personalised services
presented by the Finnish authorities are active labour market measures within
the eligible actions defined by Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006. The Finnish
authorities estimate the total costs at EUR 19 620 000, of which
the expenditure for personalised services at EUR 18 830 000 and
the expenditure for implementing the EGF at EUR 790 000 (4.03 %
of the total amount). The total contribution requested from the EGF is
EUR 9 810 000 (50 % of the total costs).
 Actions || Estimated number of workers targeted || Estimated cost per worker targeted (EUR) || Total costs (EGF and national cofinancing) (EUR) 
 Personalised services (first paragraph of Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006) 
 Coaching measures and other preparatory measures || 2 680 || 1 076 || 2 884 000 
 Education / training and retraining || 1 340 || 6 027 || 8 076 000 
 Entrepreneurship promotion (Protomo projects etc.) || 180 || 6 306 || 1 135 000 
 Support for starting independent business operations (start-up grant) || 150 || 6 000 || 900 000 
 Mobility assistance || 470 || 287 || 135 000 
 Employment services at the Service Point || 3 719 || 215 || 800 000 
 Pay subsidies || 640 || 7 453 || 4 770 000 
 Company based data acquisition system || 2 505 || 52 || 130 000 
 Sub total personalised services ||   || 18 830 000 
 Expenditure for implementing EGF (third paragraph of Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006) 
 Preparatory activities ||   || 50 000 
 Management ||   || 420 000 
 Information and publicity ||   || 300 000 
 Control activities ||   || 20 000 
 Sub total expenditure for implementing EGF ||   || 790 000 
 Total estimated costs ||   || 19 620 000 
 EGF contribution (50 % of total costs) ||   || 9 810 000 
32.         Finland confirms that the
measures described above are complementary with actions funded by the
Structural Funds and that measures are in place to prevent any double
financing. 
Date(s) on which the personalised
services to the affected workers were started or are planned to start
33.         Finland started the
personalised services to the affected workers included in the co-ordinated
package proposed for co-financing to the EGF on 1 August 2012. 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
34.         The Ministry of Employment
and the Economy has convened a group that addresses the redundancies at Nokia
and participated in the preparation of the EGF application. This working group
has representatives from the Southwest Finland, North Ostrobothnia, Pirkanmaa
and Uusimaa Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment;
local Employment and Economic Development Offices; and the social partners,
i.e. the Council of Finnish Industrial Unions (e.g. Trade Union Pro, the
Finnish Metalworkers' Union, and Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland)
and the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries with representatives from
Nokia. 
35.         The employment promotion
committee of the Employment and Economic Development Office is active at local
level. This committee operates as a co-operation organ for the Employment and
Economic Development Office and labour market organisations, municipalities,
and other local actors. The committee is tasked with, for example, anticipating
changes in the labour market and planning steps necessitated by these changes. 
36.         The Finnish authorities
confirmed that the requirements laid down in national and EU legislation
concerning collective redundancies have been complied with.
Information on actions that are
mandatory by virtue of national law or pursuant to collective agreements
37.         As regards the criteria
contained in Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006, the Finnish 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 above do not receive
assistance from other EU financial instruments.
·      In addition, the Finnish authorities confirmed that they had
followed up and implemented the recommendations resulting from the EGF audit of
an earlier case, EGF/2007/004 FI/Perlos.
Management and control systems 
38.         Finland has notified the
Commission that the financial contribution will be managed by the Ministry of
Employment and the Economy, which also manages ESF funds. The same Ministry
acts as the certifying authority. There is a strict separation of duties and of
reporting relationships between the departments responsible for these two
functions. The management functions for the EGF have been assigned to the
Employment and Entrepreneurship Department, while those for the ESF are with
the Regional Department. The certifying functions for both Funds are within the
Human Resources and Administration Unit. The Ministry has prepared a manual
setting out in detail the procedures to be followed.
With regard to auditing, the responsible body
is the independent Internal Auditing Unit, operating under the Permanent Secretary.
Functions related to monitoring and auditing are also included in the range of
functions of both the managing and the certifying authorities.
Financing
39.         On the basis of the
application from Finland, the proposed contribution from the EGF to the coordinated
package of personalised services (including expenditure
to implement EGF) is EUR 9 810 000,
representing 50 % of the total cost. The Commission's proposed allocation
under the Fund is based on the information made available by Finland.
40.         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 to above, to be allocated under heading 1a of the financial
framework.
41.         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.
42.         The Commission presents
separately a transfer request in order to enter in the 2013 budget specific
commitment appropriations, as required in Point 28 of the Interinstitutional
Agreement of 17 May 2006.
Source of payment appropriations 
43.         Appropriations
from the EGF budget line will be used to cover the amount of
EUR 9 810 000 needed for the present application.
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/2013/001 FI/Nokia from Finland)
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 management[5], 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 Fund[6], and in particular Article
12(3) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the
European Commission[7],
Whereas:
(1)       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.
(2)       The Interinstitutional
Agreement of 17 May 2006 allows the mobilisation of the EGF within the annual
ceiling of EUR 500 million.
(3)       Finland submitted an
application to mobilise the EGF, in respect of redundancies in the enterprise Nokia plc, Nokia Siemens Networks and 30 of its subcontractors, on 1 February 2013 and supplemented it by
additional information up to 21 August 2013. 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 9 810 000.
(4)       The EGF should, therefore,
be mobilised in order to provide a financial contribution for the application
submitted by Finland,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
For the general budget of the European
Union for the financial year 2013, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund
(EGF) shall be mobilised to provide the sum of EUR 9 810 000 in
commitment and payment appropriations.
Article 2
This Decision shall be published in the Official
Journal of the European Union.
Done at Brussels,
For the European Parliament                       For
the Council
The President                                                 The
President
[1]               OJ C 139, 14.6.2006, p. 1.
[2]               OJ L 406, 30.12.2006, p. 1.
[3]               In accordance with the third paragraph of Article 3
of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006.
[4]               Market research firm IDC.
[5]               OJ C 139, 14.6.2006, p. 1.
[6]               OJ L 406, 30.12.2006, p. 1.
[7]               OJ C […], […], p. […].