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 Sweden – EGF/2017/007 SE/Ericsson
Date: 2017-12-18
Institutions: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
Subjects: East Middle Sweden, European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, South Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden, West Sweden, collective dismissal, commitment of expenditure, employment aid, information technology industry, reintegration into working life

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 18.12.2017  COM(2017) 782 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 Sweden – EGF/2017/007 SE/Ericsson  
 
 
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 9 August 2017, Sweden submitted an application EGF/2017/007 SE/Ericsson for 
a  financial  contribution  from  the  EGF,  following  redundancies2  in  Ericsson 
(Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson) in Sweden. 

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) 

Date of submission of the application 

Date of acknowledgement of receipt of the 
application 

EGF/2017/007 SE/Ericsson 

Sweden 
Stockholm (SE11)  
Östra Mellansverige (SE12) 
Sydsverige (SE22) 
Västsverige (SE23)  
9 August 2017 

9 August 2017 

Date of request for additional information 

23 August 2017 

Deadline for provision of the additional 
information 

04 October 2017 

Deadline for the completion of the assessment 

27 December 2017 

Intervention criterion 

Primary enterprise 

Article 4(1)(a) of the EGF Regulation 
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson4 

Number of enterprises concerned 

1 

Sector(s) of economic activity 

NACE Revision 2 Division 26 

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). 
Telefonaktiebolaget  L.  M.  Ericsson  is  the  Parent  company  and  the  global  headquarter  of  Ericsson, 
stationed  in  Stockholm.  Ericsson  AB  is  a  subsidiary  to  Telefonaktiebolaget  L.  M.  Ericsson.  2 349 
employees  were  laid  off  from  the  subsidiary  Ericsson  AB,  and  39  employees  were  laid  off  from  the 
parent company Telefonaktiebolaget L. M. Ericsson. 

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(NACE Revision 2 Division)5 

(Manufacture of computer, electronic 
and optical products) 

Number of subsidiaries, suppliers and 
downstream producers 

0 

Reference period (four months): 

17 January 2017 – 17 May 2017 

Number of redundancies during the reference 
period (a) 

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

Total number of redundancies (a + b) 

Total number of eligible beneficiaries 

Total number of targeted beneficiaries 

Number of targeted young persons not in 
employment, education or training (NEETs) 
Budget for personalised services (EUR) 
Budget for implementing EGF6 (EUR) 
Total budget (EUR) 
EGF contribution (60 %) (EUR) 

ASSESSMENT OF THE APPLICATION 

Procedure 

1 990 

398 

2 388 

2 388 

900 

0 

3 408 644 
142 023 
3 550 667 
2 130 400 

4. 

Sweden  submitted  application  EGF/2017/007 SE/Ericsson  within  12  weeks  of  the 
date  on  which  the  intervention  criteria  set  out  in  Article 4  of  the  EGF  Regulation 
were  met,  on  9 August 2017.  The  Commission  acknowledged  receipt  of  the 
application on the same day, and requested additional information from Sweden by 
23 August 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 
financial  contribution  expires  on 
with 
27 December 2017. 

for  providing  a 

the  conditions 

Eligibility of the application 

Enterprises and beneficiaries concerned 

5. 

The  application  relates  to  2 388  workers  made  redundant  in  Ericsson  (the  parent 
company Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson and the subsidiary, Ericsson AB) out of 
whom  900  workers  will  be  targeted.  This  enterprise  operates  primarily  in  the 
economic sector classified under the NACE Revision 2 Division 26 (Manufacture of 
computer, electronic and optical products).  The redundancies made by Ericsson are 
mainly  located  in  the  NUTS  level  2  regions  of  Stockholm  (SE11),  Västsverige 
(SE23), and Östra Mellansverige (SE12), but workers were also dismissed in the area 
of Sydsverige (SE22). 

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. 

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Enterprises and number of dismissals within the reference period 

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson 
(incl. Ericsson AB) 

Intervention criteria 

  1 990 

6. 

7. 

8. 

