PURPOSE: to mobilise the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) to finance technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission.

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision (EU) 2015/1179 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF/2015/000 TA 2015 — Technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission).

CONTENT: by this Decision, the European Parliament and the Council decided to mobilise the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for a total amount of EUR 630 000 in commitment and payment appropriations to finance technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission in the framework of the 2015 General budget.

To recall, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund aims to provide support for workers made redundant and self-employed persons whose activities have 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 prices), as laid down in Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013.

Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 provides that a maximum of 0.5% of the annual maximum amount of the EGF may be used each year for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 21.7.2015.

The European Parliament adopted by 499 vote to 74, with 41 abstentions, a resolution on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, for an amount of EUR 630 000 in commitment and payment appropriations in the framework of the technical assistance presented at the initiative of the Commission (EGF/2015/000 TA).

Parliament recalled that the European Union has set up legislative and budgetary instruments to provide additional support to workers who are suffering from the consequences of major structural changes in world trade patterns or of the global financial and economic crisis and to assist their reintegration into the labour market.

It recalled that the maximum annual budget available for the EGF in 2015 is EUR 150 million (2011 prices) and that Article 11(1) of the EGF Regulation states that 0.5% of this amount (i.e. EUR 811 825 in 2015) can be made available for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission in order to finance a number of monitoring activities, training and information on the EGF.

In this context, Parliament approved the measures proposed by the Commission as well as the proposed amount of EUR 630 000 which corresponds to about 0.39% of the maximum annual budget available for the EGF in 2015.

It recalled the importance of networking and exchange of information on the EGF and supported the funding of the Expert Group of Contact Persons of the EGF and the networking seminars on the implementation of the EGF.

Technical assistance 2015 : Parliament recommended that the Commission and the Member States should focus their networking activities, in particular on the following:

improving the monitoring and evaluation of the impact of EGF support on individual participants in particular to assess the longer term impact on EGF beneficiaries, the EGF application form and the template for the final report on the execution of a contribution from the EGF, more detailed information on the measures accessed by individual participants should be recorded and clearly communicated to allow, for instance, for a clearer cost-benefit assessment of different measures; further streamlining the application process at the national and European level by asking the Commission and the Member States to consider counting the EGF implementation period from the date an application is approved, this would allow for the full funding period of 24 months to be exploited; provide greater flexibility during the delivery period so that Commission may provide greater flexibility for Member States to provide additional measures as new opportunities / demand arises during the delivery period and that the reference period required to count redundancies for the EGF application is perceived as a straightjacket affecting the aim of solidarity and the success of EGF assistance.

Parliament recommended that the Commission assess the reasons that resulted, for some projects, in a delay in terms of approval or implementation and to present publicly its recommendations.

EGF visibility : Parliament underlined the importance of increasing general awareness about EGF and its visibility. Noting that the cost of information activities continues to be significantly reduced in 2015, it stressed the need for increased contact between all those involved in EGF applications, including, in particular, the social partners and stakeholders at regional and local level, to create as many synergies as possible. Parliament also underlined the need to extend access to EGF support to young people up to the age of 25 who are not in employment, education or training (NEETs) in equal numbers to workers receiving support in regions with high youth unemployment, if it is demonstrated in the mid-term evaluation that there is a need to maintain this measure after December 2017.

Transparency : Parliament called on the Commission to invite the Parliament to the expert group meetings and seminars in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission. It underlined furthermore the importance of increased contact between all those involved in EGF applications, including the social partner.

Budgetary procedure : Parliament requested the Member States and all the institutions involved to make the necessary efforts to improve procedural and budgetary arrangements in order to accelerate the mobilisation of the EGF . It noted, in this sense, the will of the Parliament to draft an own-initiative report based on the evaluation by the Commission to take stock of the functioning of the new EGF Regulation and the cases examined, the aim being to ensure the EGF truly is an urgency instrument and to accelerate the release of grants .

Parliament underlined that the mid-term evaluation to be launched in current 2015 should also take into account the long-term impact of the crisis and globalisation on SMEs and therefore evaluate the possibility of lowering the criteria of 500 workers being made redundant set out in Article 4 of the EGF Regulation, as suggested by the European Parliament in its Resolution of 17 September 2014.

Parliament al so requested the Member States to highlight the additionality of EGF cases and to create links more clearly with other funds. Member States should consider the most appropriate ways for EGF to add value and avoid displacement effects.

