Brussels, 01/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - Among the 27 members of the EU, seven member states on Thursday 1 December refused any kind of compromise with regard to the European Commission proposal to extend the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF), given the current financial crisis. The initial project presented by Commissioner Laszlo Andor (Employment and Social Affairs), aimed to extend this specific derogation for the EGF from 31 December 2011 to 31 December 2013, in addition to increasing the co-funding rate from 50 to 65%. Despite repeated appeals for maintaining the derogation, which has existed since 2009, due to the continued financial crisis and as an illustration of European solidarity, Germany, followed by several other member states, has been the catalyst in opposing prolongation.
Speaking at the Council, the German representative stated that, “the EU should not be used as a means of deflecting states from assuming their respective responsibilities”. He also pointed out that the role of the EGF had been deflected from its original goal, namely managing the consequences of globalisation on the markets and not fighting the causes of the financial crisis or the current sovereign debt difficulties. Germany, as well as Slovakia and the United Kingdom, have said that the EGF is not functioning very effectively and has less added value in relation to the financial resources used. The Czech minister added that other measures, such as structural reforms, were now more urgent to adopt and that European Social Fund interventions could very well fulfil the role currently played by the EGF. In an effort to find a compromise, several member states supported Finland's proposal. This compromise seeks to extend the EGF until the end of 2012, at a rate of 65%. In the middle of this extended period, an evaluation would be proposed on whether to approve the extension of the fund in 2013. After a certain amount of confusion, the Polish presidency sought to submit this issue to the Danish presidency at the beginning of January and a vote of hands confirmed the lack of a sufficient majority for the initial proposal or the Finnish compromise. Commissioner Andor declared after the Council that this was a great disappointment and he could not quite believe it. (JK/trans/fl)