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 Greece – EGF/2017/003 GR/Attica retail
Date: 2017-10-23
Institutions: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
Subjects: European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, Greece, commitment of expenditure, dismissal, employment aid, financial aid, general budget (EU), regions of Greece, reintegration into working life, retail trade

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 23.10.2017  COM(2017) 613 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 Greece – EGF/2017/003 GR/Attica 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 13 April 2017, Greece submitted an application EGF/2017/003 GR/Attica 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 Attica (EL30) and 
10 other regions3 in Greece. 

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/2017/003 GR/Attica retail 

Member State 
Region(s) concerned (NUTS4 level 2) 

Date of submission of the application 

Date of acknowledgement of receipt of the 
application 

Receipt of translation 

Greece 

Eastern Macedonia, Thrace (EL11) 
Central Macedonia (EL12) 
Western Macedonia (EL13) 
Thessaly (EL14) 
Epirus (EL21) 
Western Greece (EL23) 
Central Greece (EL24) 
Peloponnese (EL25) 
Attica (EL30) 
Southern Aegean (EL42) 
Crete (EL43) 
13 April 2017 

13 April 2017 

12 May 2017 

1 
2 
3 

4 

OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 855. 
Within the meaning of Article 3 of the EGF Regulation. 
Eastern Macedonia, Thrace (EL11), Central Macedonia (EL12), Western Macedonia (EL13), Thessaly 
(EL14), Epirus (EL21), Western Greece (EL23), Central Greece (EL24), Peloponnese (EL25), Southern 
Aegean (EL42), Crete (EL43) 
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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Date of request for additional information 

26 May 2017 

Date of request for additional 2 weeks to 
provide the requested information 

Deadline for provision of the additional 
information 

7 July 2017 

21 July 2017 

Receipt of translation of additional information 

16 August 2017 

Deadline for the completion of the assessment 

8 November 2017 

Intervention criterion 

Article 4(2) of the EGF Regulation 

Number of enterprises concerned 

9 

Sector(s) of economic activity 
(NACE Revision 2 Division)5 

Division 47 (Retail trade, except of 
motor vehicles and motorcycles) 

Reference period (nine months): 

19 April 2016 - 19 January 2017 

Total number of redundancies 

Total number of eligible beneficiaries 

Total number of targeted beneficiaries 
Budget for personalised services (EUR) 
Budget for implementing EGF6 (EUR) 
Total budget (EUR) 
EGF contribution (60 %) (EUR) 

725 

725 

725 
4 720 250 
   195 000 
4 915 250 
2 949 150 

ASSESSMENT OF THE APPLICATION 

Procedure 

4. 

Greece submitted application EGF/2017/003 GR/Attica retail within 12 weeks of the 
date  on  which  the  intervention  criteria  set  out  in  Article 4  of  the  EGF  Regulation 
were  met,  on  13  April  2017.  The  Commission  acknowledged  receipt  of  the 
application on the same date, and requested additional information from Greece on 26 
May  2017.  Such  additional  information  was  provided  within  eight  weeks,  after  an 
extension of the deadline by two weeks at the duly justified request of Greece. 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 8 November 2017. 

Eligibility of the application 

Enterprises and beneficiaries concerned 

5. 

5 
6 
7 

The  application  relates  to  725  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 by the 9 enterprises are located in 
the NUTS level 2 regions of Attica (EL30) and 10 other regions7. 

OJ L 393, 30.12.2006, p. 1. 
In accordance with the fourth paragraph of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013. 
Idem footnote 3 

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Enterprises and number of dismissals within the reference period 

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΟΝΙΚΗ ΑΘΗΝΩΝ 
Α.Ε.Ε. 
DIXONS SOUTH - EAST 
EUROPE SA 
ΗΛΕΚΤΡΟΛΟΓΙΚΑ ΕΛΛΑΣ 
ΑΤΗΝΗ ΧΟΝΤΟΣ Α.Ε.Ε 
ΑΦΟΙ ΒΕΡΟΠΟΥΛΟΙ Α.Ε. 
ΜΕΤΡΟ ΑΕΒΕ 
Total no. of enterprises: 98 

428 

ΝΟΤΟΣ COM ΣΥΜΜΕΤΟΧΕΣ 
Α.Ε. 

