Brussels, 18/03/2010 (Agence Europe) - With its adoption on Wednesday 17 March of two reports by Barbara Matera (EPP, Italy) on two proposals to use the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF), the European budgets committee approved the allocation of a total sum of €1.18 million from the 2010 budget to help Lithuanian workers made redundant in the clothing sector (€523,481) and furniture manufacture sector (€662,088). The aid still has to be approved by the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers.
In all, 1,127 workers will receive EGP aid: of these, 491 used to work at 45 companies in the clothing sector and 636 were employed by 49 furniture manufacturing firms. The Lithuanian authorities argue that the clothing and the furniture sectors are suffering from declining demand as a result of the economic crisis. The aid measures will help the redundant workers find new jobs. The plans still need to be approved by the full Parliament and the Council of Ministers. Three applications to the EGF have already been approved in 2010: one from Germany (former employees at the Karmann industry) and two from Lithuania (for construction workers and for ex-employees at the refrigerator producer Snaige). (L.C./transl.rt)