Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (application from Belgium – EGF/2015/003 BE/Ford Genk)
Date: 2015-07-14
Institutions: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
Subjects: Belgium, European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, Province of Limbourg, collective dismissal, commitment of expenditure, distribution of EU funding, general budget (EU), motor vehicle industry, payment appropriation

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 14.7.2015  COM(2015) 336 final   Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund  (application from Belgium – EGF/2015/003 BE/Ford Genk)  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

1. 

2. 

3. 

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 1927/20061 (the ‘EGF Regulation’). 

On 24 March 2015, Belgium submitted an application EGF/2015/003 BE/Ford Genk 
for a financial contribution from the EGF, following redundancies2 in Ford Genk and 
11 suppliers and dowstream producers in Belgium.  

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 

Member State 

EGF/2015/003 BE/Ford Genk  

Belgium 

Region(s) concerned (NUTS level 2) 

BE22 (Limburg) 

Date of submission of the application 

24 March 2015 

Date of acknowledgement of receipt of the 
application 

7 April 2015 

Date of request for additional information 

7 April 2015 

Deadline for provision of the additional 
information 

19 May 2015 

Deadline for the completion of the assessment 

11 August 2015 

Intervention criterion 

Primary enterprise 

Number of enterprises concerned 

Sector(s) of economic activity 
(NACE Revision 2 Division)3 

Article 4(1)(a) of the EGF Regulation 

Ford Genk 

12 

Division 29 (Manufacture of motor 
vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers) 

Number of subsidiaries, suppliers and 
downstream producers 

11 

Reference period (four months): 

1 September 2014 – 31 December 
2014 

1 
2 
3 

OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 855. 
Within the meaning of Article 3 of the EGF Regulation. 
OJ L 393, 30.12.2006, p. 1. 

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Number of redundancies during the reference 
period (a) 

Number of redundancies before or after the 
reference period (b) 

Total number of redundancies (a + b) 

Total number of eligible beneficiaries 

Total number of targeted beneficiaries 

Number of targeted young persons not in 
employment, education or training (NEETs) 
Budget for personalised services (EUR) 
Budget for implementing EGF4 (EUR) 
Total budget (EUR) 
EGF contribution (60 %) (EUR) 

ASSESSMENT OF THE APPLICATION 

Procedure 

4 881  

230 

5 111 

5 111 

4 500 

0 

10 127 607 
320 000 
10 447 607 
6 268 564 

4. 

Belgium  submitted  application  EGF/2015/003 BE/Ford  Genk  on  24  March  2015 
within 12 weeks of the date on which the intervention criteria set out in Article 4 of 
the  EGF  Regulation  were  met.  The  Commission  acknowledged  receipt  of  the 
application within two weeks of the date of submission of the application, on 7 April 
2015,  and  requested  additional  information  from  Belgium  on  the  same  date.  Such 
additional information was provided within six weeks 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 11 August 2015.  

Eligibility of the application 

Enterprises and beneficiaries concerned 

5. 

4 
5 

The  application  relates  to  5 111  workers  made  redundant  in  Ford  Genk  and  11 
suppliers  and  downstream  producers.  The  primary  enterprise  operated  in  the 
economic sector classified under the NACE Revision 2 Division 29 (Manufacture of 
motor  vehicles,  trailers  and  semi-trailers).  The  redundancies  made  by  the  primary 
enterprise are mainly located in the NUTS5 level 2 region of Limburg (BE22). 

In accordance with the fourth paragraph of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013. 
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). 

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Enterprises and number of dismissals within the reference period 

FORD 
BASF 
BELPLAS 
FACIL 
HENKEL 
IAC 
Total no. of enterprises: 12 

3 701 

ISS Industrial Cleaning nv 

16  LEAR 
89  SML 
34  SYNCREON 
17  TRANSPORT SERVICE 
171  ZENDER 

23 
201 
284 
234 
47 
64 

Total no. of dismissals:  

4 881 

Total no. of self-employed persons whose activity has ceased:  

0 

Total no. of eligible workers and self-employed persons:  

4 881 

Intervention criteria 

6. 

