Brussels, 22/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 22 September, the European Commission suggested that the EU should assist Austrian and Greek workers who have been made redundant because of the economic and financial crisis. Proposals are to be approved by Council and the European Parliament.
Austria. The European Commission has proposed that Austria be provided with €3.6 million from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) to help 502 lorry drivers back into employment. Austria applied for EGF money in relation to 2,338 redundancies in 706 road transport companies. The dismissals occurred in the regions of Niederösterreich and Oberösterreich. The road haulage sector in Austria suffered from a fall in demand of between 30-50% in July 2009. For lorries of over 3.5 tonnes, activity decreased by 17% in the fist half of 2009, compared to the same period of the previous year. This downward trend continued in 2010.
Greece. The Commission has suggested granting Greece financial aid of €2.9 million from the EGF. Funding, requested by the Greek authorities, would be used to help 642 workers made redundant by ALDI to find new jobs.
EGF aid measures proposed by the Commission include occupational guidance, job-search assistance, training and re-training, entrepreneurship promotion, contribution to business start-ups, and mobility and job-search allowances. (LC/transl.jl)