6.9.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 328/8

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having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2015)0068 — C8-0058/2015),

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having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (2014-2020) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006 (1) (EGF Regulation),

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having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 (2), and in particular Article 12 thereof,

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having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management (3) (IIA of 2 December 2013), and in particular point 13 thereof,

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having regard to the trilogue procedure provided for in point 13 of the IIA of 2 December 2013,

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having regard to the letter of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs,

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having regard to the letter of the Committee on Regional Development,

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having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A8-0124/2015),

A.

whereas the Union has set up legislative and budgetary instruments to provide additional support to workers who are suffering from the consequences of major structural changes in world trade patterns or of the global financial and economic crisis and to assist their reintegration into the labour market,

B.

whereas the Union’s financial assistance to workers made redundant should be dynamic and made available as quickly and efficiently as possible, in accordance with the Joint Declaration of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission adopted during the conciliation meeting on 17 July 2008, and having due regard to the IIA of 2 December 2013 in respect of the adoption of decisions to mobilise the EGF,

C.

whereas the adoption of the EGF Regulation reflects the agreement reached between the Parliament and the Council to reintroduce the crisis mobilisation criterion, to increase the Union financial contribution to 60 % of the total estimated cost of proposed measures, to increase efficiency for the treatment of EGF applications in the Commission and by the Parliament and the Council by shortening the time for assessment and approval, to widen eligible actions and beneficiaries by introducing self-employed persons and young people and to finance incentives for setting up own businesses,

D.

whereas France submitted application EGF/2014/017 FR/Mory-Ducros for a financial contribution from the EGF, following 2 513 redundancies in Mory-Ducros SAS operating in the NACE Rev. 2 division 49 (‘Land transport and transport via pipelines’) with redundancies spread over 84 sites in the whole of mainland France,

E.

whereas the application fulfils the eligibility criteria set up by the EGF Regulation,

1.

Agrees with the Commission that the conditions set out in Article 4(1)(a) of the EGF Regulation are met and that, therefore, France is entitled to a financial contribution under that Regulation;

2.

Notes that the French authorities submitted the application for EGF financial contribution on 6 October 2014, and that its assessment was made available by the Commission on 23 February 2015; welcomes the speedy evaluation of less than five months;

3.

Notes that the total costs are EUR 10 087 000, of which EUR 35 000 is dedicated to control and certification, and that the financial contribution of the EGF amounts to EUR 6 052 200, which represents 60 % of the total costs;

4.

Considers that the redundancies in Mory-Ducros SAS are linked to the general decline in physical output in Europe, which lead to a the reduction in volumes to be transported and triggered a price war in the road haulage sector, resulting in a steady deterioration in operating margins and a series of losses for the sector in France since 2007; notes that this has been followed by a wave of bankruptcies, including that of Mory-Ducros; concludes that those events are directly linked to the global financial and economic crisis;

5.

Emphasises that as a result of the settlement following the closure of Mory-Ducros SAS, a newly-created entity MORY Global acquired 50 agencies out of a total of 84 and re-employed 2 107 workers out of 4 911 and, therefore, 2 804 workers were effectively made redundant;

6.

Underlines that over 17 % of the beneficiaries expected to be targeted by the proposed actions are in the 55-64 age group and that their participation in the proposed support measures would help them to avoid long-term unemployment and social exclusion;

7.

Notes that, to date, the ‘Land transport and transport via pipelines’ sector has been the subject of another EGF application (EGF/2011/001 AT/Nieder- und Oberoesterreich) which was also based on the global financial and economic crisis;

8.

Welcomes the fact that, in order to provide workers with speedy assistance, the French authorities decided to initiate the implementation of the personalised services to the affected workers on 24 February 2014, well ahead of the decision and even the application on the granting the EGF support for the proposed coordinated package;

9.

Notes that the personalised services to be provided consist of only one action to be implemented by a one-stop-shop (Cellule de reclassement) which is run by three contracting agencies; notes that France requests only the funding of this one-stop-shop from the EGF; expects the Commission and the French authorities to strictly follow the principle according to which payments to the agencies will be made by instalment and on the basis of results achieved;

10.

Notes that the three contractors operating the Cellule de reclassement were selected by the judicial administrator following consultations with the representatives of the redundant workers, the objective being to cover mainland France as much as possible and to ensure the re-integration of the largest possible number of the targeted workers;

11.

Considers that the monitoring of the activity of the agencies by means of regular written reports ensures the appropriate use of the EGF funding to provide participants with a personalised career path, a sufficient number of job offers and mentoring for business creation within the framework of the one-stop-shop system;

12.

Recalls that EGF funding is intended to help the workers find new employment through training and not in any case to support the agencies and their administrative costs;

13.

Notes that the task of the contractors is to assist and guide the redundant workers and help them find solutions enabling them to remain in the labour market and start new jobs;

14.

Considers that workers in the 55-64 age group are at a higher risk of prolonged unemployment and exclusion from the labour market; considers therefore that these workers have specific needs when it comes to providing them with a personalised approach;

15.

Recalls that in line with Article 7 of the EGF Regulation, the design of the coordinated package of personalised services should anticipate future labour market perspectives and required skills and should be compatible with the shift towards a resource-efficient and sustainable economy;

16.

Welcomes the use of the European Social Fund for further active measures (e.g. longer training courses), which are not included in the application submitted by France;

17.

Deplores the absence of funds devoted to EGF communication and promotion measures; considers that publicity and information around these actions plays an important role not only in attracting beneficiaries, but also in highlighting the Union's action in the social field;

18.

Expects that the French authorities will comply with the provisions of the EGF Regulation as regards providing information and publicising the funded actions, despite the fact that the they did not request funding for preparatory activities, management and information and publicity;

19.

Notes that the information provided on the coordinated package of personalised services to be funded from the EGF includes information on complementarity with actions funded by the Structural Funds; stresses that the French authorities confirm that the eligible actions do not receive assistance from other Union financial instruments; reiterates its call to the Commission to present a comparative evaluation of those data in its annual reports in order to ensure full respect of the existing regulations and that no duplication of Union-funded services can occur;

20.

Appreciates the improved procedure put in place by the Commission, following the Parliament's request for the accelerated release of grants; notes the time pressure that the new timetable implies and the potential impact on the effectiveness of case instruction;

21.

Approves the decision annexed to this resolution;

22.

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;

23.

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