Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund following an application from the Netherlands – EGF/2016/005 NL/Drenthe Overijssel Retail
Date: 2016-11-29
Institutions: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
Subjects: Drenthe, European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, Netherlands, Overijssel, collective dismissal, commitment of expenditure, employment aid, financial aid, general budget (EU), reintegration into working life, retail trade

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 29.11.2016  COM(2016) 742 final   Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund following an application from the Netherlands – EGF/2016/005 NL/Drenthe Overijssel Retail  
 
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  12  July  2016,  the  Netherlands  submitted  an  application  EGF/2016/005 NL/ 
Drenthe  Overijssel  Retail  for  a  financial  contribution  from  the  EGF,  following 
redundancies2 in the economic sector classified under the NACE Revision 2 Division 
47  (Retail  trade,  except  of  motor  vehicles  and  motorcycles)  in  the  NUTS  level  2 
regions of NL13 - Drenthe and NL21 - Overijssel in the Netherlands. 

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/2016/005 NL/Drenthe Overijssel 
Retail 

Member State 
Region(s) concerned (NUTS3 level 2) 

Date of submission of the application 

Date of acknowledgement of receipt of the 
application 

The Netherlands 
NL13 - Drenthe  
NL21 - Overijssel 
12 July 2016 

12 July 2016 

Date of request for additional information 

15 July 2016 

Deadline for provision of the additional 
information 

06 September 2016 

Deadline for the completion of the assessment 

29 November 2016 

Intervention criterion 

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

Number of enterprises concerned 

6 

Sector(s) of economic activity 
(NACE Revision 2 Division)4 

Division 47 – Retail trade, except of 
motor vehicles and motorcycles 

1 
2 
3 

4 

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

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Reference period (nine months): 

01 August 2015 – 01 May 2016 

Number of redundancies during the reference 
period (a) 

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

Total number of redundancies  

Total number of eligible beneficiaries 

Total number of targeted beneficiaries 

Number of targeted young person not in 
employment, education or training (NEETs) 
Budget for personalised services (EUR) 
Budget for implementing EGF5 (EUR) 
Total budget (EUR) 
EGF contribution (60 %) (EUR) 

ASSESSMENT OF THE APPLICATION 

Procedure 

1 096 

0 

1 096 

1 096 

800 

0 

2 910 000 
   121 250 
3 031 250 
1 818 750 

4. 

The Netherlands submitted application EGF/2016/005 NL/Drenthe Overijssel Retail 
within 12 weeks of the date on which the intervention criteria set out in Article 4 of 
the  EGF  Regulation  were  met,  on  12  July  2016.  The  Commission  acknowledged 
receipt of the application on the same day and requested additional information from 
the  Netherlands  on  15  July  2016.  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 29 November 2016. 

Eligibility of the application 

Enterprises and beneficiaries concerned 

5. 

The  application  relates  to  1 096  workers  made  redundant  in  the  economic  sector 
classified  under  the  NACE  Revision  2  Division  47  –  Retail  trade,  except  of  motor 
vehicles  and  motorcycles.  The  redundancies  made  are  located  in  the  NUTS  level  2 
regions of NL13 - Drenthe and NL21 - Overijssel. 

Enterprises and number of dismissals within the reference period 

Aktiesport (Drenthe) 
Aktiesport (Overijssel) 
Dolcis (Drenthe) 
Dolcis (Overijssel) 
Manfield (Drenthe) 
Manfield (Overijsse) 
Total no. of enterprises: 6 

41  Perry Sport (Drenthe) 
84  Perry Sport (Overijssel) 
19  Scapino (Drenthe) 
44  Scapino (Overijssel) 
11  V&D (Drenthe) 
27  V&D (Overijssel) 
Total no. of dismissals:  

19 
36 
209 
213 
125 
268 

1 096 

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

0 

5 

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

EN 

3 

   EN 

                                                 
Enterprises and number of dismissals within the reference period 

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

1 096 

Intervention criteria 

6. 

The  Netherlands  submitted  the  application  under  the  intervention  criteria  of 
Article 4(1)(b)  of  the  EGF  Regulation,  which  requires  at  least  500  workers  being 
made  redundant  over  a  reference  period  of  nine  months  in  enterprises  operating  in 
the same economic sector defined at NACE Revision 2 Division and located in two 
contiguous  regions  defined  at  NUTS  2  level  in  a  Member  State.  There  were  1 096 
redundancies combined in the NUTS level 2 regions of NL13 – Drenthe and NL21 – 
Overijssel.  The  reference  period  of  nine  months  for  the  application  runs  from  1 
August 2015 to 1 May 2016. 