42  ΠΕΤ ΣΙΤΙ ΑΕΒΕ 

37  ΣΑΡΑΦΙΔΗΣ Α.Ε. 
29 
49 
56 

Total no. of dismissals:  

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

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

33 

23 

28 

725 

0 

725 

Intervention criteria 

6. 

Greece  submitted  the  application  under  the  intervention  criteria  of  Article 4(2) 
derogating from the 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. There were 513 redundancies in the NUTS level 2 region of 
Attica (EL30). 

7. 

The reference period of nine months for the application runs from 19 April 2016 to 
19 January 2017. 

Calculation of redundancies and of cessation of activity 

8. 

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

– 

– 

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

456 from the date of the de facto termination of the contract of employment or 
its expiry, 

Eligible beneficiaries 

9. 

The total number of eligible beneficiaries is 725. 

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

10. 

In order to establish the link between the redundancies and the global financial and 
economic crisis addressed in Regulation (EC) No 546/2009, Greece argues that the 
Greek  economy  was  in  deep  recession  since  the  beginning  of  the  crisis  in  2008. 
According  to  ELSTAT,  the  Greek  Statistical  Authority,  since  2008  and  until  2016 
the Greek real GDP has decreased by 26,2 percentages, public consumption by 22,8 
percentages  and  private  consumption  by  24,4  percentages  whilst  unemployment 
increased about 14 percentage points. Even though the Greek economy is estimated 
to be on the recovery path and forecasts for some of these indicators are positive for 

8 

The 9 enterprises' have stores and supermarkets which sell electronics, electrical appliances, computers, 
cosmetic goods, clothing, footware, food and drinks, etc.  
Two  enterprises  (ΗΛΕΚΤΡΟΝΙΚΗ  ΑΘΗΝΩΝ  Α.Ε.Ε  and  ΣΑΡΑΦΙΔΗΣ  Α.Ε.)  went  bankrupt  and  the 
other seven have continued their activities. 

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20179, the labour market will continue to experience difficulties in the near future as 
well. 

Since 2008 the  Greek government has been taking measures such as increasing tax 
rates,  streamlining  public  expenditure  and  decreasing  public  employees'  salaries  in 
order  to  deal  with  foreign  debt  repayments.  Wages  in  the  private  sector  have  also 
been decreasing in an attempt to increase the competitiveness of the Greek economy.  

An  immediate  effect  of  the  reduced  income  has  been  a  decrease  in  consumption, 
especially of non-essential goods. Since 2009, the household consumption in Greece 
continued decreasing until 2013, despite a slow recovery at the EU-28 level. After a 
slight  recovery  in  2014,  the  downward  trend  of  household  consumption  in  Greece 
started again in 201510. 

According to the ELSTAT report on household income and living conditions, 21,2 % 
of Greeks were below the poverty threshold11 in 2016. 
According  to  a  recent  study12  by  IME-GSEVEE13,  published  in  January  2016,  one 
out of three households stated that their income level has declined in 2015 compared 
with  the  previous  year,  while  94,2 %  of  households  state  that  their  income  fell 
significantly since the beginning of the crisis. 
Over the period 2009-2016, the consumer confidence indicator14 deteriorated greatly 
during the first four years, from -46 in 2009 to -75 in 2012, and despite a recovery in 
2014-2015 (-49), since 2016 the indicator severely deteriorated to -73,3 in February 
201715. 
To date, the retail trade sector has been the subject of seven EGF applications16, all 
based on the global financial and economic crisis. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

14. 

15. 

16. 

Events giving rise to the redundancies and cessation of activity 

17. 

