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Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund: technical assistance by the Commission in 2015

2015/2076(BUD)

PURPOSE: to mobilise the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) to finance technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission.

PROPOSED ACT: Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council.

CONTENT: the rules applicable to financial contributions from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) are laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (2014-2020).

In accordance with Article 11(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013, a maximum of 0.5% of the annual maximum amount of the EGF may be made available each year for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission.

Technical assistance to be funded (EGF/2015/000 TA 2015) and breakdown of its estimated costs: the Commission therefore proposes to mobilise an amount of EUR 630 000 to finance the following tasks:

  • monitoring and data gathering: the Commission will collect data on applications received, paid and wound up, and measures proposed and implemented. This data will be made available on the web site and compiled in appropriate form for the Biennial Report of 2017. Building on the work of recent years, costs for this activity will be EUR 20 000;
  • information: the web site on the EGF, which the Commission has set up within its Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion area will be regularly updated and expanded, with each new element also being translated into all EU languages. General awareness of the EGF and its visibility will be encouraged. A small print run of the EGF ex-post evaluation will be made available together with an online publication. The EGF will be covered in various Commission publications and audio-visual activities. Costs of all these items are estimated at EUR 20 000 in 2015;
  • creation of a knowledge base/application interface: the Commission is continuing its work setting up standardised procedures for EGF applications and management, using the functionalities of SFC 2014, into which it is being integrated. This allows applications under the EGF Regulation to be simplified, their processing to be speeded up and reports to be more easily extracted for varying needs. Integration of final reports will follow, with the objective of easing the administrative burden for the Member States. The cost of these items is estimated at EUR 100 000;
  • administrative and technical support: the Expert Group of Contact Persons of the EGF, with one member from each Member State, will be holding two meetings (end of 2015/first half of 2016), together estimated at EUR 70 000;
  • network: the Commission will be organising networking among the Member States, with two seminars of EGF implementing bodies from the Member States around the same dates, focusing on issues arising with the practical implementation of the EGF Regulation at grassroots level. The cost of these items is estimated at EUR 120 000;
  • evaluation: as public procurement for the mid-term evaluation will be launched in 2015, with a view to concluding the evaluation by 30 June 2017, EUR 300 000 will be needed for this purpose.

Financing: Article 11(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 states that 0.5% of this amount (i.e. EUR 811 825 in 2015) can be made available each year for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission. Currently, the entire amount for 2015 remains available; nothing has yet been allocated to technical assistance.

The proposed amount corresponds to about 0.39% of the maximum annual budget available for the EGF in 2015.

The proposed decision to mobilise the EGF will be taken jointly by the European Parliament and the Council, as laid down in point 13 of 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.

At the same time as it presents this proposal for a decision to mobilise the EGF, the Commission will present to the European Parliament and to the Council a proposal for a transfer to the relevant budgetary line for the amount of EUR 630 000.

Source of payment appropriations: appropriations from the EGF budget line will be used to cover the amount of EUR 630 000 needed for technical assistance.