Calculation of redundancies and of cessation of activity 

7. 

All the 1 096 redundancies during the reference period have been calculated as from 
the  date  of  the  collective  redundancies  notification  on  which  the  employer,  in 
accordance with Article 3(1) of Council Directive 98/59/EC6, notified the competent 
public authority in writing of the projected collective redundancies. The Netherlands 
confirmed prior to the date of the completion of the assessment by the Commission 
that these 1 096 redundancies have actually been effected. 

Eligible beneficiaries 

8. 

The total number of eligible beneficiaries is 1 096. 

Link  between  the  redundancies  and  the  global  financial  and  economic  crisis  addressed  in 
Regulation (EC) No 546/2009 

9. 

10. 

11. 

6 

7 

In order to establish the link between the redundancies and the global financial and 
economic crisis addressed in Regulation (EC) No 546/2009, the Netherlands argues 
that retail is a sector in crisis. The sector had to face fundamental changes and still 
has major difficulties in dealing with these changes. The difficulties had a substantial 
and negative influence on employment in the sector.  

In  the  past  few  years  there  were  significant  changes  in  the  consumers`  sentiment, 
such as the decline of sales in the middle price category and the growing popularity 
of internet shopping. The development of new shopping areas in many Dutch cities 
outside  the  city  centres  and  the  declining  trust  of  consumers7  in  the  economy  also 
affected negatively the position of the conventional retail sector.  

The Netherlands argues that the Dutch financial sector being a global player is bound 
by international rules including rules for financial reserves, in order to meet the new 
international  standards.  As  a  consequence  the  banks  have  lower  resources  for 
financing the economy, than before. 

Council  Directive  98/59/EC  of  20 July  1998  on  the  approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States 
relating to collective redundancies (OJ L 225, 12.8.1998, p. 16). 

https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/nieuws/2016/11/consumentenvertrouwen-daalt-opnieuw 

EN 

4 

   EN 

                                                 
12. 

13. 

14. 

The  Netherlands  argues  that  banks  became  more  critical  about  providing  credit  to 
companies8.  In  all  bankruptcy  cases  in  retail  no  further  credit  or  restructuring  of 
credit  could  be  arranged.  It  was  due  to  the  stricter  banking  rules,  which  were 
implemented as a result of the financial economic crisis. A recent analysis shows the 
declining trend of credit provided by the main Dutch banks9.  

The  weak  financial  position  of  the  bigger  department  stores  made  it  impossible  to 
invest  in  other  shop  models  in  order  to  achieve  the  necessary  changes  and  to  be 
competitive again. 

To date, the NACE 47 sector has been the subject of 6 EGF applications; all based on 
the global financial and economic crisis10. 

Events giving rise to the redundancies and cessation of activity 

15. 

16. 

17. 

18. 

19. 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 
13 
14 
15 

16 

Although the Dutch labour market is recovering slowly from the crisis the effects are 
still  visible  in  certain  sectors.  Some  sectors  like  the  retail  have  only  more  recently 
started to really suffer from the consequences of the financial economic crisis.  

The main reasons for the above mentioned negative development in the retail sector 
are  the  negative  income  development  of  consumers,  caused  by  the  financial 
economic  crisis,  in  combination  with  their  indebtedness11.  The  consumers` 
confidence is also on the decrease, along with their purchasing power12. In the first 
period only the smaller, more recently the bigger department stores suffered from the 
financial economic crisis13.  

In  the  Dutch  retail  sector  many  redundancies  can  be  noted  in  the  past  few  months. 
The main department stores of the sector suffer from bankruptcies, which triggered a 
total number of 27 05214 redundancies in the period 2011-2015.  

