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 13 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management (application EGF/2014/009 EL/Sprider Stores)
Date: 2014-10-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, Greece, collective dismissal, commitment of expenditure, economic recession, employment aid, general budget (EU), payment appropriation, reintegration into working life, retail trade, self-employed person













EUR-Lex - 52014PC0620 - EN











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52014PC0620

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 13 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management (application EGF/2014/009 EL/Sprider Stores) /* COM/2014/0620 final */









EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL
1.           The rules applicable to
financial contributions from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF)
are laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the European Globalisation
Adjustment Fund (2014-2020) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006[1] (the 'EGF Regulation').

2.           The Greek authorities
submitted application EGF/2014/009 EL/Sprider Stores for a financial
contribution from the EGF, following redundancies in Sprider Stores S.A. in Greece.
3.           Following its assessment,
the Commission has concluded, in accordance with all applicable provisions of
the EGF Regulation, that the conditions for awarding a financial contribution from
the EGF are met.
SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION
 EGF application || EGF/2014/009 EL/Sprider Stores 
 Member State || Greece 
 Region(s) mainly concerned (NUTS level 2) || Κεντρική Μακεδονία (Central Macedonia) (EL12) Aττική (Attica) (EL30) 
 Date of submission of the application || 6.6.2014 
 Date of acknowledgement of receipt of the application || 13.6.2014 
 Date of request for additional information || 20.6.2014 
 Deadline for provision of the additional information || 1.8.2014 
 Deadline for the completion of the assessment || 24.10.2014 
 Intervention criterion || Article 4(1)(a) of the EGF Regulation 
 Primary enterprise || Sprider Stores S.A. 
 Sector(s) of economic activity (NACE Rev. 2 division)[2] || Division 47 ('Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles') 
 Number of subsidiaries, suppliers and downstream producers || 0 
 Reference period (four months) || 17 November 2013 - 17 March 2014 
 Number of redundancies or cessations of activity during the reference period (a) || 703 
 Number of redundancies or cessations of activity before or after the reference period (b) || 58 
 Total number of redundancies (a + b) || 761 
 Total estimated number of targeted beneficiaries || 761 
 Number of targeted young persons not in employment, education or training (NEETs) || 550 
 Budget for personalised services (EUR) || 11 941 500 
 Budget for implementing EGF[3] (EUR) || 210 000 
 Total budget (EUR) || 12 151 500 
 EGF contribution (60 %) (EUR) || 7 290 900 
ASSESSMENT OF THE APPLICATION
Procedure
4.           The Greek authorities submitted
application EGF/2014/009 EL/Sprider Stores within 12 weeks of the date on which
the intervention criteria set out in paragraphs 6 to 8 below were met, on 6
June 2014. The Commission acknowledged receipt of the application within two
weeks of the date of submission of the application, on 13 June 2014. The
Commission requested additional information from the Greek authorities on 20
June 2014. Such additional information was provided within six weeks of the
date of the request. The deadline of 12 weeks of the receipt of the complete
application within which the Commission should finalise its assessment of the
application's compliance with the conditions for providing a financial
contribution expires on 24 October 2014. 
Eligibility of the application
Enterprises and beneficiaries
concerned
5.           The application relates to
761 workers made redundant in Sprider Stores S.A. an enterprise which operated in the economic sector classified under
NACE Rev. 2 division 47 ('Retail
trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles'). The stores were mainly located in the NUTS[4] level 2 regions of Κεντρική
Μακεδονία (Central Macedonia) (EL12) and Aττική (Attica)
(EL30).
Intervention criteria
6.           The Greek authorities submitted
the application under the intervention criterion of Article 4(1)(a) of the
EGF Regulation, which requires at least 500 workers being made redundant or
self-employed persons' activity ceasing, over a reference period of four months
in an enterprise in a Member State, including workers made redundant or
self-employed persons' activity ceasing in its suppliers and downstream
producers.
7.           The
reference period of four months is from 17 November 2013 to 17 March 2014.