Sweden submitted the application under the intervention criteria of Article 4(1)(a) of 
the EGF Regulation, which requires at least 500 workers being made redundant over 
a reference period of four months in an enterprise in a Member State. 

The reference period of four months for the application runs from 17 January 2017 to 
17 May 2017. 

The redundancies during the reference period are as follows: 

– 

1 990 workers made redundant in Ericsson. 

Calculation of redundancies and of cessation of activity 

9. 

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

– 

1 990  from  the  date  of  the  employer's  individual  notice  to  lay  off  or  to 
terminate the contract of employment of the worker. 

Eligible beneficiaries 

10. 

In addition to the workers already referred to, the eligible beneficiaries include 398 
workers made redundant before or after the reference period of four months. These 
workers  were  given  the  collective  redundancy  notification  on  31 October 2016,  but 
their individual notices were outside the 4-month reference period of this claim. 

11. 

The total number of eligible beneficiaries is therefore 2 388. 

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

12. 

13. 

14. 

15. 

7 

In order to establish the link between the redundancies and cessations of activity and 
major structural changes in world trade patterns due to globalisation, Sweden argues 
that  redundancies  occurred  in  the  hardware-centric  business  line  of  the  telecom 
industry  due  to  the  negative  growth  in  this  sector  for  the  company  in  Sweden, 
because of global competition. 

This  is  already  Sweden's  second  EGF  application  in  relation  to  Ericsson.  The 
enterprise  has  recently  moved  much  of  its  hardware-centric  production  to  Asia 
because of the favourable cost-quality relations of production in India and China, and 
because  of  the  size  of  the  growing  markets  near  the  production  facilities  for  the 
hardware products. 

As part of the ongoing severances at Ericsson, Sweden's first application on behalf of 
a  previous  group  of  dismissed  workers  (at  the  start  of  the  ongoing  globalisation-
induced  offshoring)  was  submitted  on  31 March 2016  and  approved  by  the 
Parliament and Council on 11 October 2016. 
A study conducted by EY in Europe in 20137 showed that IT and telecom production 
industries  were  especially  prone  to  being  outsourced  and  offshored  to  Asia.  This 
trend  is  set  to  continue  as  global  competition  to  cut  costs  increases,  and  many 
companies in the sector undergo additional outsourcing. 

http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/Outsourcing_in_Europe_2013/$FILE/EY-outsourcing-
survey.pdf  

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16. 

17. 

According  to  data  by  Ericsson,  the  company  has  been  gradually  cutting  staff  in 
Sweden  (from  21 178  in  20058,  to  14 483  in  June 20179).  Despite  Swedish 
dismissals,  the  number  of  Ericsson  workers  employed  globally  grew  between  2005  
and  2014  from  56 055  to  118 055  employees10,  but  has  since  declined  to  109 127 
employees in June 201711. This reflects the hardships and competition the company 
is facing globally, not just in Sweden. 

To  date,  the  NACE  Revision  2  Division  26  sector  (manufacture  of  computer, 
electronic and optical products) has been the subject of  17 EGF applications, 14 of 
which based on trade related globalisation (including the present application) and 3 
on the global financial and economic crisis12. 

Events giving rise to the redundancies and cessation of activity 

18. 

19. 

20. 

21. 

22. 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 
13 
14 

15 

The events giving rise to these redundancies and cessations of activity are part of the 
restructuring  and  offshoring  activities  of  the  telecoms  company  which  started  in 
2014.  During  this  time,  telecom  hardware  production  lines  were  closed  at  various 
sites  and  3  entire  Ericsson  factories  were  shut  down  (Kumla,  Borås  and 
Katrinenholm). 

Ericsson faces an uncertain future due to the structural changes that the industry has 
undergone because of globalisation and globalisation-induced increased competition 
from competitors, especially in Asia, who can undercut European prices. 

