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/2014/011 BE/Caterpillar)
Date: 2014-12-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Belgium, European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, cessation of trading, collective dismissal, commitment of expenditure, financial management, machine-tool industry, management audit, reintegration into working life, vocational training













EUR-Lex - 52014PC0735 - EN











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52014PC0735

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/2014/011 BE/Caterpillar) /* COM/2014/0735 final - 2014/ () */









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 Belgian authorities
submitted application EGF/2014/011 BE/Caterpillar for a financial contribution from
the EGF, following redundancies in Caterpillar Belgium S.A. in Belgium.
3.           Following its assessment of
this application, 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/2014/011 BE/Caterpillar 
 Member State || Belgium 
 Region(s) concerned (NUTS level 2) || Hainaut (B32)   
 Date of submission of the application || 22.7.2014 
 Date of acknowledgement of receipt of the application || 4.8.2014 
 Date of request for additional information || 24.7.2014 
 Deadline of provision of the additional information || 16.9.2014 
 Deadline for the completion of the assessment || 9.12.2014 
 Intervention criterion || Article 4(1)(a) of the EGF Regulation 
 Primary enterprise || Caterpillar Belgium S.A 
 Sector(s) of economic activity (NACE Rev. 2 division)[2] || Division 28 (‘Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c.’) 
 Reference period (four months) || 1 January 2014 – 30 April 2014 
 Number of redundancies or cessations of activity during the reference period (a) || 663 
 Number of redundancies or cessations of activity before or after the reference period (b) || 367 
 Total number of redundancies (a + b) || 1 030 
 Total estimated number of targeted beneficiaries || 630 
 Budget for personalised services (EUR) || 1 964 713 
 Budget for implementing EGF[3] (EUR) || 73 378 
 Total budget (EUR) || 2 038 090   
 EGF contribution (60 %) (EUR) || 1 222 854   
ASSESSMENT OF THE APPLICATION
Procedure
4.           The Belgian authorities
submitted application EGF/2014/011 BE/Caterpillar on 22 July 2014, within 12
weeks of the date on which the intervention criteria set out below were met.
The Commission sent an initial set of questions to the Belgian Authorities on
24 July 2014 and acknowledged receipt of the application within two weeks of
the date of submission of the application, on 4 August 2014. Additional
information was provided by the Member State within six weeks of the date of
the acknowledgement. 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 9 December 2014. 
Eligibility of the application
Enterprises and beneficiaries
concerned
5.           The application relates to
1030 workers made redundant in Caterpillar Belgium S.A. The enterprise operates in the economic sector classified
under NACE Rev. 2 division 28 ('Manufacture of
machinery and equipment n.e.c.'). The redundancies made
by the enterprise concerned are
located in the NUTS[4]
level 2 region of Hainaut (BE32) of Belgium.
Intervention criteria
6.           The Belgian authorities submitted
the application under the intervention criteria 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.
7.           The
reference period of four months runs from 1 January 2014 to 30 April 2014.
8.           The
application relates to 663 workers made redundant[5]
in the enterprise during the reference period of four months.
Calculation of redundancies and of
cessation of activity
9.           The redundancies have been
calculated as follows: 
–              
661 from the date of the employer's individual
notice to lay off or to terminate the contract of employment of the worker;
–              
2 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 367 workers made
redundant after the reference period of four months. These workers were all
made redundant after the general announcement of the projected redundancies on
28 February 2013. A clear causal link can be established with the event which
triggered the redundancies during the reference period, as all the redundancies
relate to the same downsizing process.
11.         The total number of
eligible beneficiaries is therefore 1030. 
Link between the redundancies and major
structural changes in world trade patterns due to globalisation
12.         Caterpillar is the world
leader in the production of machines and accessories necessary for the
construction and operation of mines. In order to establish the link between the
redundancies and cessations of activity and major structural changes in world
trade patterns due to globalisation, Belgium states that Caterpillar has been
strongly affected by declining demands for this type of products in Europe,
which has led to the delocalisation to third countries of substantial
production capacity. Caterpillar's Gosselies plant specialises in car assembly,
production of components, soldered assemblies and structures. Its products are
exclusively directed at the European construction and mining sectors. This
situation exposes the plant to changes specific to these sectors and it is furthermore
affected by fluctuations concerning production inputs. These variations,
therefore, occur both upstream and downstream: 
–              
Upstream: Steel and metal products in Europe have suffered from intense competition from emerging economies and the years 2009 to
2013 were marked by numerous closures in the EU. Moreover, European steel
prices rose sharply.
–              
Downstream: The main customers of the
Caterpillar Group are in the construction and mining sectors. The specific
characteristics of these sectors at European level partly explain the restructuring
decision concerning the Gosselies plant, namely the lasting effects of the 2009
crisis in the construction and mining sectors.
