On Friday 15 March, at the Employment and Social Policy Council, the EU Member States reached a partial political agreement ('general approach') on the Regulation establishing the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) for the period 2021-2027, which broadly maintains the European Commission's proposal.
Thus, Member States have maintained the lowering of the trigger for companies to 250 employees, as proposed by the European Commission (currently this threshold is 500 employees), and an extension of the scope of eligibility to restructuring cases. Finally, they have aligned the co-financing rate with the highest co-financing rate provided for under the European Social Fund plus (ESF+), namely 60% (see EUROPE 12214/32).
During the exchanges, several Member States expressed their disapproval of the agreement, including the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland, all of which were against extending the eligibility criteria or lowering the threshold. The Netherlands has expressed its wish to abolish the fund as part of the negotiations on the multiannual financial framework (MFF) and integrate it into the European Social Fund plus (ESF+). Sweden has indicated that it will vote against it. Finland abstained, as did the United Kingdom.
On the contrary, Italy, Spain, Ireland, and Portugal supported the changes made and spoke out in favour of maintaining the fund. Spain opposed its integration into the ESF+ on the grounds that it would be absurd to set upstream allocations per Member State.
Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Marianne Thyssen welcomed the partial agreement reached, while warning of the discussions that will continue in the context of the negotiations on the next multiannual financial framework. The Commissioner is concerned that the Fund may be aligned with the duration of the multiannual financial framework (7 years) whereas the initial proposal provided for an unlimited duration; she took a position against its integration into the ESF+.
There will be no interinstitutional negotiations, given the proximity of the end of the European Parliament's mandate. As a reminder, parliamentarians have considerably extended its scope of action to help transitions in the face of climate change and the arrival of new technologies (see EUROPE 12147/16). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)