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 Finland – EGF/2017/005 FI/Retail
Date: 2017-10-23
Institutions: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
Subjects: European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, Finland, collective dismissal, commitment of expenditure, employment aid, financial aid, general budget (EU), regions of Finland, reintegration into working life, retail trade

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 23.10.2017  COM(2017) 618 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 Finland – EGF/2017/005 FI/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  June  2017,  Finland  submitted  an  application  EGF/2017/005 FI/Retail  for  a 
financial contribution from the EGF, following redundancies2 in the economic sector 
classified  under  the  NACE  Revision  2  Division  NACE  Revision  2  Division  47 
(Retail trade, except motor vehicles and motorcycles) in the NUTS level 2 regions of 
FI19  -  Lansi  Suomi,  FI1B  -  Helsinki-Uusimaa,  FI1C  -  Etelä-Suomi  and  FI1D  - 
Pohjois- ja Itä-Suomi FI1D in Finland. 

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 
Region(s) concerned (NUTS3 level 2) 

EGF/2017/005 FI/Retail 

Finland 

Länsi-Suomi (FI19) 

Helsinki-Uusimaa (FI1B) 

Etelä-Suomi (FI1C) 

Pohjois- ja Itä-Suomi (FI1D) 

Date of submission of the application 

Date of acknowledgement of receipt of the 
application 

12 June 2017 

12 June 2017 

Date of request for additional information 

19 June 2017 

Deadline for provision of the additional 
information 

31 July 2017 

Deadline for the completion of the assessment 

23 October 2017 

Intervention criterion 

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

Number of enterprises concerned 

3 

1 
2 
3 

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). 

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

Division 47 - Retail trade, except 
motor vehicles and motorcycles 

Reference period (nine months): 

3 August 2016 - 3 May 2017 

Total number of redundancies  

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 EGF5 (EUR) 
Total budget (EUR) 
EGF contribution (60 %) (EUR) 

ASSESSMENT OF THE APPLICATION 

Procedure 

1 660 

1 660 

1 500 

0 

3 906 600 
   259 000 
4 165 600 
2 499 360 

4. 

Finland  submitted  application  EGF/2017/005 FI/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 June 2017. The Commission acknowledged receipt of the application on 
the  same  date  and  requested  additional  information  from  Finland  on  19  June  2017. 
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 23 October 2017.  

Eligibility of the application 

Enterprises and beneficiaries concerned 

5. 

The  application  relates  to  1 660  workers  made  redundant  in  the  economic  sector 
classified  under  the  NACE  Revision  2  Division  47  -  Retail  trade,  except  motor 
vehicles  and  motorcycles.  The  redundancies  made  are  located  in  the  NUTS  level  2 
regions  of  FI19  -  Lansi  Suomi,  FI1B  -  Helsinki-Uusimaa,  FI1C  -  Etelä-Suomi  and 
FI1D - Pohjois- ja Itä-Suomi FI1D in Finland. 

Enterprises and number of dismissals within the reference period 

Anttila Oy 
Stockmann Oy 
Total no. of enterprises: 36 

1 217  Oy Vallila Collection Ab 

26 

417 

Total no. of dismissals:  

1 660 

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

0 

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

1 660 

4 
5 
6 

OJ L 393, 30.12.2006, p. 1. 
In accordance with the fourth paragraph of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013. 
The  dismissals  occurred  at  two  major  department  store  chains  (Anttila  and  Stockman)  and  at  a 
subsidiary (Vallila). Anttila and Vallila have closed down completely. 

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Intervention criteria 

6. 

7. 

Finland 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  one  region  or  two 
contiguous  regions  defined  at  NUTS  2  level  in  a  Member  State.  In  the  Helsinki-
Uusimaa (FI1B) region alone there are 835 redundancies. 

The reference period of nine months for the application runs from 3 August 2016 to 3 
May 2017. 

Calculation of redundancies and of cessation of activity 

8. 

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

– 

1 660  from  the  date  of  the  employer's  individual  notice  to  lay  off  or  to 
terminate the contract of employment of the worker. 

Eligible beneficiaries 

9. 

The total number of eligible beneficiaries 1 660. 

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

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

14. 