According to the Greek authorities, the events giving rise to these redundancies were 
mainly two: (1) the decrease of available household income ― due to the increase in 
the  tax  burden,  decreasing  salaries  and  rising  unemployment ― resulting  in  a  huge 
drop  of  purchasing  power;  (2) the  drastic  reduction  of  loans  to  enterprises  and 
individuals  due  to  the  lack  of  cash  in  the  Greek  banks.  According  to  the  Bank  of 
Greece,  the  annual  growth  rate  for  loans  granted  to  households  and  enterprises  has 
been negative since 2010 in the Greek banks17. 

18. 

Due  to  the  drop  of  purchasing  power  of  Greek  households  as  of  2008,  demand  for 
essential goods and durable consumer goods declined. This led to a significant fall of 
retail sales between 2008-2015 which ranged from 60 % for household appliances to 

9 
10 
11 

12 
13 

14 
15 
16 

17 

https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/ecfin_forecast_spring_110517_el_en.pdf 
GDP and main components (output, expenditure and income), Code: nama_10_gdp. 
In Greece, the poverty threshold is EUR 4 500 per year per person (for individuals) and EUR 9 450 for 
households comprising two adults and two children. 
http://www.imegsevee.gr/dtimegsevee/1078--l-r 
The  Small  Enterprises’  Institute  of  the  Hellenic  Confederation  of  Professionals,  Craftsmen  and 
Merchants 
The consumer confidence indicator is the weighted percentage of positive and negative answers 
http://iobe.gr/docs/situation/BCS_01032017_PRE_GR.pdf 
EGF/2010/010 CZ/Unilever,  EGF/2010/016 ES/Aragón 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 
http://www.bankofgreece.gr/BogEkdoseis/Summary_Annrep2016.pdf 

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19. 

20. 

30 % for food retailers and 23 % for supermarkets18. According to Infobank Hellastat 
SA19, the fall in retail sales is expected to continue in the future. 

In  this  framework,  retail  companies  met  serious  problems  in  terms  of  viability,  as 
their financing elements and performance went from bad to worse during the crisis 
period. The overall turnover index in the retail trade sector had a constant downward 
trend, decreasing by more than 63 % over the period 2008-2016, from 112,6 in 2008 
to 71,1 in 201620. 

The  continuing  decline  in  the  incomes  of  the  Greek  consumers  changed  their 
consumption  habits  and  attitude.  Also,  the  continuing  growth  of  e-sales,  which 
reached 18,3 % in November 2016, put an even bigger pressure on traditional retail 
stores21. All these contributed to an already high unemployment rate22. According to 
the  2016  Annual  Report  of  the  Greek  General  Confederation  of  Workers  (GSEE) 
Labour Institute, 164 000 jobs have been lost between 2008-2015 in the retail trade, 
manufacturing  and  construction  sectors,  which  account  for  64.2  %  of  total  job 
losses23. 

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

21. 

22. 

Although in the last four years unemployment in Greece has been slowly decreasing, 
the unemployment rate was still the highest in EU (23,6 %) in 2016.  

The Greek  authorities argue that the redundancies in  the 11 regions concerned  will 
further aggravate the unemployment situation, which already deteriorated as a result 
of the economic and financial crisis. In 2016, Greece had the highest unemployment 
rates amongst EU Member states and the fifteenth highest worldwide24. 

Unemployment rate 

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

EU (28 countries)

Greece

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Source: Eurostat25 and ELSTAT 

18 

19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 

25 

https://www.nbg.gr/greek/the-group/press-office/e-
spot/reports/Documents/SMEs%20Survey_Retail%20Trade%20(September%202016).pdf 
http://www.pressreader.com/greece/naftemporiki/20170111/281784218780186 
http://www.statistics.gr/en/statistics/-/publication/DKT39/2017-M05 
www.greekecommerce.gr/gr/file-download/eltrun-ecommerce-b2c-2016 
Eurostat: Code tsdec450. 
http://www.inegsee.gr/ekdosi/etisia-ekthesi-2016-ine-gsee-i-elliniki-ikonomia-ke-i-apascholisi/ 
Source: ILO. 
http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/multimedia/maps-and-charts/WCMS_442905/lang--
en/index.htm 
Code tsdec450. 