During the financial economic crisis the indicators for consumer confidence declined 
first in  the period  2011-2013.  In  2014  the  confidence  recovered  somewhat  but  was 
still  negative.  In  2014  the  selling  of  consumer  goods  in  the  retail  recovered 
somewhat to +1%, following the trend of consumer confidence15. 
In 2016 there is a decline again in the consumer confidence16. The volume of goods 
sold  in  retail  sector  followed  this  pattern  from  -2%  (2011)  to  -4%  (2013).  In  2014 

stores. 

from  Dutch  National  Bank 

(DNB).  http://www.dnb.nl/nieuws/nieuwsoverzicht-en-

retail,  EGF/2011/004_EL/ALDI  Hellas, 
Fokas, 

Dutch National Bank (DNB). http://www.dnb.nl/nieuws/nieuwsoverzicht-en-archief/statistisch-nieuws-
2015/dnb333575.jsp# 
Figures 
archief/statistisch-nieuws-2015/dnb333575.jsp# 
EGF/2010/010_CZ/Unilever,  EGF/2010/016_ES/Aragón 
EGF/2014/009_EL/Sprider 
EGF/2015/011_GR/Supermarket Larissa 
CBS  press  statement  8  July  2015  on  debt  position  of  Duch  households.  http://www.cbs.nl/nl-
NL/menu/themas/macro-economie/publicaties/artikelen/archief/2015/4505-schulden-huishoudens-
nemen-weer-iets-toe.htm 
Retail sector prognoses, Economic Agency ABN-AMRO Sonny Duijn. 22 January 2016 
Retail sector prognoses Economic Agency ABN-AMRO Sonny Duijn. 22 January 2016. 
http://www.consultancy.nl/nieuws/11992/de-25-grootste-faillissementen-van-retailketens-en-winkels 
CBS figures on “koopkrachtontwikkeling” March 2016: 
http://statline.cbs.nl/Statweb/publication/?DM=SLNL&PA=71015NED&D1=0&D2=0,72,76-
77&D3=a&HDR=T&STB=G1,G2&VW=G 
https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/nieuws/2016/11/consumentenvertrouwen-daalt-opnieuw 

EGF/2014/013_EL/Odyssefs 

EN 

5 

   EN 

                                                 
20. 

21. 

22. 

23. 

internet shopping contributed to a small recovery. However, purchases are still 2,7% 
under the level of 2008, the year when the financial economic crisis began17.  

The consumption of retail goods -especially in the mid-priced product range- is still 
suffering  from  the  crisis18.  The  main  cause  for  this  is  the  deteriorating  income 
situation  of  consumers  and  their  reduced  potential  to  buy  consumer  goods19.  As 
illustrated the dynamic purchase power development still has not recovered from the 
negative income development in the years 2008-2013. 

This  negative  effect  of  declining  purchase  power  is  intensified  by  the  high  debt 
position of the average Dutch household. Most of these debts concern mortgages20. 
The indebtedness and declining creditability of the households had a strong negative 
effect on the retail sector.  
Since the start of the crisis 5 20021 retail shops went bankrupt, of which the biggest 
department stores were affected only recently.  

Some  of  the  biggest  retail  shops  went  bankrupt  by  the  end  of  2015.  An  analysis 
illustrates the 10 biggest bankruptcies in the retail sector over the years, the number 
of  branches/shops  that  were  closed  and  the  number  of  jobs  lost22.  The  trend  of 
bankruptcies  was  already  going  on  in  the  middle  of  the  crisis  (2011-2013),  first 
striking the smaller retail chains and now (2015-2016) the bigger ones23.  

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

24. 

25. 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 
22 
23 
24 
25 

In  both  provinces  the  retail  sector  is  one  of  the  biggest  sectors  in  the  regional 
economy24. From the figures it appears that the trade sector (which includes the retail 
sector) is the second biggest sector in Drenthe containing 7 800 branches and 37 410 
jobs  in  2015  and  the  biggest  in  Overijssel  with  19 400  branches  and  104 000  jobs. 
From 2013 onwards the trend in number of branches is negative in Drenthe.  

Both Drenthe and Overijssel suffer considerably especially from the bankruptcies in 
the  retail  sector.  The  share  of  employment  of  this  sector  in  both  provinces  is 
considerable  and  the  loss  of  jobs  therefore  has  a  strong  negative  effect  on  the 
economy  of  both  regions.  Particularly  the  loss  of  shops  in  the  inner  cities25  has  a 
strong negative influence on the regional economy. 

on 

March 

figures 

“koopkrachtontwikkeling” 