Ericsson sees its competitive advantage rather in software development, and is trying 
to shift its focus in line with globalisation-induced demand issues. The enterprise is 
thus not only moving its production abroad but also shifting its focus from hardware-
centric production to service and software related sales. The share of this sector has 
grown to 67 % of production in 2016, from 50 % ten years ago13. 

The Radio Access Network (RAN) infrastructure market was previously a major area 
of deployment for Ericsson, however its market share in this sector is declining due 
to globalisation and competition. Huawei (a Chinese telecoms company) has already 
overtaken Ericsson in this area14. 

To stay atop of global trends, a major new field where Ericsson aims to expand in the 
future  is  cloud  technology.  In  order  to  overcome  the  company's  problems  arising 
from  global  competition,  much  of  Ericsson's  planned  R&D  in  this  area  will  not  be 
spent on Swedish workers or Swedish sites, but for example in China, where both the 
employee  talent  pool  and  overall  demand  are  much  bigger  –  for  example  globally 
40,8 % of people employed in cloud technology are in China15. 

https://www.ericsson.com/assets/local/investors/documents/financial-reports-and-filings/annual-
reports/ericsson-annual-report-2014-en.pdf  
https://www.ericsson.com/assets/local/investors/documents/financial-reports-and-filings/interim-
reports-archive/2017/6month17-en.pdf  
https://www.ericsson.com/assets/local/investors/documents/financial-reports-and-filings/annual-
reports/ericsson-annual-report-2014-en.pdf 
https://www.ericsson.com/assets/local/investors/documents/financial-reports-and-filings/interim-
reports-archive/2017/6month17-en.pdf  
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=582&langId=en 
https://www.ericsson.com/assets/local/investors/documents/2016/ericsson-annual-report-2016-en.pdf  
http://www.delloro.com/news/massive-4g-lte-deployments-worldwide-not-enough-to-turn-around-ran-
market-2  
http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2014/12/12/where-cloud-computing-jobs-will- be-in-2015/  

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

23. 

24. 

25. 

26. 

27. 

28. 

The  expected  impact  of  the  redundancies  on  the  local  and  regional  economy  and 
employment vary; however, the issues facing the regions are similar. Overall a major 
problem is that there are a lot of older discharged workers with specialised skills in 
an industry which is no longer extant. 

While there is a huge demand for people with skills in IT across the different regions, 
there  is  a  skills  mismatch  from  those  dismissed  by  Ericsson  and  labour  market 
requirements. Nationally the labour market is in a fairly good shape in Sweden. The 
challenge is that many people with the same skills are being made redundant at the 
same time, in the same geographical areas. 

Blue-collar workers are in a more difficult situation as there are very few traditional 
manufacturing jobs left in Sweden. They will require major retraining to be able to 
work in the service sectors in the private and public realm, the main sectors with a 
demand for employees. This is why the EGF funds for the 900 workers will be used 
to  concentrate  mainly  on  helping  blue-collar  workers,  who  will  find  reemployment 
opportunities much harder. The loss of blue-collar jobs in Ericsson production sites 
most affects the Kumla and Borås sites16. 

People  made  redundant  by  Ericsson  who  have  a  higher  education  should  have  a 
better chance of finding employment, especially in fields such as public procurement 
and  education,  and  also  in  completely  new  competence  areas  such  as  IT,  which 
require major retraining. There is a demand for workers in these fields and retraining 
courses  should  help  white-collar  workers  find  jobs  in  these  sectors.  Specifically, 
Karlskrona,  but  also  Stockholm,  Göteborg  and  Linköping17  were  mentioned  as 
Ericsson  sites  where  white-collar  redundancies  would  affect  the  regional  economy 
and employment the most. 

For the quarterly country review, the latest statistics from the second quarter of 2017 
show that the long-term unemployment rate in the 25-74 group in Sweden overall is 
25,5%.  For  the  age  group  25-49  this  drops  to  20,5%,  however,  for  the  55-64  age 
bracket,  long-term  unemployment  above  12  months  is  at  a  staggering  39%  of  total 
unemployment18.  It  is  clear  that  although  the  employment  situation  is  currently 
relatively  stable  in  Sweden,  finding  employment  is  hard  for  workers  in  the  55-64 
age-bracket.  