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23. 

Most of the redundancies are concentrated in Attica (70,7 %) region, while the rest 
occurred in other 10 regions26 (29,3 %). At the end of 2016 the unemployment rate in 
Attica was 22,9 %, while for the other 10 regions concerned it ranged from 19,5 % in 
Aegean  region  to  26,8 %  in  the  Epirus  and  Western  Macedonia  regions27. 
Furthermore,  there  is  a  lack  of  job  offers  in  the  regions  if  compared  with  the  high 
number  of  job  seekers.  306 749  people  appeared  as  job  seekers  in  the  same  period 
(February 2016) only in the Attica region.  

24. 

In this framework, the redundancies in the retail trade enteprises have overburdened 
the regions which have already been severely hit by the negative consequences of the 
crisis. 

Explanation of the exceptional circumstances underlying the admissibility of the application 

25. 

26. 

27. 

Greece  argues  that  this  application  should  be  assimilated  to  an  application  under 
Article 4(1)(b)  of  the  EGF  Regulation  due  to  exceptional  circumstances  having  a 
serious  impact  on  employment  and  the  local,  regional  or  national  economy.  The 
requirements  of  Article 4(1)(b)  are  not  entirely  met  because  it  is  difficult  to 
demonstrate  that  the  two  NUTS  2  level  regions  separated  by  water  (EL42  and 
EL4328) are contiguous to the other regions concerned and are part of the same local 
or regional labour market. 

Contiguity  in  the  sense  of  Article 4(1)(b),  in  the  case  of  two  regions  separated  by 
water,  is  not  defined  in  the  EGF  Regulation  and  Greece  argues  that  these  20 
workers29,  who  were  made  redundant  from  shops  belonging  to  the  same  parent 
company  Electroniki  Athinon  SA  should  be  treated  equally  and  benefit  from  the 
same type of measures as the other workers made redundant in the regions located on 
the main land. 

Furthermore,  these  2  regions  separated  by  water  are  small  local  and  isolated  labour 
markets and both these regions already have a very high unemployment rate, 19,5 % 
in Southern Aegean and 23,5 % in Crete. 

Targeted beneficiaries and proposed actions 

Targeted beneficiaries 

28. 

The estimated number of redundant workers expected to participate in the measures 
is  725.  The  breakdown  of  these  workers  by  sex,  citizenship  and  age  group  is  as 
follows: 

Sex: 

Category 

Men: 

Women: 

Citizenship:  EU citizens: 

non-EU citizens: 

Age group: 

15-24 years: 

Number of  
targeted beneficiaries 

408 

317 

(56,3 %) 

(43,7 %) 

714 

(98,5 %) 

11 

0 

(1,5 %) 

(0,0 %) 

26 
27 
28 
29 

Idem footnote 3 
http://www.statistics.gr/documents/20181/44dfe0a4-2f54-47c0-aa04-83b6d56508f8 
EL42 - Southern Aegean and EL43 - Crete 
12 workers in EL42 - Southern Aegean and 8 in EL43 - Crete 

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25-29 years: 

30-54 years: 

55-64 years: 

over 64 years: 

26 

81 

438 

180 

(3,6 %) 

(11,2 %) 

(60,4 %) 

(24,8 %) 

Eligibility of the proposed actions 

29. 

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

– 

Professional counselling: This accompanying measure, which will be offered to 
all participants with special attention to the elderly beneficiaries, consists of 25 
individual sessions of 45 minutes each with a specialised counsellor and covers 
the following stages: 

1 Information. This first measure addressed to all participants provides basic 
information about the project and their prospects from accepting to participate 
in it. 

2 Registration  of  beneficiaries  and  exploration  of  needs.  This  includes 
providing information on available services and training programmes, on skills 
and  training  requirements,  as  well  as  preparation  of  a  personal  file  of  all 
participants. 