These trends have resulted in falling market
shares for the Caterpillar Gosselies production facility and a declining
competitiveness towards competitors in other parts of the world. 
13.         According to data referred
to by the Belgian authorities, Caterpillar’s production sites are located close
to their markets, which explains the link between the European and global
market developments and the reduction in workforce at the site in Gosselies.
Since 2007, the Caterpillar Group has established plants in emerging economies in
Asia and Latin America, and its growth is mainly linked to these markets. In
particular, Asia’s share of Caterpillar's sales has more than doubled between
2007 and 2013. This is linked to the overall growth of the Asian economies,
especially in China and India, and the construction industry in these
countries. On the other hand, the main market for Caterpillar Gosselies, the
European Union, is depending on public and private investments in
infrastructure in Europe which have recently been reduced. This helps explain
that an already decreasing amount of new orders plummeted further by 40 % in
2011, according to the Belgian authorities.
14.         To date, the 'Manufacture
of machinery and equipment n.e.c' sector has been the subject of 12 EGF
applications, 6 of which were based on trade related globalisation and 6 on the
global financial and economic crisis.
Events giving rise to the
redundancies and cessation of activity 
15.         The events giving rise to
the redundancies are related to Caterpillar's decision to reduce its production
operations on 28 February 2013, owing to considerably higher production costs
in Europe. Compared to other plants, its Gosselies facility in Belgium is less profitable and importing into Europe from Asia is now cheaper than producing in Europe. Consequently, the company drew up a business plan to reduce its Gosselies operations
which leads to 1 030 job losses. This decision will have a direct negative
impact on several downstream producers for whom Caterpillar constitutes the
most important supplier. 
Expected impact of the redundancies
as regards the local, regional or national economy and employment
16.         The redundancies at
Caterpillar represent a 4% increase in jobseekers for the region of Charleroi, according to data from April 2014. But the downsizing of the plant in Gosselies
will also lead to a series of redundancies in subcontractors, the extent of
which is not yet known because the full effects of the downsizing on the local
economy are still to be seen. The active population in the region of Charleroi in April 2014 consisted of   218 817 individuals, of whom 36 793 were unemployed
(17%). The downsizing of Caterpillar's operations in Gosselies will significantly
increase the unemployment level (by a whole percentage point) in the region of Charleroi. The downscaling of Caterpillar's operations in Wallonia should be considered in
the light of a very difficult labour market situation in the region
traditionally very dependent on industrial production. Looking at the whole
manufacturing industry for the Charleroi area, employment has fallen by 15,3 %
between 2007 and 12. In Wallonia, FOREM has been able to offer 16 % fewer job
opportunities in 2013 compared with 2012, which already saw a decline in job
openings. 
17.         Many of the unemployed
persons are low skilled (59 % do not have upper secondary education) and 43 %
have been unemployed for more than 2 years. The employment rate in Charleroi is also among the lowest in the Wallonia region at 52.26 % (56.75 % in the Wallonia
Region).
18.         Although the number of
companies that have initiated a procedure for collective redundancies in Belgium remained relatively stable in 2012, less than 100 between 2010 and 2012, it
increased to 140 in 2013. The metallurgy and metal processing sectors have been
most affected representing three-quarters of all redundancies in 2013.[6] In particular, the
region of Charleroi saw an increase in bankruptcies and closures and
restructuring; a total of 1 892 job losses since 2012.
Targeted beneficiaries and proposed
actions
Targeted beneficiaries
19.         The estimated number of
targeted workers expected to participate in the measures is 630. The breakdown
of these workers by sex, citizenship and age group is as follows:
 Category || Number of targeted beneficiaries 
 Sex: || Men: || 607 || (96 %) 
   || Women: || 23 || (4 %) 
 Citizenship: || EU citizens: || 630 || (100 %) 
   || non-EU citizens: || 0 || (0 %) 
 Age group: || 15-24 years: || 42 || (7 %) 
   || 25-29 years: || 64 || (10 %) 
   || 30-54 years: || 411 || (65 %) 
   || 55-64 years: || 113 || (18 %) 
   || over 64 years: || 0 || (0 %) 
Eligibility of the proposed actions
20.         The
personalised services to be provided to redundant workers consist of the
following actions: 
Redeployment:

–              
Support / guidance / integration. This set of
services builds upon the standard activities carried out by the Redeployment
Unit . The services will be provided by a team of FOREM staff (project manager,
specialised advisers) in partnership with former workers’ representatives who
act as ‘social attendants’ (accompagnateurs sociaux) to encourage workers to take
part in the measures and to help them with administrative procedures. To
facilitate contacts between the workers, the services are provided jointly to
all the redundant workers at dedicated premises. The services cover three types
of activities: (i) collective information on job-search techniques (writing a
CV and application letter, using web resources, etc.), explanations on labour
regulations (outplacement, unemployment, employment contract, pension),
awareness-raising on discrimination, presentation of occupations and sectors
with potential, etc.; (ii) individual interviews with a FOREM adviser (skills
audit, career pathway, guidance on training, etc.); (iii) free and open access
to job-search tools (IT equipment with an internet connection, telephone,
specialised documentation, etc.). This measure will concern all 630 targeted
workers, for a maximum duration of 24 months. 
