Brussels, 10/02/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 10 February, the European Commission approved an application from Spain for assistance under the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) after 1,082 employees were made redundant from three car producers and nine car component manufacturers located in two neighbouring Spanish regions: Castilla y León and Aragón.
The Commission is proposing €1,694,300 in aid for these workers, but it still needs to be approved by the European Parliament and Council of Ministers of the EU. The funding will help the 368 most affected of these redundant workers back into employment.
There have been 15 applications to the EGF so far. Twelve of those applications have been paid in full: €67,646,697 million in total, helping more than 15,000 workers. The Castilla y León and Aragón application is the fifth concerning the automotive industry approved by the Commission for presentation to the European Parliament and the Council. The other applications have concerned the mobile phone and textile industry. The EGF may give a financial contribution in cases where more than 1,000 workers in an enterprise, or a region and sector, are made redundant due to major structural changes in world trade patterns leading notably to substantially increased imports into the EU or a rapid decline in EU market share. (L.C./transl.rh)