7. 

8. 

Belgium 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 over 
a  reference  period  of  four  months  in  an  enterprise  in  a  Member  State,  including 
workers  made  redundant  by  suppliers  and  downstream  producers  and  /  or  self-
employed persons whose activity has ceased. 

The reference period of four months for the application runs from 1 September 2014 
to 31 December 2014. 

The redundancies during the reference period are as follows: 

– 

– 

3 701 workers made redundant in Ford Genk; 

1 180  workers  made  redundant  in  11  suppliers  and  downstream  producers  of 
Ford Genk. 

Calculation of redundancies and of cessation of activity 

9. 

The redundancies during the reference period have been calculated as follows: 

– 

– 

4 858  from  the  date  of  the  employer's  individual  notice  to  lay  off  or  to 
terminate the contract of employment of the worker, 

23 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 230 
workers made redundant before or after the reference period of four months. These 
workers  were  all  made  redundant  after  the  general  announcement  of  the  projected 
redundancies  on  22  October  2012.  A  clear  causal  link  can  be  established  with  the 
event which triggered the redundancies during the reference period. 

11. 

The total number of eligible beneficiaries is therefore 5 111. 

Link between the redundancies and major structural changes in world trade patterns due to 

globalisation 

12. 

In order to establish the link between the redundancies and major structural changes 
in  world  trade  patterns  due  to  globalisation,  Belgium  argues  that  the  European 
automotive  industry  has  lost  significant  market  share  within  the  past  decade.  The 
production  of  passenger  cars  decreased  by  14.6 %  in  the  EU-27  between  2007  and 
2012. In the same period China more than doubled its market share in passenger car 
production. 

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13. 

A  main  driving  force  behind  this  trend  is  the  geographical  shift  in  consumption 
linked to globalisation, in particular the rapid growth in demand on the Asian market 
from  which  EU  manufacturers  are  less  able  to  benefit,  being  traditionally  less  well 
positioned on these markets. Passenger car registrations in the EU have continually 
declined between 2008 and 2012 with only a small increase in 20096.  
Passenger car manufacture - international comparison (% share)7 

14. 

15. 

16. 

17. 

18. 

The graph above shows the decline in the EU market share for passenger cars from 
2000  until  2012.  The  EU  market  share  dropped  from  32,2 %  in  2007  to  23,2 %  in 
2012 representing a decline of 28,2 %. 

In  absolute  terms,  while  the  EU  faced  a  production  decline  for  passenger  cars  of 
14,6 %  between  2007  and  2012,  global  production  increased  by  18,9 %,  notably  in 
China (143,3 %) as well as other South-East Asian and Middle Eastern economies.  

The  economic  and  financial  crisis  aggravated  the  situation  for  the  European 
automotive  industry,  which  has  also  been  hampered  by  import  restrictions  in  third 
countries (new import licensing requirements, e.g. in Argentina and Brasil and rising 
import duties, e.g. in Russia). 

Figures  for  Belgium  indicate  that  the  Belgian  car  industry  has  suffered  the  full 
impact of these trends, with a decline in the production of cars from 596 461 units in 
2011 to 503 504 units in 2013 (a production decline of 15,58 %). Belgian car exports 
declined by 16,41 % in the same period8. 

To date,  the NACE Revision 2 Division 29 sector  (Manufacture of  motor vehicles, 
trailers and semi-trailers) has been the subject of 21 EGF applications, 11 of which 
based  on  trade  related  globalisation  and  10  on  the  global  financial  and  economic 
crisis. 

Events giving rise to the redundancies and cessation of activity 

19. 