7 
8 

9 

10 

In order to establish the link between the redundancies and major structural changes 
in world trade patterns due to globalisation Finland argues that retail trade is going 
through  a  period  of  major  changes,  due  to  globalisation  (online  trading).  Changing 
patterns of consumers` habits, digitization and the economic crisis also play a role in 
changes. 

Online sales are growing for many years already. It is expected that by 2019 13 % of 
the  global  retail trade  will be online, while  in  2014 it was  only  6,3 %7. Consumers 
initially turned to online shops. More recently they tend to turn to international web-
shops, based in non EU countries. 

Online shopping has a major impact on the sales of conventional department stores. 
The lead web-shops are in China, India and the US.  

In Finland online sales of retail products have increased by 34 % in the period 2010-
2015.  Finns  tend  to  purchase  more  from  foreign  online  stores  than  other 
Scandinavians8.  As  a  consequence  the  sales  in  the  Finnish  department  stores 
decreased.  In  2014  sales  in  department  store  trade  went  down  by  4,3 %  compared 
with 2013, while in in 2016 the decrease was 2,8 % compared with the 2015 sales9. 

There  is  also  a  major  swap  in  retail  jobs.  While  routine,  full  time  jobs  disappear, 
there  are  new  openings,  as  part  time  jobs,  with  new  skills  such  as  IT  skills, 
forecasting, data analysis, communication, customer knowledge and logistics10. 43 % 
of retail staff is over the age of 45 years and without the skills mentioned.  

http://www.emarketer.com/public_media/docs/....2016_Worldwide_ECommerce_Report.pdf 
http://kauppa.fi/eng/press_releases/e_commerce_of_goods_increasing_despite_recession_24804 
http://www.postnord.fi/globalassets/suomi/tutkimukset/e-commerce-in-nordics-2017_eng_low.pdf, 
http://tilastokeskus.fi/til/klv/2014/12/klv_2014_12_2015-02-12_tie_002_en.html,  
http://tilastokeskus.fi/til/klv/2016/12/klv_2016_12_2017-02-15_tie_002_en.html 

http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/2016/13/tyti_2016_13_2017-04-12_kat_002_en.html 

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15. 

To date, the NACE Revision 2 Division 47 - Retail trade, except motor vehicles and 
motorcycles sector has been the subject of 8 EGF applications11. 

Events giving rise to the redundancies and cessation of activity 

16. 

17. 

18. 

19. 

20. 

21. 

22. 

23. 

24. 

25. 

11 

12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 

The retail sector in Finland accounts for 7 % of all jobs, but it is open for young, part 
time workers with new skills. Web-shop purchases from countries outside of the EU 
increased from 6 % (2008) to 19 % (2016) of all sales. 32 % of online purchases are 
from  other  EU  MS  and  16 %  of  online  trading  is  from  non  EU  countries.  23 %  of 
Finnish international online trading is from China12.  

The  trend  is  similar  in  other  EU  countries;  the  online  purchase  from  non  EU 
members  increased  from  13%  to  20%  of  all  international  online  purchase  in  the 
2012-2016 periods (source: EUROSTAT). 

Anttila  Oy  was  a  retail  company,  created  in  1952  as  a  mail  order  company.  It 
concentrated  mainly  on  consumer  electronics,  clothing  and  homeware.  Anttila 
department stores could be found in 23 localities.  

Anttila was making loss for a number of years, mainly due to the decline of the entire 
department  store  business.  The  company  tried  to  restore  its  profitability.  It  was 
recapitalised and the owner has changed. Anttila also reduced its staff (2015)13. 

Despite  all  efforts  the  cash-flow  and  profitability  of  the  company  declined  further, 
mainly  due  to  international  online  trading.  The  company  was  looking  for  external 
financial resources, without success14.  

The  number  of  customers  in  Anttila`s  department  stores  decreased  annually  by  10-
20 %.  In  music,  films,  games  and  household  appliances  the  sales  collapsed  in 
Anttila`s department stores, due to digitisation and online trading15. 

In  2016  it  had  to  file  for  bankruptcy.  A  notice  of  termination  was  given  to  all  the 
1 222 employees. Early 2017 Anttila closed down completely. The personnel at Oy 
Vallila, a subsidiary of Anttila, also lost their jobs.  
The  recession  in  Finland  also  had  impact  on  Anttila`s  sales16.  Anttila  staff  used  to 
work 30-35 hours/week. Current vacancies are for 12 hours/week.  