This  group  constitutes  more  than  30%  of  the  900  targeted  dismissed  workers.  The 
project  specifically  aims  to  focus  on  this  group  under  the  "Measures  for 
Disadvantaged  Groups"  heading.  Many  of  the  workers  in  this  group  have  been 
working  for  Ericsson  for  a  long-time  with  skills  that  are  not  needed  outside  the 
company and offshored telecoms hardware industry. These workers are facing a very 
difficult  job  market  with  outdated  skillsets,  often  little  experience  out  in  the  job 
market, and the very real threat of becoming long-term unemployed. It is not possible 
to  receive  a  study-allowance  from  the  state  above  the  age  of  47  in  Sweden,  for 
example,  which  means  that  retraining  opportunities  are  just  one  way  in  which  this 
targeted group is specifically in need of solidarity from the EGF, in order to be able 
to retrain and find work in a new sector and profession. 

16 
17 
18 

NUTS 2 regions SE12 and SE23, respectively. 
NUTS 2 regions SE22, SE11, SE23, SE12 respectively. 
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database   Eurostat code: lfsq_upgal, data last updated on 03/10/2017.  

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Targeted beneficiaries and proposed actions 

Targeted beneficiaries 

29. 

The estimated number of redundant workers expected to participate in the measures 
is  900.  The  breakdown  of  these  workers  by  sex,  citizenship  and  age  group  is  as 
follows: 

Category 

Number of  
targeted beneficiaries 
(percentages rounded) 

Sex: 

Men: 

Women: 

Citizenship:  EU citizens: 

non-EU citizens: 

Age group19:  15-24 years: 

25-29 years: 

30-54 years: 

55-64 years: 

over 64 years: 

600 

300 

(66,67 %) 

(33,33 %) 

900  (100,00 %) 

0 

1 

5 

(0 %) 

(0,11 %) 

(0,56 %) 

617 

272 

(68,56 %) 

(30,22 %) 

5 

(0,56 %) 

Eligibility of the proposed actions 

30. 

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

Counselling and career planning: 

– 

– 

In-depth assessment and individual planning: This measure includes a general 
registration process, a standardised survey of prior experience and training, an 
assessment  of  the  applicant's  employability,  and  the  creation  of  an  individual 
"action  plan",  several  in-depth  individual  meetings  and  assessments.  Several 
job  officers  will  be  involved  to  provide  a  service  tailored  to  the  individual 
needs of the applicants. 

Job-search  related  help:  This  measure  combines  standard  Swedish  Public 
Employment Service (PES), or Arbetsförmedlingen, services in the job-search 
field,  including  CV  seminars  and  interview  training,  with  new  individually 
tailored  measures.  These  new  measures  and  additional  help  that  will  be 
provided  with  EGF  financing  include  cooperation  and  meetings  with 
representatives  from  outplacement  companies,  direct  contact  with  companies 
that are hiring, individual and group support in helping applicants match their 
individual skills to jobs available on the market, and presentations on how the 
different  labour  markets  in  the  regions  are  affected.  The  applicants  will  also 
receive help in how to specifically market their existing skills in new fields of 
work. 

19 

Because the percentages have been rounded up automatically in the SFC system, they may not always 
add  up  to  100%  exactly.  In  this  case  the  sum  of  the  percentages  of  the  divisions  by  age  add  up  to 
100,01%. 

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–  Motivational  coaching  and  career  planning:  This  measure  will  provide  the 
applicants with motivational and inspirational help and support, through career 
meetings and conference events with external speakers selected specifically for 
the  EGF  beneficiaries.  These  events  will  encourage  workers  towards  new 
skills, education, and training. The conferences will provide information about 
the labour market, what skills are important in which fields, opportunities for 
training,  as  well  as  networking  with  other  stakeholders  –  both  at  individual 
level and in groups. Especially older laid-off workers above the age of 50 are 
expected to benefit from this measure. 