Focus  on  consumption,  Economic  Agency  ABN-AMRO  Mathijs  Deguelle  and  Nico  Klene.  Volume 
development retail sector. 24 January 2014. Retail sector prognoses, Economic Agency ABN-AMRO 
Sonny Duijn paragraph 1. 22 January 2016. 
CBS 
http://statline.cbs.nl/Statweb/publication/?DM=SLNL&PA=71015NED&D1=0&D2=0,72,76-
77&D3=a&HDR=T&STB=G1,G2&VW=G 
CBS press statement 8 July 2015 on debt position of Dutch households: http://www.cbs.nl/nl-
NL/menu/themas/macro-economie/publicaties/artikelen/archief/2015/4505-schulden-huishoudens-
nemen-weer-iets-toe.htm 
https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/nieuws/2015/28/schulden-huishoudens-nemen-weer-iets-toe 
https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2015/28/overall-household-debt-marginally-up 
http://www.consultancy.nl/nieuws/11992/de-25-grootste-faillissementen-van-retailketens-en-winkels 
http://www.consultancy.nl/nieuws/11992/de-25-grootste-faillissementen-van-retailketens-en-winkels 
http://overijssel.databank.nl/jive/jivereportcontents.ashx?report=home Theme economy 
http://www.lisa.nl/data/gratis-data/overzicht-lisa-data-per-provincie 
Focus  on  consumption,  Economic  Agency  ABN-AMRO  Mathijs  Deguelle  and  Nico  Klene.  Volume 
development retail sector. 24 January 2014. 

2016. 

EN 

6 

   EN 

                                                 
26. 

27. 

28. 

29. 

30. 

31. 

In the province of Overijssel trade shows a small improving trend in the number of 
branches as well as jobs. However this trend is mainly caused by the food branches, 
supermarkets and internet selling. The redundancies are caused by the other branches 
of  the  retail  sector  like  non-food  retail,  cultural  and  recreation  goods,  stores  for 
information and communication equipment, stores for household equipment26. 

The  total  number  of  jobs  in  Drenthe  is  still  decreasing,  while  in  Overijssel  a  slight 
recovery of jobs in 2015 can be noted compared with 2013 when the biggest loss of 
jobs took place. 

The  number  of  bankruptcies  in  the  retail  sector  has  a  considerable  impact  on  the 
economy and labour  market  of both provinces. The share  of the retail sector in  the 
total employment of Drenthe and Overijssel is between 17-19%27. The development 
of  jobs  (2015-2016)  in  the  consumer  services  sector,  which  includes  retail,  for  the 
regions Drenthe and Overijssel stays behind the Dutch average by 1%28. 

Both  Drenthe  and  Overijssel  show  that  the  total  number  of  jobs  declined.  The 
redundancies of the retail sector contributed to this development29.  

In  the  retail  sector  for  2015  the  total  increase  of  unemployment  benefits  were  for 
Drenthe 410 and for Overijssel 905. In  2016 until  March this  increase was 711 for 
Drenthe and 1 435 for Overijssel30. Several department stores went bankrupt by the 
end of 2015 - beginning of 2016. In the first three months of 2016 a steep increase of 
unemployment  benefits  can  be  noticed  compared  with  the  whole  of  2015.  In  total 
1 121  unemployed 
to  apply  for 
unemployment  benefits  within  a  period  of  15  months.  If  we  take  into  account  the 
trade sector -including retail- the figures are even more worrying.  

in  Drenthe  and  2 340 

in  Overijssel  had 

The  total  number  of  persons  who  became  unemployed  in  the  last  year  rose  more 
considerably  in  Overijssel  than  in  Drenthe31.  As  regards  the  retail  sector,  the 
redundancies  were  unforeseen.  Some  of  the  larger  department  stores  suffered  from 
the  negative  consequences  of  the  financial  economic  crisis  earlier,  but  their 
bankruptcy was completely unforeseen, particularly with such a short notice and high 
number of redundancies. 

Targeted beneficiaries and proposed actions 

Targeted beneficiaries 

32. 