Stockmann  is  a  traditional  Finnish  department  store  chain,  known  as  seller  of  high 
end, top quality products. Stockman faced similar problems like Anttila, but to less 
extent17. 

Stockmann started the improvement of its financial and market position in 2015. In 
2017  it  closed  down  the  Oulu  store.  Currently  it  has  6  department  stores  left. 

EGF/2010/010  CZ/Unilever,  EGF/2010/016_ES/Aragon  retail,  EGF/2011/004  EL/ALDI  Hellas, 
EGF/2014/009 EL/Sprider Stores, EGF/2014/013 EL/Odyssefs Fokas, EGF/2015/011 GR/Supermarket 
Larissa, EGF/2016/005 NL/Drenthe Overijssel Retail, EGF/2017/003 GR/Attica retail 
http://www.postnord.com/en/media/publications/ 

http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/business/14110-anttila-declares-bankruptcy.html 

https://www.statista.com/statistics/243872/number-of-employees-in-the-e-commerce-segment-in-china 

http://www.ifpi.org/downloads/GMR2016.pdf 

http://www.reuters.com/article/stockmann-seppala-idUSL6N0VC0NQ20150202 

https://ek.fi/wp-content/uploads/Luottamusindikaattori1412eng.pdf 

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Stockman`s problems are partly linked to e-commerce, changing shopping habits and 
the weak consumer confidence in the economy18.  

26. 

The number of customers in Stockmann`s department stores decreased by more than 
40 %  in  2012-2016.  In  the  same  period  sales  turnover  decreased  by  38 %. 
Operational margin went into negative19. 

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

27. 

All four NUTS-2 regions of Finland are affected. The biggest impact is in Helsinki-
Uusimaa  (835  job  losses).  There  were  317 251  unemployed  job  seekers  in  March 
2017  in  Finland.  That  was  10,3 %  of  the  labour  force.  38 %  were  over  50  years  of 
age20.  There  were  6  unemployed  people  for  each  vacancy.  4 %  of  all  unemployed 
people were from trade21. 

Länsi-Suomi  

28. 

29. 

30. 

In the Pirkanmaa area22 the retail and wholesale trade represents a significant share 
of  the  turnover  of  all  sectors,  about  30 %.  The  economy  of  the  region  is  slowly 
recovering due the export industries and building. 

In  March  2017  the  number  of  the  unemployed  listed  at  the  Pirkanmaa  Centre  for 
Economic Development, Transport and Environment (ELY Centre) was 31 577. That 
was 12,9 % of the labour force, higher than the national average23. 

The Anttila department store chain was a significant employer in the region. Finding 
a new employment was the most difficult for the older than 50 years. 

Helsinki-Uusimaa 

31. 

32. 

At  the  end  of  March  2017,  the  number  of  unemployed  jobseekers  in  the  Uusimaa 
region  was  86 659  and  unemployed  jobseekers  accounted  for  10,3 %  of  the  labour 
force.  

The  number  of  long-term  unemployed  people  in  March  2017  was  34 942.  People 
over the age of 50 accounted for up to 36 % of unemployed jobseekers24. 

Etelä-Suomi  

33. 

34. 

18 
19 

20 

21 
22 
23 
24 

Anttila was a major employer in the retail sector in Turku city. With the closure of 
Anttila a considerable number of jobs were lost.  

This is a region with 11,6 % unemployment. Companies take on young workers for 
part-time work. Many of the unemployed are over the age of 5025. 

http://tilastokeskus.fi/til/kbar/2016/07/kbar_2016_07_2016-07-27_tie_001_en.html 

https://fashionunited.uk/news/retail/a-challenging-turnaround-ahead-for-the-owner-of-
lindex/2015062216813 

https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/handle/10024/79319 

https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/handle/10024/79798 

https://www.ammattibarometri.fi 

`Areas` in article 28-30 and 33-38 mean NUTS 3 level regions. 

https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/handle/10024/79319 

https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/handle/10024/79798 

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35. 