The Committee on Budgets adopted the report by Gérard DEPREZ (ADLE, BE) on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, for an amount of EUR 630 000 in commitment and payment appropriations in the framework of the technical assistance presented at the initiative of the Commission (EGF/2015/000 TA).

Members recalled that the European Union has set up legislative and budgetary instruments to provide additional support to workers who are suffering from the consequences of major structural changes in world trade patterns or of the global financial and economic crisis and to assist their reintegration into the labour market.

They recalled that the maximum annual budget available for the EGF in 2015 is EUR 150 million (2011 prices) and that Article 11(1) of the EGF Regulation states that 0.5% of this amount (i.e. EUR 811 825 in 2015) can be made available for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission in order to finance a number of monitoring activities, training and information on the EGF.

In this regard, they called on the European Parliament to approve the measures proposed by the Commission as well as the proposed amount of EUR 630 000 which corresponds to about 0.39% of the maximum annual budget available for the EGF in 2015.

They recalled the importance of networking and exchange of information on the EGF and supported the funding of the Expert Group of Contact Persons of the EGF and the networking seminars on the implementation of the EGF.

Technical assistance 2015 : Members recommended that the Commission and the Member States should focus their networking activities, in particular on the following:

improving the monitoring and evaluation of the impact of EGF support on individual participants in particular to assess the longer term impact on EGF beneficiaries, the EGF application form and the template for the final report on the execution of a contribution from the EGF, more detailed information on the measures accessed by individual participants should be recorded and clearly communicated to allow, for instance, for a clearer cost-benefit assessment of different measures; further streamlining the application process at the national and European level by asking the Commission and the Member States to consider counting the EGF implementation period from the date an application is approved, this would allow for the full funding period of 24 months to be exploited; provide greater flexibility during the delivery period so that Commission may provide greater flexibility for Member States to provide additional measures as new opportunities / demand arises during the delivery period and that the reference period required to count redundancies for the EGF application is perceived as a straightjacket affecting the aim of solidarity and the success of EGF assistance. Members recommended that the Commission assess the reasons that resulted, for some projects, in a delay in terms of approval or implementation and to present publicly its recommendations.

EGF visibility : Members underlined the importance of increasing general awareness about EGF and its visibility. Noting that the cost of information activities continues to be significantly reduced in 2015, Members stressed the need for increased contact between all those involved in EGF applications, including, in particular, the social partners and stakeholders at regional and local level, to create as many synergies as possible. They also underlined the need to extend access to EGF support to young people up to the age of 25 who are not in employment, education or training (NEETs) in equal numbers to workers receiving support in regions with high youth unemployment, if it is demonstrated in the mid-term evaluation that there is a need to maintain this measure after December 2017.

Transparency : Members called on the Commission to invite the Parliament to the expert group meetings and seminars in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission. They underlined furthermore the importance of increased contact between all those involved in EGF applications, including the social partner.

Budgetary procedure : Members requested the Member States and all the institutions involved to make the necessary efforts to improve procedural and budgetary arrangements in order to accelerate the mobilisation of the EGF . They noted, in this sense, the will of the Parliament to draft an own-initiative report based on the evaluation by the Commission to take stock of the functioning of the new EGF Regulation and the cases examined, the aim being to ensure the EGF truly is an urgency instrument and to accelerate the release of grants .

Members also requested the Member States to highlight the additionality of EGF cases and to create links more clearly with other funds. Member States should consider the most appropriate ways for EGF to add value and avoid displacement effects.

PURPOSE: to mobilise the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) to finance technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission.

PROPOSED ACT: Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council.

CONTENT: 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 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (2014-2020).

In accordance with Article 11(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013, a maximum of 0.5% of the annual maximum amount of the EGF may be made available each year for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission.