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7 
8 

The  event  giving  rise  to  these  redundancies  is  the  permanent  closure  of  the  Ford 
plant in Genk, which was announced on 22 October 2012. An estimated 8 000 jobs 
are being lost in the province of Limburg due to the closure of the Ford production 
facility (including indirect job losses). The Ford management justified the closure of 

Semi-Annual Report from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association 2013  
ECEA, The automobile Industry Pocket Guide 2013 
FEBIAC (la Fédération Belge de l'Automobile et du Cycle): 
http://www.febiac.be/public/statistics.aspx?lang=FR 

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the  Genk  plant  by  a  significant  production  overcapacity  of  approximately  20 % 
within the European branch of the company. Ford will keep three assembly lines in 
Europe and produce a reduced number of the Mondeo, S-MAX and Galaxy models 
in their production facilities in Valencia, Spain. 

The closure of the Ford Genk plant was unanticipated since a future contract between 
the  employer  and  employee  sides  was  negotiated  in  2010,  establishing  job  security 
until 2020 (the agreement involved cuts in personnel costs of 12 %). In August 2012, 
the  Ford  management  confirmed  that  they  would  honour  the  agreeement  reached 
until 2020. This statement was followed by speculations in the press and in October 
2012 Ford announced the closure of their Genk plant. 

The  workers  dimissed  from  the  plant  during  2013  were  the  subjects  of  a  first  EGF 
application also based on globalisation, which is currently being implemented9. This 
second application relates to the redundancies at the Ford Genk plant carried out in 
2014 up to the final closure of the facility in December 2014. 

20. 

21. 

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

employment 

22. 

The economic impact for the region of the closure of Ford Genk was analysed in a 
study  produced  by  the  Knowledge  Centre  for  Entrepreneurship  and  Innovation 
(KIZOK)  at  Hasselt  University10.  The  study  points  to  considerable  damage  for  the 
Limburg  economy with  a  total loss of  more than 8 000 jobs  (including indirect  job 
losses), a rise in the unemployment rate by between 1,8 and 2 percentage points (up 
to  a  29,4 %  increase  in  the  region's  unemployment  rate  from  6,8  %  to  8,8  %),  a 
reduction  in  GDP  of  between  2,6  and  2,9 %  and  a  potential  drop  in  labour 
productivity  of  10,9 %,  due  to  the  high  importance  of  the  automotive  industry  for 
labour  productivity  in  the  region.  It  will  moreover  be  very  difficult  for  the  former 
Ford  workers  to  find  new  employment  due  to  very  few  job  openings  and  a  high 
concentration of unemployment in the area. 

Targeted beneficiaries and proposed actions 

Targeted beneficiaries 

23. 

The estimated number of redundant workers expected to participate in the measures 
is  4 500.  The  breakdown  of  these  workers  by  sex,  citizenship  and  age  group  is  as 
follows: 

9 
10 

COM(2014) 532 final 
Universiteit Hasselt, Kenniscentrum voor Ondernemerschap en Innovatie (Prof. Dr. Ludo Peeters and 
Prof. Dr. Mark Vancauteren: Studie van de Economische Impact van de Sluiting van Ford Genk, Nov. 
2012.  

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Sex: 

Category 

Men: 

Women: 

Number of  
targeted beneficiaries 

3 956 

(87,9 %) 

544 

(12,1 %) 

Citizenship:  EU citizens: 

4 474 

(99,4 %) 

non-EU citizens: 

Age group: 

15-24 years: 

25-29 years: 

30-54 years: 

55-64 years: 

26 

19 

85 

(0,6 %) 

(0,4 %) 

(1,9 %) 

3 154 

(70,1 %) 

1 240 

(27,6 %) 

over 64 years: 

2 

(0,0 %) 

Eligibility of the proposed actions 

24. 