–              
Facilitating job-search. FOREM will also carry
out specific activities to facilitate job-search and to overcome difficulties
in the redeployment process. This includes meetings between the redundant
workers and potential employers (job matching), company visits, meetings with
recruiters to prepare for job interviews, and exchanges of experience with
other workers who have already retrained or have found a job after a collective
redundancy. 
Training and retraining:
–              
Integrated training: Different types of
vocational training courses could be provided (depending on the type of course)
either by FOREM or by the centres de competences or IFAPME. As an initial step,
FOREM staff will help each participant to define their work-related goals and
guide them towards one of three types of training module. Workers who could
retrain for an occupation similar to the one they held in Caterpillar could
either follow a specific or specialisation module (40 hours) to adapt their
competences and bring them up to date, or a supplementary course leading to new
qualifications (320 hours), which would enable the workers to apply for jobs in
a new occupation in the industrial sector. For retraining into an entirely
different sector of activity, workers could follow an occupational training
course (on average 960 hours) to acquire the competences required for this
occupation. At the end of each training module, the new skills can be assessed
and documented. Depending on the type of training and the field of competences,
participants will be awarded either a formal certification of skills (i.e. a
certificate of competence), a certificate of attendance (for competences or
occupations for which no formal certification exists) or a validation of skills
(for skills and competences acquired outside formal training courses). The
formal certification of skills is verified through assessment tests which lead
to the award of a ‘Certificate of Skills Acquired through Training’ (Certificat
des Compétences Acquises en Formation – CECAF). The validation of skills is
verified through assessment tests which lead to the award of skills credentials
(titres de compétences).
–              
Transfer of experience: Experienced workers can
enhance their skills and know-how by becoming teachers or trainers in technical
education. A specific awareness-raising and pre-training module will be
developed by FOREM and the federations of the various branches of technical
education to encourage certain workers to train to become vocational teachers.
The module will include the provision of specific information, technical
support, meetings with practitioners and site visits. The module will last for
eight weeks and will target around 10 workers.
Promotion of entrepreneurship:
–              
Support for enterprise creation: Workers who are
considering setting up their own business will receive guidance and support
from a Business Creation Adviser from FOREM. This support includes two main
activities: (i) collective information sessions to raise awareness on business
creation opportunities, provide information on legal aspects and measures to
support business creation; (ii) individual interviews with interested workers
to review their project and put them in contact with business support
organisations and service providers. The Adviser will work closely with the
Redeployment Units to assist workers with their business projects. Around 50
workers are expected to attend the information sessions and around 15 would
take part in the interviews and follow-up activities. 
–              
Support for collective projects: Workers who
might be considering setting up a ‘social’ enterprise together as a group will
receive guidance and support from a specialised consultancy (selected through a
call for tenders) and from the Redeployment Unit. This support includes
information and awareness-raising sessions on business creation and basic
management skills, as well as advice on setting up the company (e.g. drawing up
a business plan, drafting legal statutes, marketing, etc.). Grants may be
awarded to help cover the start-up costs of such business projects. The workers
must submit an application which describes the project (e.g. workers’ skills
and experience, feasibility study, financial analysis, market potential, growth
prospects, socioeconomic benefits, etc.). The Redeployment Unit’s Support
Committee, which brings together representatives from the employer, trade
unions and FOREM, assesses the application and decides to award a grant or not.
Each worker involved in the project may receive a grant of EUR 5 000 (with
funds being pooled together among all workers taking part). The grants can be
used to cover the purchase of equipment, merchandises, publicity, consultancy,
training, etc. The consultancy will administer the grants and report to FOREM
on the use of expenditure (invoices and supporting documentation). It is
expected that around 80 workers will take part in this measure, with five
support grants being awarded to the workers.
21.         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. 
22.         The Belgian 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
23.         The estimated total costs are
EUR 2 038 090 comprising expenditure for personalised services of EUR 1
964 713 and expenditure for
preparatory, management, information and publicity, control and reporting
activities of EUR 73 378.