Technical assistance to be funded (EGF/2015/000 TA 2015) and breakdown of its estimated costs : the Commission therefore proposes to mobilise an amount of EUR 630 000 to finance the following tasks:

monitoring and data gathering : the Commission will collect data on applications received, paid and wound up, and measures proposed and implemented. This data will be made available on the web site and compiled in appropriate form for the Biennial Report of 2017. Building on the work of recent years, costs for this activity will be EUR 20 000 ; information : the web site on the EGF, which the Commission has set up within its Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion area will be regularly updated and expanded, with each new element also being translated into all EU languages. General awareness of the EGF and its visibility will be encouraged. A small print run of the EGF ex-post evaluation will be made available together with an online publication. The EGF will be covered in various Commission publications and audio-visual activities. Costs of all these items are estimated at EUR 20 000 in 2015; creation of a knowledge base/application interface : the Commission is continuing its work setting up standardised procedures for EGF applications and management, using the functionalities of SFC 2014, into which it is being integrated. This allows applications under the EGF Regulation to be simplified, their processing to be speeded up and reports to be more easily extracted for varying needs. Integration of final reports will follow, with the objective of easing the administrative burden for the Member States. The cost of these items is estimated at EUR 100 000 ; administrative and technical support : the Expert Group of Contact Persons of the EGF, with one member from each Member State, will be holding two meetings (end of 2015/first half of 2016), together estimated at EUR 70 000 ; network : the Commission will be organising networking among the Member States, with two seminars of EGF implementing bodies from the Member States around the same dates, focusing on issues arising with the practical implementation of the EGF Regulation at grassroots level. The cost of these items is estimated at EUR 120 000 ; evaluation : as public procurement for the mid-term evaluation will be launched in 2015, with a view to concluding the evaluation by 30 June 2017, EUR 300 000 will be needed for this purpose.

Financing : Article 11(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 states that 0.5% of this amount (i.e. EUR 811 825 in 2015) can be made available each year for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission. Currently, the entire amount for 2015 remains available; nothing has yet been allocated to technical assistance.

The proposed amount corresponds to about 0.39% of the maximum annual budget available for the EGF in 2015.

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 management.

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 630 000.

Source of payment appropriations : appropriations from the EGF budget line will be used to cover the amount of EUR 630 000 needed for technical assistance.

PURPOSE: to mobilise the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) to finance technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission.

PROPOSED ACT: Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council.

CONTENT: 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 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (2014-2020).

In accordance with Article 11(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013, a maximum of 0.5% of the annual maximum amount of the EGF may be made available each year for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission.

Technical assistance to be funded (EGF/2015/000 TA 2015) and breakdown of its estimated costs : the Commission therefore proposes to mobilise an amount of EUR 630 000 to finance the following tasks:

monitoring and data gathering : the Commission will collect data on applications received, paid and wound up, and measures proposed and implemented. This data will be made available on the web site and compiled in appropriate form for the Biennial Report of 2017. Building on the work of recent years, costs for this activity will be EUR 20 000 ; information : the web site on the EGF, which the Commission has set up within its Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion area will be regularly updated and expanded, with each new element also being translated into all EU languages. General awareness of the EGF and its visibility will be encouraged. A small print run of the EGF ex-post evaluation will be made available together with an online publication. The EGF will be covered in various Commission publications and audio-visual activities. Costs of all these items are estimated at EUR 20 000 in 2015; creation of a knowledge base/application interface : the Commission is continuing its work setting up standardised procedures for EGF applications and management, using the functionalities of SFC 2014, into which it is being integrated. This allows applications under the EGF Regulation to be simplified, their processing to be speeded up and reports to be more easily extracted for varying needs. Integration of final reports will follow, with the objective of easing the administrative burden for the Member States. The cost of these items is estimated at EUR 100 000 ; administrative and technical support : the Expert Group of Contact Persons of the EGF, with one member from each Member State, will be holding two meetings (end of 2015/first half of 2016), together estimated at EUR 70 000 ; network : the Commission will be organising networking among the Member States, with two seminars of EGF implementing bodies from the Member States around the same dates, focusing on issues arising with the practical implementation of the EGF Regulation at grassroots level. The cost of these items is estimated at EUR 120 000 ; evaluation : as public procurement for the mid-term evaluation will be launched in 2015, with a view to concluding the evaluation by 30 June 2017, EUR 300 000 will be needed for this purpose.

Financing : Article 11(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 states that 0.5% of this amount (i.e. EUR 811 825 in 2015) can be made available each year for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission. Currently, the entire amount for 2015 remains available; nothing has yet been allocated to technical assistance.

The proposed amount corresponds to about 0.39% of the maximum annual budget available for the EGF in 2015.

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 management.

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 630 000.

Source of payment appropriations : appropriations from the EGF budget line will be used to cover the amount of EUR 630 000 needed for technical assistance.