EU stelt 1,5 miljoen euro beschikbaar uit Globaliseringsfonds voor Portugese auto-industrie (en)
Brussels, 14 October 2011 - The European Commission has approved an application from Portugal for assistance from the European Globalisation adjustment Fund (EGF). The application concerns 726 workers made redundant by three companies operating in the car sector in the regions Norte and Centro, in Portugal. The EGF funding of € 1.5 million requested by the Portuguese authorities will help the redundant workers back into employment. The Commission is now making a proposal to the European Parliament and the Council to make the necessary funding available.
Welcoming the proposal László Andor i, EU Commissioner responsible for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, said "Car production in Europe has dropped dramatically as a consequence of the recession which followed the economic and financial crisis". He added "Car workers are especially hard hit, so the EGF will step in to help them adapt their skills, to find new oportunities and facilitate their transition to a new job and a better future".
The Portuguese application relates to 726 redundancies which followed the closure of three manufacturers of automotive components between July 2010 and April 2011. The fall in demand for electrical equipment for cars, which followed the decline in demand for new motor vehicles in the EU combined with the impossibility of further reducing production costs and/or access to credit, resulted in the closure of the Lear production plant in Guarda and Krombert & Schubert Portugal, Lda. The closure of Leoni Wiring Systems Viana, Lda was due to the combination of a difficult economic situation due to the crisis with the relocation of the production plant to Morocco.
The package of EGF assistance will help the 726 former car workers back into employment by offering them: guidance; recognition, validation and certification of competences; on-the-job training, vocational training and grants for training at personal initiative; entrepreneurial support and support to business creation; and hiring incentives.
The total estimated cost of the package is € 2.3 million, of which the European Union has been asked to provide EGF assistance of € 1.5 million.
Background
The territories concerned by the redundancies are the Portuguese regions of Norte and Centro, two regions which were already accepted for EGF support in June 2009 (see IP/09/998). The Norte region is the most densely populated of the country, as well as being the region with the lowest per capita income and the highest unemployment rate in the country (13,2 % in Q3 / 2010). Centro is a region with an ageing population (ageing index of 153 % in 2009, outpacing the national average of 118 %) and a lower unemployment than Norte mainly because of migration by the active population to urban areas or abroad.
There have been 78 applications to the EGF since the start of its operations in January 2007, for a total amount of about €357.6 million, helping nearly 76,000 workers. EGF applications are being presented in a growing number of sectors, and by an increasing number of Member States.
EGF applications relate to the following 25 sectors: automotive (Austria, Belgium, Germany, France, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Spain); textiles (Belgium, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain); wearing apparel (Malta, Lithuania, Slovenia, Spain); construction of buildings (Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Spain); specialised construction (Ireland); architectural and engineering (Ireland); machinery and equipment (Denmark, Germany, Poland); printing industry (Netherlands); electronic equipment (Austria, Netherlands, Portugal); retail trade (Czech Republic, Greece, Spain); mobile phones (Finland, Germany); basic metals (Austria, Bulgaria); domestic appliances (Italy, Lithuania); computers (Ireland); shipbuilding (Denmark); furniture (Lithuania); carpentry and joinery (Spain); ceramics (Spain, Italy); stone/marble (Spain); crystal glass (Ireland); shoe manufacture (Portugal); publishing (Netherlands); wholesale trade (Netherlands); aircraft maintenance (Ireland); road transport (Austria).
The EGF, an initiative first proposed by President Barroso to provide help for people who lose their jobs due to the impact of globalisation, was established by the European Parliament and the Council at the end of 2006. In June 2009, the EGF rules were revised to strengthen the role of the EGF as an early intervention instrument. It forms part of Europe's response to the financial and economic crisis. The revised EGF Regulation entered into force on 2 July 2009 and applies to all applications received from 1 May 2009 onwards.
Building on the experience acquired with EGF interventions since 2007 and its value added for the assisted workers and affected regions the Commission has adopted on 6 October a proposal for a new regulation which would maintain the fund also for the next financial perspectives, while further improving its functioning (see IP/11/1159 and MEMO 11/663)