15.2.2018   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 58/237

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having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2016)0078 — C8-0095/2016),

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having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (2014-2020) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006 (1) (EGF Regulation),

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having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 (2), and in particular Article 12 thereof,

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having regard to 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 (3) (IIA of 2 December 2013), and in particular point 13 thereof,

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having regard to its resolution of 24 June 2015 on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, in accordance with 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 (application EGF/2015/000 TA 2015 — Technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission) (4),

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having regard to the trilogue procedure provided for in point 13 of the IIA of 2 December 2013,

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having regard to the letter of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs,

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having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A8-0078/2016),

A.

whereas the 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;

B.

whereas the Union’s assistance to workers made redundant should be dynamic and made available as quickly and efficiently as possible, in accordance with the Joint Declaration of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission adopted during the conciliation meeting on 17 July 2008, and having due regard to the IIA of 2 December 2013 in respect of the adoption of decisions to mobilise the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF);

C.

whereas the adoption of the EGF Regulation reflects the agreement reached between the Parliament and the Council to reintroduce the crisis mobilisation criterion, to increase the Union financial contribution to 60 % of the total estimated cost of proposed measures, to increase efficiency for the treatment of EGF applications in the Commission and by the Parliament and the Council by shortening the time for assessment and approval, to widen eligible actions and beneficiaries by introducing self-employed persons and young people and to finance incentives for setting up own businesses;

D.

whereas the maximum annual budget available for the EGF is EUR 150 million (2011 prices) and whereas Article 11(1) of the EGF Regulation states that 0,5 % of this amount (i.e. EUR 828 060 in 2016) can be made available for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission in order to finance preparation, monitoring, data gathering and creation of a knowledge base, administrative and technical support, information and communication activities as well as audit, control and evaluation activities necessary to implement the EGF Regulation;

E.

whereas the European Parliament has repeatedly underlined the necessity of improved value added, efficiency and employability of beneficiaries of the EGF as a Union instrument of support to workers made redundant;

F.

whereas the proposed amount of EUR 380 000 corresponds to approximately 0,23 % of the maximum annual budget available for the EGF in 2016;

1.

Acknowledges the measures proposed by the Commission as Technical Assistance to finance expenditure mentioned in Article 11(1) and (4) as well as in Article 12(2), (3) and (4) of the EGF Regulation;

2.

Recalls the importance of networking and exchange of information on the EGF; supports, therefore, the funding of the Expert Group of Contact Persons of the EGF and the networking seminars on the implementation of the EGF; expects that this exchange of information shall also contribute to the better and more detailed reporting on the success rate of the EGF supported measures in the Member States, in particular about the reach and re-employment rate of beneficiaries; supports also all initiatives encompassing enhanced participation and consultation of local authorities managing daily the EGF supported measures;

3.

Welcomes the continued work on the standardised procedures for EGF applications and management using the functionalities of the electronic data exchange system (SFC2014), which allows for the simplification and faster processing of applications and for better reporting; notes that the Commission intends to prepare and fine tune the module for final reports closing the implementation of each EGF case as the priority for 2016; notes, however, that the costs from the EGF budget for the process of SFC2014 remain relatively high;

4.

Welcomes the integration of reporting into the electronic data exchange system (SFC2014); considers that this will ease the administrative burden for Member States and facilitate the use of reports for evaluation purposes;

5.

Notes that the procedure to integrate the EGF into SFC2014 has been going on for years and that the relevant costs for the EGF have been relatively high; notes that this level of cost will need to be maintained for another year after which the cost for maintenance will be lower;

6.

Expresses its regret that the Commission did not present the progress of integration into SFC2014 from the beginning of 2011 until 2014 as requested in Parliament's resolution of 24 June 2015 on the proposal for the Technical Assistance in 2015; reminds the Commission to present the progress as requested above including the latest developments;

7.

Is of the opinion that SFC2014 could also be used to allow the Commission to gather detailed data on the impact of EGF funding, namely in the case of re-employment rates of the redundant workers who have benefited from EGF funding; insists on having better evaluation of the type and quality of jobs found and on the medium and long-term trend as regards the rate of reintegration achieved through EGF interventions;

8.

Welcomes that the Commission intends to invest EUR 70 000 of the available budget under the Technical Assistance in particular on improving the monitoring and evaluation of the impact of EGF support on individual participants; recommends that:

9.

Underlines the need to further enhance the liaising 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; stresses that interaction between the National Contact Person and regional or local case delivery partners should be strengthened and communication and support arrangements and information flows (internal divisions, tasks and responsibilities) made explicit and agreed on by all partners concerned;

10.

Reiterates its call on the Commission to invite the Parliament, within reasonable deadlines, 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 (5);

11.

Asks the Commission to provide justification for the decision to subcontract the mid-term evaluation as required by Article 20(1)(a) of the EGF Regulation to an external contractor; requests that the Commission decides on how to proceed on the basis of cost-benefit analysis with a clear focus on objectivity, outcomes, added value, employability and efficiency;

12.

Asks the Commission to include in the mid-term evaluation of the EGF all aspects regarding cost efficiency of all EGF projects, data on direct allowance support, as well as suggestions on improving participation of Member States in the EGF and synergies with measures covered by the ESF or national programmes; notes that this exercise should be combined with the effort to establish a complete database on the outcomes of all EGF interventions; calls for a debate on the outcome of the mid-term evaluation, with the aim of assessing whether the EGF is the most efficient tool for the redundancy challenges;

13.

Asks the Commission to include a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the EGF support to young people up to the age of 25 who are not in employment, education or training and to extend this measure after December 2017, in a permanent and sustainable way by proposing a new EGF regulation, especially in view of the implementation of the Youth Guarantee and the ongoing youth unemployment crisis;

14.

Underlines the importance of increasing general awareness about EGF and its visibility; reminds applicant Member States of their role in publicising the actions funded by the EGF to the targeted beneficiaries, authorities, social partners, the media and the general public, as set out in Article 12 of the EGF Regulation;

15.

Asks the Member States and all the institutions involved to make the necessary efforts to further improve procedural and budgetary arrangements in order to increase the impact of the EGF; notes, in this regard, that Parliament is currently drafting an own-initiative report based on the evaluation by the Commission to take stock of the functioning of the EGF Regulation and the cases examined;

16.

Appreciates the improved procedure put in place by the Commission, following Parliament's request for the accelerated release of grants; notes the time pressure that the new timetable implies and the potential impact on the effectiveness of case instruction; calls on the Member States to make greater use of the Commission's assistance before the submission of the formal applications;

17.

Asks the Member States and all the institutions involved to defend the wider use of the derogation for the eligibility thresholds also favoring SMEs, the extension of the reference periods as well as the possibility to include redundant workers offering related services to redundant workers of the referent company, thus contributing to a more efficient and valuable use of the EGF;

18.

Asks the Member States to highlight more clearly the additionality of EGF funding and its link to other funds, and to consider the most appropriate ways for the EGF to add value, ensure synergy with other funding sources and avoid displacement and overlaps;

19.

Approves the decision annexed to this resolution;

20.

Instructs its President to sign the decision with the President of the Council and arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;

21.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution, including its annex, to the Council and the Commission.