In  late  spring 2017, the South-western area  of the  region  unemployment  was about 
26 224 people. That was 11,6 % of the labour force. In addition to that further 10 600 
people were engaged in employment promoting services26. 

Pohjois-ja Itä-Suomi 

36. 

37. 

Stockmann and Anttila were both significant retail sector employers in the Oulu area. 
The cessation of their business activities in the city led to a considerable number of 
redundancies, many of those affected were in older age groups.  

Unemployment  in  the  Oulu  area  remains  high;  in  March  2017  there  were  25 928 
unemployed  people.  In  addition  the  Employment  and  Economic  Development 
Offices  (TE  Offices)  had  about  9 650  people 
in  services  for  promoting 
employment27. 

Targeted beneficiaries and proposed actions 

Targeted beneficiaries 

38. 

The estimated number of redundant workers expected to participate in the measures 
is  1 500.  The  breakdown  of  these  workers  by  sex,  citizenship  and  age  group  is  as 
follows: 

Sex: 

Category 

Men: 

Women: 

Citizenship:  EU citizens: 

Number of  
targeted beneficiaries 

355 

(23,7 %) 

1 145 

(76,3 %) 

1 495 

(99,7 %) 

non-EU citizens: 

5 

(0,3 %) 

Age group: 

15-24 years: 

25-29 years: 

30-54 years: 

55-64 years: 

103 

144 

985 

263 

(6,9 %) 

(9,6 %) 

(65,7 %) 

(17,5 %) 

over 64 years: 

5 

(0,3 %) 

Eligibility of the proposed actions 

39. 

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

– 

– 

Coaching measures and other preparatory measures: this measure includes job-
seeking training for self-confidence building and updating job-seeking skills. It 
also includes job coaching on an individual basis.  

Employment  and  other  business  measures:  this  measure  is  to  provide 
information, counselling and expert services for planning the re-employment of 

25 
26 
27 

https://www.ammattibarometri.fi 

https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/handle/10024/79319 

https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/handle/10024/79319 

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– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

the beneficiaries through online services, vocational and job-seeking guidance, 
job offers, competency mapping, work ability evaluations and try-outs. 

Training  courses:  this  measure  is  to  provide  vocational,  continuing,  change 
training and re-training courses. It also includes training courses for supporting 
entrepreneurship. The courses will be tailored to the target group.  

Start-up grant: the purpose of the grant is to promote the creation of business 
activity  and  employment  of  individual  persons.  The  start-up  grant  helps  to 
launch  and  establish  a  full-time  business  gradually.  It  is  provided  up  to 
maximum 12 months. Training and coaching is also linked to the grant. 

Career coaching pilots: for beneficiaries over 50 years old the pilot project will 
look  at  any  physical  or  mental  issues  and  other  matters  that  may  act  as  an 
impediment to re-employment. In addition some of the beneficaries might need 
intensive guidance.  

Pay-subsidy:  this  subsidy  will  be  available  to  support  employment  in  a  new 
job, by reducing the payroll costs. The pay subsidy will be 30-50 percent of the 
payroll  costs  and  paid  to  the  employer.  The  length  of  the  subsidy  is  6-18 
months, depending on the length of the unemployment period.  

Allowances for travel and accomodation: may be granted to the job seeker for 
travel  costs  and  accomodation  costs  incurred  during  job-seeking  or  during 
training, aimed at promoting employment. 

40. 

41. 

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. 

Finland has 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 

42. 

The  estimated 
personalised  services  of  EUR 3 906 600  and  expenditure 
management, 
EUR 259 000. 

total  costs  are  EUR 4 165 600,  comprising  expenditure  for 
for  preparatory, 
information  and  publicity,  control  and  reporting  activities  of 

43. 

The total financial contribution requested from the EGF is EUR 2 499 360 (60 % of 
total costs). 