The estimated number of redundant workers expected to participate in the measures 
is  800.  The  breakdown  of  these  workers  by  sex,  citizenship  and  age  group  is  as 
follows: 

26 

27 
28 
29 
30 
31 

http://statline.cbs.nl/Statweb/publication/?DM=SLNL&PA=81804NED&D1=a&D2=0-
2,5,29&D3=172-188&VW=T 
http://www.lisa.nl/include/nl/bibliotheek/4._LISA_Groot-_en_detailhandel_2014.pdf 
UWV Labour Market Prognoses 2015-2016 Page 52 
Figures by UWV April 2016 
Figures by UWV April 2016 
Figures by UWV April 2016 

EN 

7 

   EN 

 
 
                                                 
Category 

Sex: 

Men: 

Women: 

Citizenship:  EU citizens: 

non-EU citizens: 

Age group: 

15-24 years: 

25-29 years: 

30-54 years: 

55-64 years: 

over 64 years: 

Number of  
targeted 
beneficiaries* 

570 

230 

800 

0 

(71,2 %) 

(28,8 %) 

(100 %) 

(0 %) 

492 

(61,5 %) 

45 

(5,6 %) 

198 

(24,8 %) 

64 

1 

(8,0 %) 

(0,1 %) 

*:% is rounded 

Eligibility of the proposed actions 

33. 

34. 

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. 

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

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

Intake:  this  measure  will  map  the  participants  according  to  their  capabilites, 
potentials and job perspectives. Every intake will conclude with an advice.  

Job  search  assistance  and  case  management:  this  measure  will  start  with  an 
offer for a customised programme. Among others it will include preparation of 
transfer  documents,  intensive  job  application  training,  organising  job  markets 
and intensive contacting of employers. 

 Mobility pool: this measure consists of a flexible pool for the job seekers and 
employers  with  temporary  jobs.  This  service  can  be  used  for  flexible 
deployment.  This  measure  will  provide  work  experience  for  the  (retrained) 
workers and help them to present themselves to new employers.  

Outplacement assistance: this measure will offer job orientation, job counseling 
and competence training. 

Training  and  retraining:  this  measure  will  provide  training,  re-training  and 
other  educational  facilities,  for  the  retail  sector  and  for  new  occupational 
profiles, such as transport, IT services, technical professions and others. 

Entrepreneurship  promotion  training  and  coaching:  some  of  the  participants 
can use their commercial skills and experience to start their own business. This 
measure will provide training and coaching to them, by developing their skills, 
drafting a sustainable business plan and by guiding them through the legislative 
procedures. 

EN 

8 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
– 

Entrepreneurship promotion grant: this measure will give a grant for covering 
investment  costs,  if  the  participant  will  obtain  the  necessary  skills  and  will 
have a sustainable business plan.  

35. 

The  above  mentioned  package  of  measures  is  additional  to  the  regular  services 
provided for dismissed persons. These measures are personalised and targeted at the 
dismissed worker. 

Estimated budget 

36. 

The  estimated 
personalised  services  of  EUR 2 910 000  and  expenditure 
management, 
EUR 121 250. 

total  costs  are  EUR 3 031 250  comprising  expenditure  for 
for  preparatory, 
information  and  publicity,  control  and  reporting  activities  of 

37. 

The total financial contribution requested from the EGF is EUR 1 818 750 (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) 

Intakes (Intake) 

Job search assistance and case management 
(Trajectbegeleiding reintegratie) 

Mobility pool (Mobiliteitspool) 

Outplacement assistance (Outplacement 
begeleiding) 

800 

800 

200 

356 

285 000 

1 006 

805 000 

3 310 

662 000 

50 

1 600 

80 000 

Training and retraining (Scholing en 
cursussen) 

180 

3 611 

650 000 

Entrepreneurship promotion training and 
coaching (Promotie, cursussen en 
begeleiding ondernemerschap) 

Entrepreneurship promotion grant (Toelage 
ondernemerschap) 

25 

25 

2 120 

53 000 

15 000 

375 000 

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

– 

2 910 000 

(100 %) 

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

EN 

9 

   EN 

 
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 

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

Total costs (a + b + c): 

EGF contribution (60 % of total costs) 

*: figures are rounded 

0 

0 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

0 

0 

(0 %) 

0 

30 312 

60 625 

30 313 

121 250 

(4 %) 

3 031 250 

1 818 750 

38. 

39. 

The Netherlands confirmed that they do not foresee allowances and pay-subsidies. 

The  Netherlands  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 

40. 

41. 

The  Netherlands  started  providing  the  personalised  services  to  the  targeted 
beneficiaries  on  22  August  2016.  The  expenditure  on  the  actions  will  therefore  be 
eligible  for a  financial contribution from the EGF  from 22 August  2016 to  12 July 
2018. 

The  Netherlands  started  incurring  the  administrative  expenditure  to  implement  the 
EGF on 22 August 2016. The expenditure for preparatory, management, information 
and  publicity,  control  and  reporting  activities  shall  therefore  be  eligible  for  a 
financial contribution from the EGF from 22 August 2016 to 12 January 2019.  

