Brussels, 02/09/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 2 September, the European Commission approved applications for assistance under the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) from Denmark, Spain and Portugal. These applications are now being passed on to the European Parliament and Council which are to endorse them. Funding requested by Denmark aims to help 951 workers in the marine manufacturing sector back into employment. The Danish application is for a total of €7.5 million and concerns workers made redundant in 45 businesses in the Danish region of Nordjylland (North Jutland). The application for €2,752,935 from Spanish authorities will help 1,429 redundant workers back into employment. Madrid submitted its application after 2,330 employees were made redundant by 23 enterprises operating in the automotive sector in Catalonia, in the north-east of Spain. The grant of €2,405,671 to Portugal will help 839 workers in the semiconductor industry to find new jobs.
The Danish application concerns 1,122 redundancies in 45 enterprises most involved in producing machinery and equipment for the shipbuilding sector and located in Nordjylland, in the north of Denmark, where the population is sparse and particularly dependent on the shipbuilding industry, and where the levels of employment and income are lower than in the rest of the country. Job losses occurred through a fall in shipbuilding requirements. The sector has seen demand plummet due to a combination of factors, including the financial and economic crisis that led to major reductions in shipbuilding activity. Redundancies set out in the Nordjyulland application are all the more serious to the region as it is anticipated that, even after the end of the crisis, the sector will not revive. László Andor considers that the shipbuilding sector “will move to low cost areas, mainly in Asia, whose market share has been growing spectacularly in the years leading up to the crisis”. The European commissioner for employment, social affairs and inclusion went on to specify “it is unlikely that the companies concerned by this application could potentially return to normal production at the end of the crisis”. The EGF support mechanism for persons made redundant provides the following measures for helping 951 disadvantaged Danish redundant workers return to employment: - promotion of entrepreneurship, courses on location with companies, supplementary general education, and supplementary industrial education in the maritime field, in renewable energy and energy optimising. The total estimated cost of the package is almost €11.5 million, of which the European Union has been asked to provide EGF assistance of €7.5 million.
The Spanish application relates to 2,330 redundancies in 23 enterprises operating in the automotive sector. Dismissals were a consequence of the serious impact that the global financial and economic crisis has had on demand for vehicles in Spain and in its export markets (in 2008, new car registrations in Spain declined by 28% compared to the previous year, with a sales drop of 9.6% for vehicles manufactured in Spain but sold outside the country. All redundancies covered by the application occurred in the autonomous region of Catalonia, where dismissals in the motor industry increased by 42% between 2007 and 2008, and by 157% between 2008 and 2009. EGF assistance is intended for 1,429 out of the 2,330 redundant workers who have the biggest difficulties for re-integration into the labour market. The package will help these workers by offering them guidance, preparation of personal pathways, training and on-the-job training, workshops on entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship assistance, peer support and incentives for the rapid reintegration into the labour market. The total estimated cost of the package is €4.2 million, of which the EGF will pay €2.7 million.
The Portuguese application relates to 839 redundancies in Qimonda Portugal S.A., an enterprise in the semiconductors sector, which had applied for a state of insolvency as a result of the total stoppage of production at the German Qimonda factory, which was the supplier of raw materials to the Portuguese unit. The insolvency of the German multinational Qimonda AG was due to the financial crisis. The several thousand people made redundant by Qimonda were in addition to the job seekers in the northern region of Portugal, where the unemployment rate is already higher than the country average. A request for EGF assistance in favour of this region had already been approved in June 2009. The EGF aid mechanism for those made redundant by Qimonda Portugal S.A. will include skills recognition, vocational training, entrepreneurship training and support to business creation, support to self-placement and hiring incentives, and practice in the workplace. The total estimated cost of this package is €3.7 million, of which the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund has been asked to fund €2.4 million. Out of the 914 Portuguese workers made redundant, 839 will benefit from EGF assistance. (O.L./transl.jl)