Measures for disadvantaged groups 

– 

This  measure  will  specifically  concentrate  efforts  on  helping  disadvantaged 
laid-off employees, those above the age of 50 who are in danger of becoming 
long-term  unemployed,  and  those  with  learning  or  physical  disabilities  who 
might  need  extra  support.  The  measure  includes  specialist  help  (incl. 
psychologist and physical therapist) to help people into new professions. Since 
it is not possible to receive a study-allowance above the age of 47 in Sweden, 
the  re-education  of  this  group,  who  are  especially  vulnerable  and  in  need  of 
solidarity, will be financed through the EGF. 

Entrepreneurship support 

– 

This measure will promote entrepreneurship amongst the applicants by giving 
them the opportunity to apply for start-up grants through the PES programme 
(this includes detailed business consultancy and feasibility services before the 
6-month grant is approved). 

Education and training 

– 

– 

This  measure  includes  job-training  opportunities  combining  formal  education 
and experience at companies (not normally offered by PES), as well as using 
the  services  of  outplacement  organisations.  On  top  of  this,  the  measure  will 
help applicants access academic and tailor-made courses, as well as specialised 
education for up to 12 months, or up to two semesters at third level education 
institutions. Education or training courses the duration of which is two years or 
more may be approved for up to 6 months longer, until 9 February 2020, if this 
is found to be necessary during the in-depth assessment. Focus will be placed 
on  gender mainstreaming  and  motivating  applicants to  undertake  new careers 
in non-gender-traditional roles. 

Overall  emphasis  will  be  on  short  (re)training  courses,  supplementary 
education and certification. Due to the background of the workers and labour 
market  demands  these  retraining  courses  will  mostly  be  in  the  IT  sector.  The 
areas  of  competence  targeted  through  these  measures  may  however  we 
broadened as the project evolves, focus will  nevertheless be on the individual 
and the individual needs of the clients. 

Job search and mobility allowances 

– 

These measures will help the applicants live their day-to-day lives, and pay for 
travel costs to get to interviews (above SEK 60020), training, etc. while looking 
for a job. The allowance will be conditional on the applicants providing proof 

20 

SEK 600 is approximately EUR 60. 

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31. 

32. 

33. 

of  their  job-searching  activities,  as  well  as  dependent  in  sum  on  the  specific 
programmes that the applicants will be taking part in. 

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  project  will  contribute  to  sustainable  economic  development  in  Sweden. 
Arbetsförmedlingen  (PES)  is  obliged  to  include  environmental  demands  in  its  calls 
for tender and in its own practice, and thus the training programmes are in line with 
the  Swedish  Environmental  Code  or  the  16  Swedish  Environmental  Quality 
Objectives. 

Sweden 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 

34. 

The  estimated  total  costs  are  EUR 3 550 667,  comprising  of  expenditure  for 
personalised  services  of  EUR 3 408 644  and  expenditure 
for  preparatory, 
information  and  publicity,  control  and  reporting  activities  of 
management, 
EUR 142 023. 

35. 

The total financial contribution requested from the EGF is EUR 2 130 400 (60 % of 
total costs). 

Actions 

Estimated 
number of 
participants 

Estimated cost 
(rounded)  per 
participant 
(EUR) 21 

Estimated total 
costs 
(EUR) 22  

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

Counselling and Career Planning 

Measures for Disadvantaged Groups  
(Sheltered and supported employment) 

900 

130 

438 

393 841 

1 005 

130 700 

Entrepreneurship Support  

85 

1 538 

130 700 

Education and Training  
(Providing education or training to get a new 
job) 

155 

10 119 

1 568 394 

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

– 

2 223 635 

(65,24 %) 

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

21 

22 

To  avoid decimals,  the  estimated  costs  per  worker have been rounded. However  the rounding  has no 
impact on the total cost of each measure which remains as in the application submitted by Sweden. 
Totals do not tally due to rounding. 

