Brussels, 09/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - In order to assess the impact of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) at the local level, a delegation from the European Parliament committee on employment and social affairs went to Spain to look at how the land lies, on 3 and 4 November. MEPs met with Secretary of State Maria Luz Rodriguez of the Spanish Ministry for Employment and Immigration, and also with social partners. They then travelled to Catalonia to meet stakeholders directly concerned by EGF aid granted to the local textile sector in 2009.
Pervenche Berès (S&D, France), who chaired the delegation, said the reason why Spain had been chosen was that the country is a “good example of the implementation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund”, particularly in the case of Catalonia whose textile sector “is suffering a lot from the effects of globalisation”. However, Berès declares in a Parliament press release on Tuesday 8 November, it should also be seen as setting an example when it comes to the involvement of social partners in EGF action. In her view, there is a lesson to be learned for the general working of the Fund, asserting: “The involvement of social partners in the design and the implementation of the project turned out to be one of the essential elements”. (JK/transl.jl)