The  personalised  services  to  be  provided  to  the  redundant  workers  consist  of  the 
following actions: 

(1) 

Individual  job  search  assistance,  case  management  and  general  information 
services 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

Launch  Website:  Development  of  a  website  with  key  information  about  the 
support provided by the employment units established for the companies. This 
website  will  be  a  valuable  tool  for  both  the  redundant  workers  and  potential 
new employers. 

Key  Account  Manager:  A  significant  number  of  potential  employers  have 
expressed  interest  in  hiring  some  of  the  former  Ford  workers  (construction 
companies,  SMEs,  health  care  organisations  as  well  as  public  institutions).  A 
key  account  manager  will  coordinate  all  these  initiatives  within  a  measure 
entitled "Jobs for Limburg". 

Social Intervention Advisors: The social intervention service will provide first 
support  and  assistance  with  administrative  files  and  undertake  individual 
interviews to establish a profile of each job seeker. 

Information  on  vocational  education  and  training  options:  This  measure  will 
involve general information sessions about job opportunities, for instance at the 
national rail network company, Infrabel. These information sessions organised 
by potential employers specifically for the former Ford workers will clarify the 
qualification needs at the companies and aim to encourage the participants  to 
actively seek employment within the enterprises. 

Active  job-oriented  guidance:  Employment  promoting  measure  where  the 
consultants  take  up  direct  contact  with  employers  in  order  to  support  the 
targeted  job  seekers.  This  measure  also  involves  company  visits  for 
beneficiaries. 

Job Fairs: Job fairs with a number of potential future employers offering jobs 
in line with the specific competences of the dismissed workers. These job fairs 
will  be  organised  in  partnership  with  the  outplacement  firms  and  sector 
organisations. 

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– 

– 

Application  training:  Standard  application  training  courses  are  offered  by  the 
outplacement  agencies  to  strengthen  the  position  of  the  beneficiaries  on  the 
labour  market.  Additional  application  training  courses  will  be  conducted  by 
specialised companies, e.g. organised for particular target groups such as non-
native speakers and older job seekers. 

Additional  guidance  and  competence-consciousness  in  the  context  of  career-
oriented  coaching:  In-depth  research  of  the  competences  of  the  beneficiaries 
during various phases of the reintegration process. This research will be carried 
out  in  order  to  facilitate  even  more  customised  assistance  to  the  clients  as 
needed. 

(2)  Training and re-training 

– 

– 

– 

Training and competency enhancement: Courses for job seekers in the form of 
customised  learning  and  training  in  a  wide  variety  of  domains  targeting  the 
service  sector  and  several  industries.  The  training  courses  can  be  provided 
either via "group learning" where all participants have a common pathway or 
"open learning" where individual pathways are established. Some of the basic 
training  will  be  provided  by  the  Flemish  Service  for  Employment  and 
Vocational training. More specialised training courses will either be organised 
in cooperation with sectoral training funds, Syntra training centre Limburg or 
outsourced  to  other  training  providers.  This  measure  will  also  involve 
internships of both short and long durations either as a separate job-promoting 
measure  or  as  part  of  a  training  path.  The  training  undertaken  can  lead  to 
certification  recognised  by  the  Flemish  Employment  Service  or  an  accredited 
education diploma. 

Training  by  the  former  employer:  For  a  limited  number  of  ex-workers,  Ford 
provides  a  number  of  training  courses  in  the  first  half  of  2015.  These  are 
mainly of a technical character. 

Employment  through  individual  vocational  training  (IBO):  This  measure  will 
involve workplace learning, which places the training in a realistic context and 
reduces the distance to employment for the job seekers. Following this training, 
the  participating  companies  are  obliged  to  offer  the  job  seeker  either  an 
employment contract of indefinite duration or a temporary contract of at least 
the same duration as the training. 