Complementarity with actions funded by national or Union funds 

42. 

43. 

The  sources  of  national  co-funding  are  the local  governments  of  the  two  provinces 
concerned and the sector representatives. They will co-finance 40% of the costs. 

The  Netherlands  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. 

EN 

10 

   EN 

 
Procedures  for  consulting  the  targeted  beneficiaries  or  their  representatives  or  the  social 
partners as well as local and regional authorities 

44. 

45. 

46. 

The  Netherlands  has  indicated  that  the  application,  particularly  the  co-ordinated 
package  of  personalised  services,  has  been  drawn  up  in  consultation  with 
stakeholders, social partners, representatives of the retail sector and of the regions32.  

The  Employee  Insurance  Agency  (UWV),  who  is  in  charge  of  registration  of  the 
dismissed workers, consulted with the dismissed workers. An inventory of the nature 
and the magnitude of the problem were prepared along with UWV. 

A  number  of  meetings  were  held  with  the  representatives  of  the  sector  and  the 
regions  (provinces).  A  plan  was  also  prepared  to  increase  the  chances  of 
reemployment for the dismissed workers. 

Management and control systems 

47. 

48. 

49. 

The application contains a description of the management and control system which 
specifies the responsibilities of the bodies involved. It is identical to the structure as 
for  ESF.  The  costs related  to  these activities  are  included  in  the  total  project  costs. 
The Netherlands has notified the Commission that the management will be done by 
the Agency of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (Agentschap SZW).  

The  financial  control  will  be  done  by  the  General  Director  of  the  Netherlands 
Enterprise  Agency  (RVO,  Rijksdienst  voor  Ondernemend  Nederland)  as  certifying 
authority. The independent audit authority will be the Director of the Audit Agency 
in the Ministry of Finance. 

There  is  no  separate  budget  allocated  for  the  policy  part  of  the  project  from  the 
Ministry  of  Social  Affairs  and  Employment.  It  is  considered  as  part  of  their  work. 
The department of Employees` Regulation is in charge of EGF in general. 

Commitments provided by the Member State concerned 

50. 

The Netherlands 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. 

32 

Organisations consulted: Dutch Employers/Entrepreneurs Union, Employee Insurance Agency, branch 
organisation  of  the  retail  sector,  Dutch  Federation  of  Trade  Unions/Division  Drenthe,  National 
Federation of Christian Trade Unions, regional authorities. 

EN 

11 

   EN 

                                                 
BUDGETARY IMPLICATION 

Budgetary proposal 

51. 

52. 

53. 

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 2014-202033. 

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 1 818 750, 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 management34. 

Related acts 

54. 

55. 

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 1 818 750. 

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. 

33 
34 

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

EN 

12 

   EN 

                                                 
Proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund following an 
application from the Netherlands – EGF/2016/005 NL/Drenthe Overijssel Retail 

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 1927/200635, 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 management36, and in particular point 13 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

35 
36 
37 

38 

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 1311/201337. 

laid  down 

On  12  July  2016,  the  Netherlands  submitted  an  application  to  mobilise  the  EGF,  in 
respect  of  redundancies  in  the  economic  sector  classified  under  the  Statistical 
classification of economic activities in the European Community ('NACE') Revision 2 
Division  47  (Retail  trade,  except  of  motor  vehicles  and  motorcycles)  in  the 
Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics ('NUTS')38 level 2 regions of NL13 - 
Drenthe and NL21 - Overijssel in the Netherlands. It was supplemented by additional 
information  provided 
(EU) 
No 1309/2013.  That  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. 

in  accordance  with  Article 8(3)  of  Regulation 

OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 855. 
OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1. 
Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No 1311/2013  of  2  December  2013  laying  down  the  multiannual 
financial framework for the years 2014-2020 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884). 
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). 

EN 

13 

   EN 

                                                 
(4) 

(5) 

The EGF should, therefore, be mobilised in order to provide a financial contribution of 
EUR 1 818 750 in respect of the application submitted by the Netherlands. 

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

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

For the general budget of the Union for the financial year 2017, the European Globalisation 
Adjustment Fund shall be mobilised to provide the amount of EUR 1 818 750 in commitment 
and payment appropriations. 

Article 1 

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. 

EN 

14 

   EN