24.         The
total financial contribution requested from the EGF is EUR 1 222 854
(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) 
 Redeployment: (Orientation professionnelle) - support / guidance / integration (Reconversion/Insertion) - Facilitating job-search (Dynamisation de la recherche d’emploi) ||     630   150   ||     2 167   300 ||     1 365 313   45 000 
 Training and retraining: (Formations) - Integrated training (Formations intégrées) - Transfer of experience (Transmission d'expérience) ||     210   10 ||     2 030   300 ||     426 400   3 000 
 Promotion of entrepreneurship: (Aide à la creation d'emploi) -Support for enterprise creation (Autocreation d'emploi individuelle) -Support for collective projects: (Soutien à l'emergence de projets colletifs) ||     50   80 ||     900   1 000 ||     45 000   80 000 
 Sub-total (a): || – || 1 964 713 
 (100,0%) 
 Allowances and incentives (Actions under Article 7(1)(b) of the EGF Regulation) 
 || Sub-total(b): || – || 0 
 || (0,0 %) 
 Actions under Article 7(4) of the EGF Regulation 
 1. Preparatory activities, management, control and reporting || – || 29 578 
 2. Information and publicity || – || 43 800 
 Sub-total (c): || – || 73 378 
 (3,6 %) 
 Total costs (a + b + c ): || – || 2 038 090 
 EGF contribution (60 % of total costs) || – || 1 222 854 
*Rounded figures
25.         The Belgian 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
26.         The Belgian authorities
started providing personalised services to the targeted beneficiaries on 1 April
2014. The expenditure on the actions referred to in point 20 will therefore be
eligible for a financial contribution from the EGF from 1 April 2014 to 22 July
2016.
27.         The Belgian authorities started
incurring administrative expenditure to implement the EGF on 1 January 2014. The
expenditure for preparatory, management, information and publicity, control and
reporting activities will therefore be eligible for a financial contribution
from the EGF from 1 January 2014 to 22 January 2017.
Complementarity with actions funded
by national or Union funds
28.         The sources of national
pre-financing or co-funding are as follow: The actions implemented will be
pre-financed by the FOREM. The Redeployment Units, the training by FOREM and
its partners are co-financed by the Wallonia Region.
29.         The Belgian 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. Financial support from the ESF was awarded to a
project (EnTrain – En Transition-Reconversion-Accompagnement) which aimed to
develop pedagogical methods for Redeployment Units in general. The findings of
this project are likely to prove useful in the implementation of the planned
measures.
Procedures for consulting the targeted
beneficiaries or their representatives or the social partners as well as local
and regional authorities
30.         The Belgian authorities
have indicated that the co-ordinated package of personalised services has been
drawn up in consultation with the targeted beneficiaries and the social
partners.
31.         The measures are the result
of many discussions and preparatory meetings held between February 2014 and
June 2014 among the various social partners involved.
32.         The Redeployment Unit
(cellule de reconversion) was specifically set up as part of the legal
obligations linked to the collective redundancies procedure. The Redeployment
Unit is managed by a committee which brings together representatives from the
Walloon public services in charge of employment and training, FOREM, trade
unions, and sector-based vocational training organisations.
Management and control systems
33.         The application contains a
description of the management and control system which specifies the
responsibilities of the bodies involved. A steering committee composed of all
the organisations involved in the implementation of the EGF measures ensures
overall follow-up and coordination. The financial contribution from the EGF
will be managed and controlled by the same bodies as for the ESF. One entity
within the ESF Agency of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (formerly the French
Community of Belgium) will act as managing authority and another separate
entity within the ESF Agency will act as paying authority. The
Secretariat-General of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation will act as certifying
authority and FOREM will act as intermediary body.  
Commitments provided by the Member State concerned
34.         The Belgian 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;
–              
where the dismissing enterprises have continued
their activities after the lay-offs, they have complied with their legal
obligations governing the redundancies and have provided for their workers
accordingly;
–              
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
35.         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[7].
36.         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 1 222 854, representing 60 % of the total costs of the proposed actions, in order to provide a financial
contribution for the application.
37.         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[8].
Related acts
38.         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 1 222 854.
39.         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/2014/011 BE/Caterpillar)
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[9],
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[10],
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[11],
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)       Belgium submitted an
application to mobilise the EGF, in respect of redundancies[12] in Caterpillar Belgium
S.A. in Belgium on 22 July 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)       The EGF should, therefore,
be mobilised in order to provide a financial contribution of an amount of EUR 1
222 854 for the application
submitted by Belgium,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 
Article 1
For the general budget of the European
Union for the financial year 2015, the EGF shall be mobilised to provide the
sum of EUR 1 222 854 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]               Source: National Bank of Belgium, 2013 report
[7]               OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884.
[8]               OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1.
[9]               OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 855.
[10]             OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1.
[11]             OJ L 167,  29.6.2009, p.26.
[12]             Within the meaning of Article 3(a) of the EGF
Regulation.