Europese Commissie wil €3,6 miljoen uit het Europees Fonds voor aanpassing aan de Globalisering beschikbaar stellen aan Oostenrijk (en)

The European Commission has proposed to provide Austria with €3.6 million from the European Globalisation adjustment Fund (EGF) to help 502 lorry drivers back into employment.

Austria appliied for the money to help lorry drivers made redundant by mainly small-sized transport companies in the regions of Niederösterreich and Oberösterreich. The Commission proposal now goes for approval to the European Parliament and the EU's Council of Ministers.

Austria applied for EGF money in relation to 2,338 redundancies in 706 road transport companies. The dismissals were a consequence of the financial and economic crisis, which resulted in a substantial decrease in goods production and subsequently in demand for freight transport. The Austrian road transport sector has suffered a significant downturn, with a fall in demand of between 30-50% in July 2009. For lorries above 3.5 tons, the traffic decreased in the first half of 2009 by 17% compared to the same period of the previous year. These downward trends continued in 2010.

The package of EGF assistance for the workers made redundant in the road transport sector will help the 502 most disadvantaged back into employment by offering them occupational orientation, active job search, various options of training, corporate internships, and the necessary allowances. The total estimated cost of the package is €5.6 million, of which the European Union has been asked to provide EGF assistance of € 3.6 million.