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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) 

Coaching measures and other preparatory 
measures (Valmennukset ja muut valmentavat 
toimenpiteet ) 

Employment and business services 
(Työllisyys- ja yrityspalvelut) 

Training courses (Koulutus) 

315 

1 200 

378 000 

500 

235 

60 

30 000 

5 000 

1 175 000 

Start-up grant (Starttiraha) 

18 

9 000 

162 000 

Career coaching pilots (Uravalmennuspilotti) 

260 

5 000 

1 300 000 

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

– 

3 045 000 

(77,95 %) 

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

Pay subsidy  

Allowances for travel and accomodation 

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) 

200 

180 

4 200 

840 000 

120 

21 600 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

861 600 

(22,05 %) 

4 000 

150 000 

25 000 

80 000 

259 000 

(6,22 %) 

4 165 600 

2 499 360 

44. 

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 

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

45. 

Finland 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 

46. 

47. 

Finland started providing the personalised services to the targeted beneficiaries on 3 
August 2016. The expenditure on the actions will therefore be eligible for a financial 
contribution from the EGF from 3 August 2016 to 12 June 2019. 

Finland started incurring the administrative expenditure to implement the EGF on 3 
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 3 August 2016 to 12 December 2019.  

Complementarity with actions funded by national or Union funds 

48. 

49. 

The source of national pre-financing or co-funding is the public employment services 
item  in  the  administrative  branch  of  the  Ministry  of  Economic  Affairs  and 
Employment  (MEAE).  Some  services  will  also  be  funded  from  the  operating 
expenditure of the ELY Centres and the TE Offices. Technical support tasks will be 
funded  from  the  operating  expenditure  of  MEAE  and  the  ELY  Centres.  An  effort 
will be made to provide national pre-funding for all actions and tasks. 

Finland  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 

50. 

51. 

Finland has indicated that the co-ordinated package of personalised services has been 
drawn  up  in  consultation  with  the  representatives  of  the  ELY  Centres  of  Uusimaa, 
Pirkanmaa, Pohjois-Pohjanmaa, Varsinais-Suomi and the TE office of Uusimaa. The 
representatives  of  Anttila  and  of  the  trade  unions  (PAM:  Service  Unions  United) 
were also included. 

The  MEAE  established  a  working  group,  which  includes  all  the  above  mentioned 
local and regional authorities, the representatives of Anttila and PAM. The working 
group  addresses  the  redundancies  in  the  retail  sector  and  participated  in  the 
preparation of the EGF application. 

Management and control systems 

52. 

The application contains a description of the management and control system which 
specifies the responsibilities of the bodies involved.  

– 

Finland  has  notified  the  Commission  that  the  financial  contribution  will  be 
managed by MEAE, which acts as managing and certifying authority for EGF 
and  as  an  intermediate  body  distributing  EGF  funds.  The  management 
functions 
the  Employment  and 
Entrepreneurship Department.  

for  EGF  have  been  assigned 

to 

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– 

The  certifying  functions  are  within the  Human  Resources  and  Administration 
Unit. Payments to beneficiaries are executed via the regional ELY Centres and 
TE Offices.  

–  With  regard  to  auditing,  the  responsible  body  is  the  independent  Internal 

Auditing Unit, operating under the Permanent Secretary of the MEAE. 

Commitments provided by the Member State concerned 

53. 

Finland 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  dismissing  enterprises  which  have  continued  their  activities  after  the  lay-
offs,  have  complied  with  their  legal  obligations  governing  the  redundancies 
and 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 

54. 

55. 

56. 

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 2014-202028. 

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 2 499 360, 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 management29. 

28 
29 

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

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Related acts 

57. 

58. 

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 2 499 360. 

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. 

EN 

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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 following an 
application from Finland – EGF/2017/005 FI/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 1927/200630, 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 management31, and in particular point 13 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

30 
31 
32 

33 

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 1311/201332. 

laid  down 

On 12 June 2017, Finland 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 motor vehicles and motorcycles in the Nomenclature of Territorial 
Units for Statistics ('NUTS')33 level 2 regions of FI19 - Lansi Suomi, FI1B - Helsinki-
Uusimaa,  FI1C  -  Etelä-Suomi  and  FI1D  -  Pohjois-  ja  Itä-Suomi  FI1D  in  Finland.  It 
was supplemented by additional information provided 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  as  laid  down  in  Article 13  of 
Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013. 

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). 

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(4) 

(5) 

The EGF should, therefore, be mobilised in order to provide a financial contribution of 
EUR 2 499 360 in respect of the application submitted by Finland. 

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 2 499 360 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. 

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