Negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU Council reached agreement, on Wednesday 16 December, on the regulation establishing the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for displaced workers (EGF) after 2020, which relaxes the trigger threshold for assistance by lowering it to 200 dismissed workers.
“We managed to reduce the threshold for the number of redundancies that would allow a Member State to apply for EGF assistance to 200”, welcomed rapporteur Vilija Blinkevičiūtė (S&D, Lithuania). In the European Commission’s original proposal, the trigger threshold was set at 250. The EU Council was on this line while the European Parliament wanted to lower it to 200. As a reminder, this threshold is currently set at 500 in the current fund.
On the other hand, the European Parliament gave way on the reference period to take redundancies into account, which was maintained at four months. The Commission proposed four months, as did the EU Council, while the European Parliament wanted nine months.
Another source of satisfaction for the Parliament was the introduction of the financing of childcare allowances as one of the measures eligible for support from the fund. This provision was not included in the original proposal.
“We have increased financial assistance for self-employed workers who wish to set up their own business to €22,000”, the rapporteur added. The Commission and the EU Council advocated for €20 000, the European Parliament €25 000.
In addition, the co-financing rates are aligned with those of the European Social Fund plus (ESF+). This should make the EGF more attractive to less wealthy Member States, reversing the trend that the fund mainly benefits more developed countries, one source explained.
On the other hand, the European Parliament’s proposal to rename the EGF as the European Fund for Transition (EFT) was not retained in order to underline its objective to accompany the digital and green transformations of the European economy and not only to respond to the consequences of globalisation. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)