3 Personal  and  professional  assessment.  This  is  intended  to  help  workers 
identify  their  skills,  opportunities  and  constraints  related  to  their  interests  as 
well as to establish a realistic career plan. The outcome will be a personal and 
professional  assessment  which  includes  the  participant's  skills,  qualifications 
and training needs.  

4 Personal and professional development process. This includes: (1) training 
in  horizontal  skills30  (2) job-search  assistance  and  techniques,  training  on 
drafting  of  CVs,  cover  letters  and  how  to  prepare  a  job  interview;  (3) career 
guidance: the counsellors will provide up-to-date information on labour market 
issues  and  will  steer  them  towards  specific  job  offers;  (4)  preparation  of  the 
initial summary individual project and an action plan. 

5 Development  and  preparation  of  the  individual  action  plan.  The 
counsellors  will  also  accompany  the  workers  during  the  implementation  of 
their training pathways and individual plans of reintegration into employment. 
The participants interested in setting up a business will receive general support 
and counselling towards entrepreneurship. 

6 Monitoring.  This  provides  a  follow  up  of  the  participants  during  the  six 
months that follow the end of the implementation of the measures. 

– 

Training, retraining and vocational training. This measure consists in providing 
vocational  training  courses  to  workers  which  correspond  to  their  needs, 
especially  of  the  elderly  beneficiaries  and  the  current  needs  in  the  labour 
market.  The  two  types  of  training  are:  continuous  vocational  training 
programmes and specialised trainings or specific educational programmes. The 
training courses might also be complemented with traineeships. 

30 

Horizontal skills such as: adjusting to new situations, decision making, job search, etc. 

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– 

– 

– 

Contribution  to  business  start-up.  In  order  to  promote  entrepreneurship,  the 
workers who set up their own businesses  will  receive up to EUR 15 000 as  a 
contribution  to  cover  setting-up  costs.  The  condition  is  that  the  beneficiaries 
maintain their business for at least one year.  

Job-search  allowance  and  training  allowance.  To  cover  the  expenses  incurred 
when  participating  in  the  professional  counselling  measure,  the  beneficiaries 
will receive EUR 40 for expenses for participating in a 45 minute session with 
a counsellor. While in training the allowance will be EUR 3,33 per hour. 

Job  creation  subsidy.  As  a  recruitment  incentive,  employers  will  receive  a 
subsidy  of  EUR 650  (gross)  per  person  for  six  months,  provided  that  they 
maintain  the  contract  for  the  EGF  beneficiary  for  six  more  months  after  the 
subsidy ends. 

30. 

31. 

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. 

Greece 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 

32. 

The  estimated 
personalised  services  of  EUR 4 720 250  and  expenditure 
management, 
EUR 195 000. 

total  costs  are  EUR 4 915 250,  comprising  expenditure  for 
for  preparatory, 
information  and  publicity,  control  and  reporting  activities  of 

33. 

The total financial contribution requested from the EGF is EUR 2 949 150 (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) 

Professional counselling (Επαγγελματική 
συμβουλευτική) 

Vocational training (Επαγγελματική 
Κατάρτιση) 

Specialised training/education 
(Εξειδικευμένη κατάρτιση / εκπαίδευση)  

Contribution to business start-up 
(Συνεισφορά για σύσταση επιχείρησης) 

725 

680 

45 

65 

1 250 

906 250 

1 500 

1 020 000 

4 000 

180 000 

15 000 

975 000 

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

– 

3 081 250 

(65,28 %) 

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

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Job search allowances (Επιδόματα 
αναζήτησης εργασίας)  

725 

1 000 

725 000 

Training allowances (Επιδόματα κατάρτισης)  

680 

1 000 

680 000 

Job creation subsidy (Επιδότηση θέσεων 
εργασίας)  

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) 

60 

3 900 

234 000 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

1 639 000 

(34,72 %) 

25 000 

90 000 

55 000 

25 000 

195 000 

(3,97 %) 

4 915 250 

2 949 150 

34. 