8.           The
application relates to 703 workers made redundant[5]
in Sprider Stores during the reference period of four months.
Calculation of redundancies and of
cessation of activity
9.           All the redundancies have
been calculated from the date of the de facto termination of the contract of
employment or its expiry.
Eligible beneficiaries
10.         In addition to the workers
already referred to, the eligible beneficiaries include 58 workers made
redundant before the reference period of four months. These workers were made
redundant after the general announcement of the projected redundancies on 30
September 2013. A clear causal link can be established with the event (the enterprise
filing for bankruptcy) which triggered the redundancies during the reference
period.
11.         The total number of
eligible beneficiaries is therefore 761. 
Link between the redundancies and economic
crisis addressed in Regulation (EC) No 546/2009
12.         In order to establish the
link between the redundancies and the global financial and economic crisis
addressed in Regulation (EC) No 546/2009, Greece argues that the Greek economy
is for the sixth consecutive year (2008-2013) in deep recession. According to
ELSTAT, the Greek Statistical Authority, since 2008 the Greek GDP has decreased
by 25,7 percentage points, public consumption by 21 percentage points and private
consumption by 32,3 percentage points whilst unemployment increased by 20,6
percentage points.
13.         Moreover the decline in GDP
has widened the gap between the Greek per capita GDP and the per capita GDP of
the EU, cancelling the progress towards economic convergence made by Greece in the 1995-2007 period.
14.         Furthermore, to deal with
foreign debt payments, in 2008 the Greek government took unpopular measures
such as increasing tax revenues, streamlining public expenditure and decreasing
public employees' salaries. Wages in the private sector have also been
decreasing in an attempt to increase the competitiveness of the Greek economy.
Since 2008, thousands of enterprises have stopped their activities and closed
down, making their staff redundant and thousands of self-employed persons have
ceased their activities, contributing to the sharp increase of unemployment. An
immediate effect of the reduced income has been a decrease in consumption.
15.         In 2009, the drop of
household consumption in Greece followed the same negative trend as in the
EU-27. In 2010 and 2011, there was a recovery in household consumption at EU-27
level followed by a drop in 2012. Household consumption in Greece has been declining since the beginning of the financial and economic crisis and the
figures have been worsening every year.
Household
consumption
(% change compared with the previous year)
   || 2008 || 2009 || 2010 || 2011 || 2012 
 EU-27 || 0,44 || -1,67 || 1,04 || 0,26 || -0,74 
 Greece || 4,67 || -1,91 || -6,39 || -7,91 || -9,07 
16.         According to the ELSTAT
report on household income and living conditions, 23 % of Greeks were
below the poverty threshold[6]
in 2012.
17.         To date, the retail sector
has been the subject of another three EGF applications[7] also based on the
global financial and economic crisis.
Events giving rise to the
redundancies and cessation of activity 
18.         According to the Greek
authorities, the events giving rise to the redundancies were mainly two: (1) the
decrease of available household income ― due to the increase in the
tax burden, decreasing salaries (of both private and public employees) and
rising unemployment ― resulting in a huge drop of purchasing power;
(2) the drastic reduction of loans to enterprises and individuals due to
the lack of cash in the Greek banks. According to the Bank of Greece, the annual
growth rate for loans granted to households and enterprises (excluding
financial undertakings) has been negative since 2010 due to cash shortfall in
the Greek banks.
19.         Spider Stores was founded
in 1971. In 1999, the Group Hajioannou bought 80 % of the enterprise and
the expansion of the Sprider Stores began until it became the largest Greek
multinational 'Value Fashion' clothing retail chain, as proudly stated in
its website[8].
In 2000 the subsidiary Sprider Bulgaria was created to better support the
presence of the group in the Balkans. Seven years later, in 2007, the
enterprise expanded its presence in South-eastern Europe with the opening of
five stores in Romania, one in Lemesos (Cyprus) and another shop in Sofia
(Bulgaria). Next year, Sprider Stores opened 21 new stores in Greece, (10 stores in Athens and Thessaloniki and 11 all around the country) and 16 abroad, in Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Poland and Serbia. In 2009, the company had a network of 114 clothing stores,
1 500 employees and a turnover of EUR 150 million.
