EU job-search aid for former car workers in France and steel workers in Belgium

Over 3,100 workers made redundant by Peugeot Citroën Automobiles (PSA) in France and crude steel producer Carsid SA Belgium are to get EU aid worth €13.5 million to help them to find or create new jobs. The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) aid, approved by Budgets Committee MEPs on Monday, still has to be approved by Parliament as a whole and the Council of Ministers.

French carmaker: €12.7 million for 2,357 people

France applied for EGF aid when car maker PSA made over 6,000 workers redundant at its plants in Aulnay (Ile de France) and Rennes (Brittany), citing rapid growth in Asian carmakers’ world market share, which now stands at 47%, and a 25% decline in Western Europe’s car output between 2000 and 2012. The EGF aid request for PSA is the twenty-second made for a European carmaker.

Of the redundant workers, 2,357 are eligible to receive the aid, which totals €12.7 million, including tailored training and grants to start new firms.

Belgian steel sector: €911,934 for 752 people

Of the 939 workers made redundant by Belgian crude steel producer Carsid SA, 752 are eligible for EGF aid totalling €911,934. Operating in the former coal mining and steel making area around Charleroi, Carsid was hit by the decline in the EU share of the world crude steel market and by waning demand for steel in the automotive and construction sectors. The redundancies aggravate unemployment in an area where it stood at 21.5% in 2012, almost double the national rate of 11.2%.

There have been four applications for EGF aid in the steel sector since the fund was set up in 2007.

What's next?

Parliament as a whole is to vote on the applications at its October plenary session.

Background

The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund was set up to provide additional support for workers made redundant as a result of major structural changes in world trade patterns due to globalisation or the financial crisis and to help them find new jobs. Between 2014 and 2020, the annual ceiling of the fund is €150 million. Redundant workers are offered measures such as support for business start-ups, job-search assistance, occupational guidance and various kinds of training. In most cases, national authorities have already started taking measures and have their costs reimbursed by the EU when their applications are finally approved.

REF. : 20141013IPR73805