European Parliament resolution of 8 March 2022 on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers following an application from Spain — EGF/2021/006 ES/Cataluña automotive (COM(2022)0020 — C9-0015/2022 — 2022/0010(BUD))
Date: 2022-03-08
Institutions: Committee on Budgets, Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, European Parliament
Subjects: Catalonia, European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, Spain, commitment of expenditure, dismissal, employment aid, general budget (EU), globalisation, motor vehicle industry, reintegration into working life








C_2022347EN.01022401.xml










9.9.2022   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 347/224






P9_TA(2022)0054
Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund — application EGF/2021/006 ES/Cataluña Automotive — Spain
European Parliament resolution of 8 March 2022 on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers following an application from Spain — EGF/2021/006 ES/Cataluña automotive (COM(2022)0020 — C9-0015/2022 — 2022/0010(BUD))
(2022/C 347/22)

The European Parliament,






—


having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2022)0020 — C9-0015/2022),










—


having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/691 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF) and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 (1) (‘EGF Regulation’),










—


having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 of 17 December 2020 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021-2027 (2) (‘MFF Regulation’), and in particular Article 8 thereof,










—


having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 16 December 2020 between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management as well as on new own resources, including a roadmap towards the introduction of new own resources (3), and in particular point 9 thereof,










—


having regard to the letter from the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs,










—


having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A9-0038/2022),










A.


whereas the Union has set up legislative and budgetary instruments to provide additional support to workers who are suffering from the consequences of globalisation and of technological and environmental changes, such as changes in world trade patterns, trade disputes, significant changes in the trade relations of the Union or the composition of the internal market and financial or economic crises, as well as the transition to a low-carbon economy, or as a consequence of digitisation or automation;










B.


whereas financial contributions from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF) should be primarily directed at active labour market policy measures and personalised services that aim to reintegrate beneficiaries rapidly into decent and sustainable employment, while preparing them for a greener and more digital European economy;










C.


whereas Spain submitted application EGF/2021/006 ES/Cataluña automotive for a financial contribution from the EGF, following 705 displacements in the economic sector classified (4) under the NACE Revision 2 division 29 (Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers) in the NUTS 2 region of Cataluña (ES51) in Spain, within a reference period for the application from 1 January 2021 to 1 July 2021;










D.


whereas the application relates to 346 displaced workers whose activity has ceased during the reference period in the economic sector, while 359 workers were displaced before or after the reference period as a consequence of the same events that triggered the cessations of activity of the displaced workers during the reference period and will thus also be considered eligible beneficiaries;










E.


whereas the application is based on the intervention criteria of Article 4(2), point (b), of the EGF Regulation, which requires the cessation of activity of at least 200 displaced workers over a reference period of six 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;










F.


whereas on 28 May 2020, Nissan announced the closure of its plant in Barcelona, resulting in more than 2 500 direct redundancies and the loss of 8 000 jobs among its suppliers; whereas the redundancies referred to in this request are concentrated in four counties in the region of Barcelona (Barcelonès, Alt Penedés, Baix Llobregat and Vallès Oriental), where a large number of companies in the automobile sector are located; whereas the number of workers displaced by collective redundancy procedure between January and June 2021 in Catalonia (7 993 people), already exceeds the number of displaced workers in 2020 (7 936 people), and job destruction in the region increased during the 2018-2020 period;










G.


whereas the EGF shall not exceed a maximum annual amount of EUR 186 000 000 (in 2018 prices), as laid down in Article 8 of the MFF Regulation;












1.


Agrees with the Commission that the conditions set out in Article 4(2), point (b), of the EGF Regulation are met and that Spain is entitled to a financial contribution of EUR 2 795 156 under that Regulation, which represents 85 % of the total cost of EUR 3 288 419, comprising EUR 3 138 300 of expenditure for personalised services and EUR 150 119 of expenditure for implementing the EGF (5);












2.


Notes that the Spanish authorities submitted the application on 23 September 2021, and that the Commission finalised its assessment on 20 January 2022 and notified it to Parliament on the same day;












3.


Notes that the application relates in total to 705 displaced workers whose activity has ceased; further notes that Spain expects that 450 out of the total eligible beneficiaries will participate in the measures (targeted beneficiaries); underlines the need for transparency at every step of the procedure and calls for social partners’ involvement in the package of service’s implementation and evaluation;












4.


Recalls that the social impacts of the redundancies are expected to be important for Cataluña, where the automotive industry is the third most important sector (after chemicals and food) both in terms of turnover and employment;












5.