20.         Due to the drop of
purchasing power of the Greek households following the decline of the Greek
economy since the beginning of the economic and financial crisis, demand for
products other than basic staples plummeted and the turnover of Sprider Stores
started declining accordingly.
Sprider
Stores turnover (2009-2013)
Million euro
 2009 || 2010 || 2011 || 2012 || 2013[9] 
 150,01 || 138,03 || 112,15 || 77,70 || 22,36 
21.         Another consequence of the
recession of the Greek economy was the cash flow shortage. To remedy it Sprider
Stores sought financial help from banks, unsuccessfully. According to the press
this is the main argument provided by Sprider Stores when the shutdown of its
operations was announced[10]
22.         The reduction in turnover
which resulted from the drop in consumption together with the tightening of
credit made unworkable the attempts of Sprider Stores to find a solution and
ended in the enterprise filing for bankruptcy and the subsequent redundancies.
Expected impact of the redundancies
as regards the local, regional or national economy and employment
23.         Since Sprider Stores was
present in all Greek regions, the redundancies are spread out over the whole Greece. The Greek authorities argue that the redundancies in Sprider Stores will further
aggravate the unemployment situation, which already deteriorated as a result of
the economic and financial crisis and seems to be particularly fragile. Greece has the highest unemployment rates amongst EU Member states.
Unemployment
rate

Source:
Eurostat[11]
24.         Most of the redundancies
(64 %) are concentrated in Attica and Central Macedonia. In Q4 2013,
the unemployment rate in both territories was above the national average
(27,5 %). In Attica was 28,2 % whilst in Central Macedonia it was
30,3 %[12].
Furthermore, there is a lack of job offers in Attica and Central Macedonia if
compared with the high number of job seekers. As a result, more than 70 %
of the unemployed persons have been unemployed for more than 12 months. In Central Macedonia the situation of young job-seekers is particularly dramatic, since the
youth unemployment rate is 60,4 %.
25.         Moreover, Attica accounts
for 43 % of the Greek GDP; therefore the impact of the closure of businesses
based in this region reaches the whole Greek economy. 
Targeted beneficiaries and proposed
actions
Targeted beneficiaries
26.         The estimated number of
targeted workers expected to participate in the measures is 761. The breakdown
of these workers by sex, citizenship and age group is as follows:
 Category || Number of targeted beneficiaries 
 Sex: || Men: || 112 || (14,7 %) 
   || Women: || 649 || (85,3 %) 
 Citizenship: || EU citizens: || 761 || (100,00 %) 
   || non-EU citizens: || 0 || (0,00 %) 
 Age group: || 15-24 years: || 37 || (4,9 %) 
   || 25-29 years: || 171 || (22,5 %) 
   || 30-54 years: || 549 || (72,1 %) 
   || 55-64 years: || 4 || (0,5 %) 
   || over 64 years: || 0 || (0,00 %) 
27.         Additionally the Greek
authorities will provide personalised services co-financed by the EGF to up to 550
young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs) under the age of 30
on the date of submission of the application, given that 682 of the
redundancies referred to in paragraph 7 occur in NUTS level 2 regions, which
are eligible under the Youth Employment Initiative[13].
28.         The total estimated number
of targeted beneficiaries expected to participate in the measures, including
NEETs, is therefore 1 311.
Eligibility of the proposed actions
29.         The
personalised services to be provided to redundant workers and NEETs consist of
the following actions. 
–              
Occupational guidance: This accompanying measure, which will be offered to all
participants, covers the following stages:
1 Information addressed to NEETs. Unlike what happens with the 761 targeted workers, who are already
identified (Sprider Stores former workers), the group of targeted NEETs is
still to be defined. Among other criteria for selecting the targeted NEETs, the
Greek authorities will use criteria aligned with the criteria included in the
Greek Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan (i.e. young people at risk of
exclusion, level of household income, education level, duration of
unemployment, etc.), as well as, expressions of interest. For this purpose they
intend to launch information campaigns aimed specifically at the NEETs.
