Regulation (EU) 2021/691 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF)

Ce que fait l'acte

to ensure the continuation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council. BACKGROUND: the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) - initially established for the programming period 2007-2013 - is a concrete expression of EU solidarity with European workers who lost their jobs . The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs adopted the report by Maria Arena (S&D, BE) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). The committee recommended that the position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading in the framework of the ordinary legislative procedure amend the Commission proposal as follows. The new funds, re-named the European Fund for Transition (EFT) shall aim to support socio-economic transformations that are the result of globalisation and of technological and environmental changes by helping displaced workers through the promotion of alternative, sustainable employment. Members specified that the EFT should be an emergency fund that operates reactively and contributes to a just transition. The general objective of the programme is to demonstrate solidarity with and offer financial support for re-employment measures with regard to displaced workers regardless of the type or duration of their employment relationship and self-employed persons whose activity has ceased in the course of unexpected major restructuring events resulting from globalisation , such as: - as a consequence of digitisation, automatisation and technological change. Particular emphasis shall be placed on measures that help the most disadvantaged groups and on the promotion of gender equality. The European Commission is proposing to lower the threshold of displaced jobs from 500 to 250 for a reference period of 4 months (or 6 months in sectoral cases). Members proposed a threshold of 200 jobs for a reference period of 6 months (or 9 months in sectoral cases). Members recalled that in the period between March 2007 and March 2017, the Commission received 148 applications for co-financing from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) from 21 Member States, for a total of almost EUR 600 million to help 138 888 displaced workers and 2 944 people not in employment, education or training (NEETs). Accordingly, they suggested that applicant Member States may provide personalised services co-financed by the EFT to up to a number of NEETs under the age of 25 , or where Member States so decide under the age of 30, on the date of submission of the application, equal to the number of targeted beneficiaries, as a priority to persons made redundant or whose activity has ceased, provided that at least some of the redundancies occur in NUTS 2 level regions. Members stated that financial contributions from the EFT should be primarily directed at active labour market measures and personalised services aimed at: - reintegrating…