The costs of the actions identified in the table above as actions under Article 7(1)(b) 
of  the  EGF  Regulation  do  not  exceed  35 %  of  the  total  costs  for  the  coordinated 
package of personalised services. Greece confirmed that these actions are conditional 
on  the  active  participation  of  the  targeted  beneficiaries  in  job-search  or  training 
activities. 

35. 

Greece confirmed that the costs of investments for self-employment, business start-
ups and employee take-overs will not exceed EUR 15 000 per beneficiary. 

Period of eligibility of expenditure 

36. 

37. 

Greece started providing the personalised services to the targeted beneficiaries on 13 
July  2017.  The  expenditure  on  the  actions  will  therefore  be  eligible  for  a  financial 
contribution from the EGF from 13 July 2017 to 13 July 2019. 

Greece started incurring the administrative expenditure to implement the EGF on 5 
June 2017. The expenditure for preparatory, management, information and publicity, 
control and reporting activities shall therefore be eligible for a financial contribution 
from the EGF from 5 June 2017 to 13 January 2020.  

Complementarity with actions funded by national or Union funds 

38. 

39. 

The  source  of  national  pre-financing  or  co-funding  is  the  Public  Investment 
Programme of the Greek Ministry of Economy and Development. 

Greece  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. 

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

40. 

41. 

Greece has indicated that the co-ordinated package of personalised services has been 
drawn  up  in  consultation  with  the  General  Secretary  and  the  representatives  of 
Labour Institute of the General Confederation of Hellenic Workers (GSEE) 

In  January  2017  six  meetings  took  place  at  the  office  of  General  Secretary  of 
Ministry of Labour; three of these meetings between the General Secretary and the 
representatives of GSEE and the other three between the General Secretary and the 
Coordinating Committee of the dismissed workers. 

Management and control system 

42. 

The application contains a description of the management and control system which 
specifies  the  responsibilities  of  the  bodies  involved.  Greece  has  notified  the 
Commission  that  the  financial  contribution  will  be  managed  and  controlled  by  the 
same  bodies  that  manage  and  control  the  European  Social  Fund  (ESF)  funding  in 
Greece.  The  National  Strategic  Reference  Framework  (NSRF)  Task  Force  at  the 
Department of Employment and Social Economy of the Ministry of Labour, Social 
Security  and  Social  Solidarity  will  act  as  managing  authority,  the  EDEL  (the 
Financial  Audit  Committee)  as  audit  authority  and  the  Special  Service  for 
Certification and Verification of Co-financed Programs as certification authority. 

Commitments provided by the Member State concerned 

43. 

Greece 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 

44. 

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 2014-202031. 

31 

OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884. 

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45. 

46. 

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 2 949 150, 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 management32. 

Related acts 

47. 

48. 

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 2 949 150. 

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. 

32 

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 following an 
application from Greece – EGF/2017/003 GR/Attica 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 1927/200633, 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 management34, and in particular point 13 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

33 
34 
35 

36 

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 1311/201335. 

laid  down 

On 13 April 2017, Greece 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')36  level  2  regions  of  Attica  (EL30),  Eastern 
Macedonia, Thrace (EL11),  Central Macedonia (EL12),  Western Macedonia (EL13), 
Thessaly  (EL14),  Epirus  (EL21),  Western  Greece  (EL23),  Central  Greece  (EL24), 
Peloponnese  (EL25),  Southern  Aegean  (EL42)  and  Crete  (EL43)  in  Greece.  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 

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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determining  a  financial  contribution  from  the  EGF  as  laid  down  in  Article 13  of 
Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013. 

In  accordance  with  Article 4(2)  of  Regulation  (EU)  No 1309/2013,  the  application 
from Greece is considered admissible since the redundancies have a serious impact on 
employment and the local, regional or national economy. 

The EGF should, therefore, be mobilised in order to provide a financial contribution of 
EUR 2 949 150 in respect of the application submitted by Greece. 

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

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

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 2 949 150 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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