C_2022361EN.01004401.xml

P9_TA(2022)0098

Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund: application EGF/2021/007 FR/Selecta — France

European Parliament resolution of 24 March 2022 on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers following an application from France — EGF/2021/007 FR/ Selecta (COM(2022)0035 — C9-0036/2022 — 2022/0023(BUD))

(2022/C 361/18)

The European Parliament,

—	having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2022)0035 — C9-0036/2022),

—	having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/691 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF) and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 (1) (‘EGF Regulation’),

—	having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 of 17 December 2020 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021-2027 (2) (‘MFF Regulation’), and in particular Article 8 thereof,

—

having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 16 December 2020 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management as well as on new own resources, including a roadmap towards the introduction of new own resources (3), and in particular point 9 thereof,

—	having regard to the letters from the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and from the Committee on Regional Development,

—	having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A9-0048/2022),

whereas the Union has set up legislative and budgetary instruments to provide additional support to workers who are suffering from the consequences of globalisation and of technological and environmental changes, such as changes in world trade patterns, trade disputes, significant changes in the trade relations of the Union or the composition of the internal market and financial or economic crises, as well as the transition to a low-carbon economy, or as a consequence of digitisation or automation;

B.	whereas the Union has extended the scope of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF) to provide financial support in case of any major restructuring event, and thus covering economic effects of the coronavirus crisis;

whereas France submitted application EGF/2021/007 FR/Selecta for a financial contribution from the EGF, following 294 displacements in the economic sector classified under the NACE Revision 2 division 46 (Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles) in all French NUTS level 2 regions in mainland, except Limousin (FRI2), within a reference period for the application from 1 June 2021 to 1 October 2021;

whereas the application relates to 294 displaced workers whose activity in the company Selecta has ceased during the reference period, while 179 workers were displaced before or after the reference period as a consequence of the same events that triggered the cessations of activity of the displaced workers during the reference period and will thus also be considered eligible beneficiaries;

E.	whereas the application is based on the intervention criteria of Article 4(2), point (a), of the EGF Regulation, which requires the cessation of activity of at least 200 displaced workers over a reference period of four months in an enterprise in a Member State;

whereas the vending machines industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, due to the closure of sites where the machines were located (business and public places such as airports, railway stations, etc.) or by lack of access to the vending machines in the open sites, and in the Île-de-France region, the vending machine businesses lost 70 % of turnover (September 2020 year-on-year) because of telework (4);

whereas, according to Selecta, despite the recovery of activity in summer 2020, the replenishment of the machines was down by 47 %, compared to February 2020, the last pre-pandemic month, while despite re-negotiating contracts in an attempt to curb loss-making, exacerbated by fixed cost and falling sales, Selecta recorded operating losses of EUR 60 million in 2020 (5) and organised the displacement of 473 workers;

H.	whereas the Commission declared that the health crisis resulted in an economic crisis, set out a recovery plan for the economy and underlined the role of the EGF as an emergency tool (6);

I.	whereas, according to the French Organisation for Automatic Sales and Services (NAVSA), the turnover of the sector in France dropped between 50 and 90 % in 2020 compared to 2019, putting about 25 000 jobs at risk;

whereas financial contributions from the EGF should be primarily directed at active labour market policy measures and personalised services that aim to reintegrate beneficiaries rapidly into decent and sustainable employment within or outside their initial sector of activity, while preparing them for a greener and more digital European economy;

K.	whereas the EGF shall not exceed a maximum annual amount of EUR 186 million (in 2018 prices), as laid down in Article 8 of the MFF Regulation;

Agrees with the Commission that the conditions set out in Article 4(2), point (a), of the EGF Regulation are met and that France is entitled to a financial contribution of EUR 4 074 296 under that Regulation, which represents 85 % of the total cost of EUR 4 793 290, comprising expenditure for personalised services of EUR 4 766 930 and, in accordance with Article 7(5) of the EGF Regulation, expenditure for implementing the EGF of EUR 26 360;

Notes that the French authorities submitted the application on 12 October 2021, and that the Commission finalised its assessment on 7 February 2022 and notified it to Parliament on the same day;

Notes that the application relates in total to 473 displaced workers whose activity has ceased; welcomes the fact that France expects that all of the eligible beneficiaries will participate in the measures (targeted beneficiaries);

Recalls that the social impacts of the redundancies are expected to be important for France, in particular in the region Île-de-France and the city of Lille, where respectively 32 and 13 % of the displacements took place;

Points out that 29,8 % of the targeted beneficiaries have lower secondary education or less;

Notes that France started providing personalised services to the targeted beneficiaries on 1 April 2021 and that the period of eligibility for a financial contribution from the EGF will therefore be from 1 April 2021 until 24 months after the date of the entry into force of the financing decision;

Recalls that personalised services to be provided to the workers consist of the following actions: advisory services and vocational guidance, psychological support, training, contribution to business creation, job search allowance, allowance for quick reemployment, outplacement incentive, and a contribution to moving and installation costs;

Reiterates in that context the important role the Union should play in providing the necessary qualifications for the just transformation in line with the European Green Deal; strongly supports the fact that between 2021and 2027 the EGF will continue to show solidarity with persons affected and maintain the focus on the impact of restructuring on workers and calls for future applications to maximise policy coherence;

Welcomes that the co-ordinated package of personalised services for which the EGF co-financing is requested was drawn up by France in consultation with staff and union representatives; underlines the need for transparency at every step of the procedure and calls for the involvement of social partners in the implementation and evaluation of the package of services’s; notes that all the procedural requirements were met;

10.

Considers that financial contributions from the EGF should be primarily directed at active labour market policy measures and personalised services that aim to reintegrate beneficiaries rapidly into decent and sustainable employment within or outside their initial sector of activity, while preparing them for a greener and more digital European economy;

11.

Recalls the possibility for special time-limited measures within the coordinated package including, inter alia, to pay childcare allowances, as provided in Article 7(2), point (b), of the EGF Regulation to facilitate job seekers’ participation in the activities proposed;

12.

Notes the French authorities’ indication that staff and union representatives are closely involved in the organisational plans to adapt to change;

13.

Welcomes the fact that Selecta put in place a very active training policy that goes far beyond its legal obligations;

14.

Notes that in 2021 the training budget per worker was 30 % higher than in 2019, with the aim of improving staff’s employability and mobility;

15.

Stresses that the French authorities have confirmed that the eligible actions do not receive assistance from other Union funds or financial instruments;

16.

Reiterates that assistance from the EGF must not replace actions which are the responsibility of companies, by virtue of national law or collective agreements, or any allowances or rights of the displaced workers, to ensure full additionality of the allocation;

17.

Reminds that the objective of the EGF is to demonstrate solidarity with and support beneficiaries and to rapidly reintegrate them into decent and sustainable employment within or outside their initial sector of activity;

18.

Approves the decision annexed to this resolution;

19.

Instructs its President to sign the decision with the President of the Council and arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;

20.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution, including its Annex, to the Council and the Commission.

(1) OJ L 153, 3.5.2021, p. 48.

(2) OJ L 433 I, 22.12.2020, p. 11.

(3) OJ L 433 I, 22.12.2020, p. 28.

(4) NAVSA. Report on the situation of the sector. September 2020.

(5) https://www.droits-salaries.com/552014201-selecta/55201420101907-/T09321007764-accord-relatif-a-la-mise-en-place-d-un-dispositif-specifique-d-activite-partielle-longue-duree-apld--autres-temps-de-travail.shtml

(6) COM(2020)0442.