2 Intake and registration. The first measure provided to all participants (workers and NEETs)
includes information on available services and training programmes and on
skills and training requirements. 
3 Skills assessment and personal and
occupational paper. This is intended to help
workers and NEETs to identify their own skills and the opportunities related to
their own interests and to establish a realistic career plan. The skills
assessment involves intensive and personalised counselling, structured as a
pathway consisting of various stages in which the worker and the counsellor
work on an issue (e.g. opportunities, interests, analysis of the motivations
and expectations, barriers, etc.). Following these assessments, a personal and
occupational paper is put together, setting out a summary of the participant's
skills, his/her individual project and an action plan.
4 Job-search support and career
guidance. This includes: (1) training in
horizontal issues such as development of social skills, adjustment to new
situations, decision making; (2) job-search assistance including
information on available jobs, active research of the local and regional
employment opportunities, job-search techniques and training on drafting of CVs
and cover letters and how to prepare a job interview; (3) career guidance
: the counsellors will provide vocational guidance to the dismissed workers and
will steer them towards specific job offers.
5 Guidance towards employment. The counsellors will also accompany the workers and NEETs during
the implementation of their training pathways and individual plans of
reintegration into employment. The participants interested in setting up a
business will receive general support and counselling towards entrepreneurship
in the framework of this occupational guidance measure.
6 Monitoring. This provides a follow up of the participants during the six
months that follow the end of the implementation of the measures.
–              
Training, retraining and vocational training. This measure consists in providing vocational training courses to
workers and NEETs which correspond to their needs, as identified during the
occupational consultancy activity, and in areas and sectors with good
developments prospects and that correspond to recognised needs in the labour
market. The training courses could also be complemented with internship.
–              
Contribution to business start-up: The workers or NEETs who set up their own businesses will receive
up to EUR 15 000 as a contribution to cover setting-up costs. In Greece, one of the major difficulties that entrepreneurs face when starting up a business
is access to funding. Banks, due to the shortage of cash, turn down the
majority of loan requests. This measure aims to promote entrepreneurship
through this financial support.
–              
Job-search allowance and training allowance. To cover the expenses incurred when participating in the occupational
guidance measure, the beneficiaries will receive EUR 50 per day of
participation. While in training the allowance will be EUR 6 per hour.
–              
Mobility allowance. Those workers or NEETs who accept a job involving a change of
residence will receive a lump sum of EUR 2 000 to cover the necessary
expenditure.
30.         The
proposed actions, here described, constitute active labour market measures within
the eligible actions set out in Article 7 of the EGF Regulation. These
actions do not substitute passive social protection measures. 
31.         The Greek authorities have
provided the required information on actions that are mandatory for the
enterprise concerned by virtue of national law or pursuant to collective
agreements. They have confirmed that a financial contribution from the EGF will
not replace such actions.
Estimated budget
32.         The estimated total costs are
EUR 12 151 500, comprising expenditure for personalised services
of EUR 11 941 500 and expenditure for preparatory, management, information and
publicity, control and reporting activities of EUR 210 000.
33.         The
total financial contribution requested from the EGF is EUR 7 290 900
(60 % of total costs).
 Actions || Estimated number of participants || Estimated cost per participant (EUR) (*) || Estimated total costs (EUR) (**) 
 Personalised services (Actions under Article 7(1)(a) and (c) of the EGF Regulation) 
 Occupational guidance || 1 311 || 1 250 || 1 638 750 
 Training, retraining and vocational training || 1 311 || 2 658 || 3 484 000 
 Contribution to business start-up || 200 || 15 000 || 3 000 000 
 Sub-total (a): || – || 8 122 750 
 (68,02 %) 
 Allowances and incentives (Actions under Article 7(1)(b) of the EGF Regulation) 
 Job-search allowance || 1 311 || 1 250 || 1 638 750 
 Training allowance || 1 100 || 1 800 || 1 980 000 
 Mobility allowance. || 100 || 2 000 || 200 000 
 Sub-total(b): || – || 3 818 750 
 (31,98 %) 
 Actions under Article 7(4) of the EGF Regulation 
 1. Preparatory activities || – || 40 000 
 2. Management || – || 40 000 
 3. Information and publicity || – || 100 000 
 4. Control and reporting || – || 30 000 
 Sub-total (c): || – || 210 000 
 (1,73 %) 
 Total costs (a + b + c): || – || 12 151 500 
 EGF contribution (60 % of total costs) || – || 7 290 900 
(*) To avoid decimals, the estimated costs
per worker have been rounded. However the rounding has no impact on the total
cost of each measure which remains as in the application submitted by Greece.