(3)  Allowances and incentives  

– 

Employer  recruitment  bonus:  From  1  January  2015,  companies  in  the  Genk 
area,  which  employ  a  targeted  beneficiary,  can  receive  a  recruitment  bonus. 
The  recruitment  bonus  is  either  EUR 2 000  or  EUR 3 000  for  a  full-time  job, 
depending  on  the  entitlements  of  the  job  seeker.  While  the  employment 
contract  can  be  permanent  or  time-limited,  a  minimum  of  12  months  of 
employment has to be achieved within an 18-month period and the following 
conditions  apply:  employment  cannot  take  effect  before  1  January  2015,  the 
company can only claim the recruitment bonus once and the subsidy can only 
be  granted  once  per  redundant  worker.  Within  the  implementation  period,  an 
employer benefitting from this measure therefore cannot receive a recruitment 
bonus from other sources for persons forming the target group of this proposal. 

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25. 

26. 

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. 

Belgium has provided the required information on actions that are mandatory for the 
enterprise concerned by virtue of national law or pursuant to collective agreements. 
The  Belgian  authorities  have  confirmed  that  a  financial  contribution  from  the  EGF 
will not replace such actions. 

Estimated budget 

27. 

The  estimated 
total  costs  are  EUR 10 447 607,  comprising  expenditure  for 
personalised  services  of  EUR 10 127 607  and  expenditure  for  preparatory, 
management, 
information  and  publicity,  control  and  reporting  activities  of 
EUR 320 000. 

28. 

The total financial contribution requested from the EGF is EUR 6 268 564 (60 % of 
total costs). 

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Actions 

Estimated 
number of 
participants 

Estimated cost 
per participant 
(EUR)11 

Estimated total 
costs 
(EUR)  

Personalised services (Actions under Article 7(1)(a) and (c) of the EGF Regulation) 

Launch Website 

4 500 

10 000 

Key Account Manager 

4 500 

7 

30 000 

Social Intervention Advisor (SIA)  

4 500 

111 

500 000 

Information on vocational education and 
training options 

4 500 

20 000 

Active job-oriented guidance 

1 000 

870 

870 000 

Job fairs  

4 500 

30 000 

Application training 

1 600 

251 

401 600 

Additional guidance and competence 
consciousness in the context of career-
oriented coaching 

1 000 

128 

128 000 

In-house training courses in a VDAB-center 

1 000 

2 510 

2 510 000 

Training by outsourcing through tendering 

400 

5 020 

2 008 000 

Training courses in cooperation with sectorial 
training funds: FTML, LIMOB, LIMTEC  

422 

2 287 

965 324 

Training courses in cooperation with Syntra 

200 

4 500 

900 000 

Internships 

1 200 

617 

739 800 

Training by Ford 

168  

967 

162 383 

11 

Approximations based on the number of participants and total costs  

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Employment through individual vocational 
training (IBO) 

750 

470 

352 500 

Sub-total (a): 
Percentage of the package of personalised 
services  

– 

9 627 607 

(95,06 %) 

Allowances and incentives (Actions under Article 7(1)(b) of the EGF Regulation) 

Employer Recruitment bonus  

200 

2 500 

500 000 

Sub-total (b): 
Percentage of the package of personalised 
services: 

 Actions under Article 7(4) of the EGF Regulation 

1. Preparatory activities 

2. Management 

3. Information and publicity 

4. Control and reporting 

5. Others 

Sub-total (c): 
Percentage of the total costs : 

Total costs (a + b + c): 

EGF contribution (60 % of total costs) 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

500 000 

(4,94 %) 

0 

100 000 

20 000 

100 000 

100 000 

320 000 

(3,06 %) 

10 447 607 

6 268 564 

29. 

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.  Belgium  confirmed  that  these  actions  are 
conditional  on  the  active  participation  of  the  targeted  beneficiaries  in  job-search  or 
training activities. 

Period of eligibility of expenditure 

30. 

31. 

Belgium started providing the personalised services to the targeted beneficiaries on 1 
January  2014.  The  expenditure  on  the  actions  referred  to  in  paragraph  24  shall 
therefore be eligible for a financial contribution from the EGF from 1 January 2014 
to 24 March 2017. 