Points out that 34,9 % of the targeted beneficiaries are above the age of 54, 44,4 % are women and 50,4 % have a lower secondary education or less; is of the opinion that the age profile and level of education of targeted beneficiaries poses specific challenges for reemployment and therefore stresses the importance of ensuring the specificities of age, level of education and their combination are duly taken into account when implementing the package of personalised services;












6.


Notes that Spain started providing personalised services to the targeted beneficiaries on 17 January 2022 and that the period of eligibility for a financial contribution from the EGF will therefore be from 17 January 2022 until 24 months after the date of the entry into force of the financing decision;












7.


Recalls that personalised services to be provided to the displaced workers for a total of 37,8 % of the financial support consist of the following actions: workshops on job-searching methodologies, occupational guidance, trainings (horizontal competencies, re-skilling, up-skilling and internships, as well as vocational training), entrepreneurship support, business creation grants, intensive job-search assistance including identifying local and regional job perspectives, tutoring after reintegration into work and various financial incentives;












8.


Welcomes that the co-ordinated package of personalised services was planned to be in line with the Spanish Circular Economy Strategy (6), which must be based on non-toxic material cycles, and the Strategy for the Sustainable Development of Catalonia (7) and that the EGF application was supported by representatives of SOC (8), CIAC (9), and the Agència per la Competitivitat de l'Empresa (ACCIÓ) (10), in a process which involved the social partners (11); notes that training measures should cater to the requirement of disseminating the skills required in the digital industrial age and in a green and a resource-efficient economy, in accordance with Article 7(2) of the EGF Regulation;












9.


Welcomes that incentives include contribution expenses for displaced workers with caring responsibilities of up to EUR 20 per day or for the people who return to work of EUR 350 per month, for a maximum of three months; underlines that the incentive is designed to encourage rapid re-employment and encourage older workers to remain in the labour market;












10.


Stresses that the Spanish authorities have confirmed that the eligible actions do not receive assistance from other Union funds or financial instruments;












11.


Reiterates that assistance from the EGF must not replace actions which are the responsibility of companies, by virtue of national law or collective agreements, or any allowances or rights of the recipients of the EGF allocation to ensure full additionality of the allocation;












12.


Reminds that the decarbonisation of the transport sector is imminent; notes that the digital and green transformation will also have an effect on the labour market and is expected to significantly shape the automotive sector; reiterates in this context the important role that the Union should play in providing the necessary qualifications for the just transformation in line with the European Green Deal; strongly supports that in 2021- 2027 the EGF will continue to show solidarity with persons affected and maintain the focus on the impact of restructuring on workers and calls for future applications to maximise policy coherence; considers that special attention should be paid to qualified education, including vocational training and promoting the so-called dual apprenticeship system, which has proven to be effective in several Member States;












13.


Notes that all the procedural requirements were met; underlines the need for transparency at every step of the procedure; welcomes the social partners’ involvement in the working group set up to define the package of measures for which the EGF co-financing is requested and calls for social partners’ involvement in the package of service’s implementation and evaluation;












14.


Approves the decision annexed to this resolution;












15.


Instructs its President to sign the decision with the President of the Council and arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;












16.


Instructs its President to forward this resolution, including its annex, to the Council and the Commission.






(1)  OJ L 153, 3.5.2021, p. 48.

(2)  OJ L 433 I, 22.12.2020, p. 11.

(3)  OJ L 433 I, 22.12.2020, p. 28.

(4)  Enterprises concerned: Aludyne Automotive Spain SLU, Bosch Sistemas de Frenado SLU, Continental Automotive Spain SA, Faurencia Interior Systems España SAU, Fico Transpar SA, Gruau Ibérica SLU, Magna Seating Spain SLU, Nobel Plastiques Iberia SA, Robert Bosch España (Castellet plant), U-Shin Spain SLU.

(5)  In accordance with Article 7(5) of the EGF Regulation.

(6)  https://www.miteco.gob.es/es/calidad-y-evaluacion-ambiental/temas/economia-circular/estrategia/

(7)  Estrategia para el desarrollo sostenible de Cataluña

(8)  Servei Públic d'Ocupació de Catalunya

(9)  Cluster of the Automotive Industry of Catalonia (CIAC)

(10)  ACCIÓ is the Catalan agency for business competitiveness.

(11)  Comisiones Obreras, UGT, Fomento del Trabajo Nacional (FOMENT) and PIMEC (association of SMEs of Catalonia).





ANNEX


DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL


on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers following an application from Spain (EGF/2021/006 ES/Cataluña automotive)


(The text of this annex is not reproduced here since it corresponds to the final act, Decision (EU) 2022/458.)