(**) Totals do not tally due to roundings.
34.         The costs of the actions
identified in the table above as actions under Article 7(1)(b) of the EGF
Regulation do not exceed 35 % of the total costs for the coordinated
package of personalised services. The Greek authorities confirmed that these actions
are conditional on the active participation of the targeted beneficiaries in
job-search or training activities.
35.         The Greek authorities
confirmed that the costs of investments for self-employment, business start-ups
and employee take-overs will not exceed EUR 15 000 per beneficiary. 
Period of eligibility of expenditure
36.         The Greek authorities
started providing the personalised services to the targeted beneficiaries on 1
September 2014. The expenditure on the actions referred to in point 29 shall therefore
be eligible for a financial contribution from the EGF from 1 September
2014 to 1 September 2016.
37.         The Greek authorities started
incurring the administrative expenditure to implement the EGF on 15 July 2014. The
expenditure for preparatory, management, information and publicity, control and
reporting activities shall therefore be eligible for a financial contribution
from the EGF from 15 July 2014 to 1 March 2017. 
Complementarity with actions funded
by national or Union funds
38.         The source of national
pre-financing or co-funding is the Public Investment Programme of the Ministry
of Development.
39.         Greek authorities have confirmed
that the measures described above receiving a financial contribution from the
EGF will not also receive financial contribution from other Union financial
instruments.
Procedures for consulting the targeted
beneficiaries or their representatives or the social partners as well as local and
regional authorities
40.         The Greek authorities have
indicated that the co-ordinated package of personalised services has been drawn
up in consultation with the representatives of the targeted beneficiaries and
the Federation of private employees in Greece. In May 2014 the proposed
application was discussed at two meetings with the social partners which were
consulted on various issues related to the contents of the integrated package
of measures.
Management and control systems
41.         The application contains a
description of the management and control system which specifies the
responsibilities of the bodies involved. Greece 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 Greece. ESF Actions Coordination and Monitoring Authority (EYSEKT) will act as managing
authority, the EDEL (Fiscal Audit Committee) as control authority and the
Special Paying Authority Service as certification authority.
Commitments provided by the Member State concerned
42.         The Greek authorities have provided
all necessary assurances regarding the following: 
–              
the principles of equality of treatment and
non-discrimination will be respected in the access to the proposed actions and
their implementation;
–              
the requirements laid down in national and EU
legislation concerning collective redundancies have been complied with;
–              
the proposed actions will not receive financial
support from other Union funds or financial instruments and any double
financing will be prevented;
–              
the proposed actions will be complementary with
actions funded by the Structural Funds; 
–              
the financial contribution from the EGF will comply
with the procedural and material Union rules on State aid.
BUDGETARY IMPLICATION
Budgetary proposal
43.         The EGF shall not exceed a
maximum annual amount of EUR 150 million (2011 prices), as laid down in
Article 12 of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of
2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the
years 2014-2020[14].
44.         Having examined the
application in respect of the conditions set out in Article 13(1) of the
EGF Regulation, and having taken into account the number of targeted beneficiaries,
the proposed actions and the estimated costs, the Commission proposes to
mobilise the EGF for the amount of EUR 7 290 900, representing 60 % of the total costs of the proposed actions, in order to provide a financial
contribution for the application.