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Job Search Allowances:  
- Labour Market Training Programme 
- Activity Support (for Traineeships, Start-
ups, etc.) 
- Participation Allowance and Activity 
Support for Rehabilitation Programme  

95 

10 823 

1 028 170 

Mobility Allowance 

70 

2 241 

156 839 

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) 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

1 185 009 

(34,76 %) 

- 

95 846 

17 427 

28 750 

142 023 

(4 %) 

3 550 667 

2 130 400 

36. 

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

37. 

Sweden 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 

38. 

39. 

Sweden  started  providing  the  personalised  services  to  the  targeted  beneficiaries  on 
7 February 2017.  The  expenditure  on  the  actions  will  therefore  be  eligible  for  a 
financial contribution from the EGF from 7 February 2017 to 9 August 2019 with the 
exception  of  third  level  education  or  training  courses  the  duration  of  which  is  two 
years or more, which will be eligible until 9 February 2020. 

Sweden  started  incurring  the  administrative  expenditure  to  implement  the  EGF  on 
7 February 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 7 February 2017 to 9 February 2020. 

Complementarity with actions funded by national or Union funds 

40. 

The source of national pre-financing or co-funding is the Arbetsförmedlingen budget.  

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41. 

Sweden  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 

42. 

Sweden has indicated that the co-ordinated package of personalised services has been 
drawn up in consultation with the targeted beneficiaries and their representatives as 
well  as  local  public  actors.  PES  has  been  working  closely  with  Ericsson  since  the 
start  of  the  structural  readjustment  processes,  and  this  is  already  a  new  wave  of 
redundancies for which Sweden is asking for EGF support. As in the first case, PES 
has  also  been  meeting  and  consulting  with  representatives  of  the  company,  local 
authorities, various unions as well as outplacement agencies during this new period 
of dismissals. 

Management and control systems 

43. 

The application contains a description of the management and control system which 
specifies  the  responsibilities  of  the  bodies  involved.  Sweden  has  notified  the 
Commission that the financial contribution will be managed by Arbetsförmedlingen, 
as  in  the  previous  Ericsson  case.  This  organisation  is  formally  appointed  as  the 
managing  and  paying  authority.  The  project  accounts  will  be  examined  by  the 
Internal  Audit  Unit,  which  is  a  separate  body  attached  to  the  board  of 
Arbetsförmedlingen.  It  is  the  job  of  this  body  to  examine  the  internal  control  and 
verification  process  at  Arbetsförmedlingen  and  suggest  improvements,  as  well  as 
providing  advice  and  support  for  the  Board  and  the  Director  General.  Project 
auditing will take place on a regular basis. 

Commitments provided by the Member State concerned 

44. 

Sweden 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, 

Ericsson,  which  has  continued  its  activities  after  the  lay-offs,  has  complied 
with  its  legal  obligations  governing  the  redundancies  and  provided  for  its 
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 

45. 

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) 

EN 

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46. 

47. 

No 1311/2013  of  2 December 2013 
framework for the years 2014-202023. 

laying  down 

the  multiannual  financial 

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 2 130 400, 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 management24. 

Related acts 

48. 

49. 

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 2 130 400. 

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. 

23 
24 

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

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Proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund following an 
application from Sweden – EGF/2017/007 SE/Ericsson 

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 1927/200625, 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 management26, and in particular point 13 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

25 
26 
27 

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 1311/201327. 

laid  down 

On 9 August 2017, Sweden submitted an application to mobilise the EGF, in respect 
of  redundancies  in  Ericsson  (Telefonaktiebolaget  LM  Ericsson)  in  Sweden.  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. 

The EGF should, therefore, be mobilised in order to provide a financial contribution of 
EUR 2 130 400 in respect of the application submitted by Sweden. 

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

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

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HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Article 1 

For the general budget of the Union for the financial year 2018, the European Globalisation 
Adjustment Fund shall be mobilised to provide the amount of EUR 2 130 400 in commitment 
and payment appropriations. 

Article 2 

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

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

  

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

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