Belgium started incurring the administrative expenditure to implement the EGF on 1 
September  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 1 September 2014 to 24 September 2017.  

Complementarity with actions funded by national or Union funds 

The sources of national pre-financing or co-funding are a number of parties involved in this 
application: 

 

Flemish Service for Employment and Vocational Training (VDAB);  

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 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Employment Service (RVA); 

Provincial Government of Limburg; 

City of Genk; 

Employment  and  Training  Fund  for  the  Limburg  Metalworking  Industry 
(FTML); 

Limburg Institute for the Training of Employees in the Metalworking Industry 
(LIMOB); 

Training centre Syntra; 

Ford. 

32. 

Belgium  has  confirmed  that  the  measures  described  above  receiving  a  financial 
contribution  from  the  EGF  will  not  also  receive  financial  contributions  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 

33. 

Belgium  has  indicated  that  the  co-ordinated  package  of  personalised  services  has 
been  drawn up  in  consultation  with  the  targeted beneficiaries,  their  representatives, 
social  partners,  local,  regional  and  national  public  employment  bodies  and  training 
institutions as well as the company.  

Management and control systems 

34. 

The application contains a description of the management and control system which 
specifies  the  responsibilities  of  the  bodies  involved.  Belgium  has  notified  the 
Commission  that  the  financial  contribution  will  be  managed  and  controlled  by  the 
same bodies which manage and control the European Social Fund in Flanders. 

Commitments provided by the Member State concerned 

35. 

Belgium has 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 

36. 

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) 

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37. 

38. 

No 1311/2013  of  2  December  2013  laying  down  the  multiannual  financial 
framework for the years 2014-202012. 

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 6 268 564, representing 60 % of the total 
costs  of  the  proposed  actions,  in  order  to  provide  a  financial  contribution  for  the 
application. 

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 management13. 

Related acts 

39. 

40. 

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 6 268 564. 

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. 

12 
13 

OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884. 
OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1. 

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Proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund  
(application from Belgium – EGF/2015/003 BE/Ford Genk) 

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 1927/200614, 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 management15, and in particular point 13 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

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The  European  Globalisation  Adjustment  Fund  (EGF)  aims  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, or as a result of a 
new  global  financial  and  economic  crisis,  and  to  assist  them  with  their  reintegration 
into the labour market. 

The  EGF  is  not  to  exceed  a  maximum  annual  amount  of  EUR 150 million  (2011 
in  Article 12  of  Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom) 
prices),  as 
No 1311/201316. 

laid  down 

On 24 March 2015, Belgium submitted application EGF/2015/003 BE/Ford Genk for a 
financial  contribution  from  the  EGF,  following  redundancies  and  cessations  of 
activities (hereafter referred to as ‘redundancies’) in Ford Genk and 11 suppliers and 
dowstream  producers.  It  was  supplemented  by  additional  information  in  accordance 
with  Article 8(3)  of  Regulation  (EU)  No 1309/2013.  That  application  complies  with 
the requirements for determining a financial contribution from the EGF in accordance 
with Article 13 of that Regulation. 

The EGF should, therefore, be mobilised in order to provide a financial contribution of 
EUR 6 268 564 in respect of the application submitted by Belgium. 

In  order  to  minimise  the  time  taken  to  mobilise  the  EGF,  this  decision  should  apply 
from the date of its adoption, 

OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 855. 
OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1. 
Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for 
the years 2014-2020 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884). 

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HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Article 1 

For  the  general  budget  of  the  European  Union  for  the  financial  year  2015,  the  European 
Globalisation  Adjustment  Fund  shall  be  mobilised  to  provide  the  sum  of  EUR 6 268 564  in 
commitment and payment appropriations. 

Article 2 

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the 
European Union. It shall apply from ... [the date of its adoption]. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

  

Date to be inserted by the Parliament before the publication in OJ. 

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