45.         The proposed decision to
mobilise the EGF will be taken jointly by the European Parliament and the
Council, as laid down in point 13 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of
2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the
Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on
sound financial management[15].
Related acts
46.         At the same time as it
presents this proposal for a decision to mobilise the EGF, the Commission will present
to the European Parliament and to the Council a proposal for a transfer to the
relevant budgetary line for the amount of EUR 7 290 900.
47.         At the same time as it
adopts this proposal for a decision to mobilise the EGF, the Commission will
adopt a decision on a financial contribution, by means of an implementing act,
which will enter into force on the date at which the European Parliament and
the Council adopt the proposed decision to mobilise the EGF.
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 13 of the
Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European
Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on
cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management (application
EGF/2014/009 EL/Sprider Stores)
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 Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013
of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the
European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (2014-2020) and repealing Regulation
(EC) No 1927/2006[16],
and in particular Article 15(4) thereof,
Having regard to the Interinstitutional
Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council
and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters
and on sound financial management[17],
and in particular point 13 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the
European Commission,
Whereas:
(1)       The European Globalisation
Adjustment Fund (EGF) was established to provide support for workers made
redundant and self-employed persons whose activity has ceased as a result of
major structural changes in world trade patterns due to globalisation, as a result
of a continuation of the global financial and economic crisis addressed in
Regulation (EC) No 546/2009[18],
or as a result of a new global financial and economic crisis and to assist them
with their reintegration into the labour market.
(2)       The EGF shall not exceed a
maximum annual amount of EUR 150 million (2011 prices), as laid down in
Article 12 of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013.
(3)       Greece submitted an
application to mobilise the EGF, in respect of redundancies[19] in Sprider Stores S. A.
in Greece, on 6 June 2014 and supplemented it by additional information as
provided by Article 8.3 of Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013. This application
complies with the requirements for determining a financial contribution from
the EGF as laid down in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013.
(4)       According to Article
6 (2) of Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013, Greece has decided to
provide personalised services co-financed by the EGF also to young persons not
in employment, education or training (NEETs).
(5)       The EGF should, therefore,
be mobilised in order to provide a financial contribution of an amount of EUR 7 290 900 for the application submitted by Greece,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 
Article 1
For the general budget of the European
Union for the financial year 2014, the EGF shall be mobilised to provide the
sum of EUR 7 290 900 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 L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 855.
[2]               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, 30.12.2006, p. 1).
[3]               In accordance with the fourth paragraph of Article 7
of Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013.
[4]               Commission Regulation (EU) No 1046/2012 of 8 November
2012 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament
and of the Council on the establishment of a common classification of
territorial units for statistics (NUTS) as regards the transmission of the time
series for the new regional breakdown (OJ L 310, 9.11.2012, p. 34).
[5]               Within the meaning of Article 3(a) of the EGF
Regulation.
[6]               In Greece, the poverty line is EUR 5 708 per
year per person (for individuals) and EUR 11 986 for households comprising two
adults and two children up to 14 years old.
[7]               EGF/2010/016 ES Aragón retail. COM(2010) 615
                EGF/2011/004 EL ALDI Hellas. COM(2011) 580
                EGF/2014/013 EL Odyssefs Fokas. Currently being assessed by the
Commission.
[8]               http://www.spriderstores.ro/values/
[9]               First nine months of the year
[10]             Apparel retailer Sprider Stores shuts down operations
after 32 years. "This development is due to the recalcitrant stance and
refusal of the banks to continue funding," the company said. Source:
www.ekathimerini.com
[11]             Code tsdec450
[12]             Source:
ELSTAT. Q4 2013 Labour Force Survey
[13]             All Greek NUTS level 2 regions are eligible under the
Youth Employment Initiative except Ιόνια
Νησιά (Ionian Islands). Of the total number of
redundancies 21 occurred in the Ionian Islands, 13 in Corfu and 8 in Zakynthos.
[14]             OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884.
[15]             OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1.
[16]             OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 855.
[17]             OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1.
[18]             OJ L 167,  29.6.2009, p.26.
[19]             Within the meaning of Article 3(a) of the EGF
Regulation.