News

Back
Each year, the European Commission makes up to € 500 million available via the European Globalisation Fund to assist employees, who have lost their job as a result of the world economic crisis or due to globalisation. The analysis of the applications received for the Fund, however, now show that even in the crisis year 2009 only financial assistance amounting to about € 166.6 million was applied for. In 2010, about € 92 million had been applied for by September. This raises the question, whether the Fund is still too little known in the Member States or whether the criteria for granting assistance from the Fund were too rigidly phrased.

Having said that, the conditions for qualifying to receive money from the Globalisation Fund (EGF) have just been relaxed a few months ago: if the Fund was originally only intended to financially assist employees who lost their jobs due to their employer moving to a third country, it is now also available to those who became unemployed as a result of the global economic crisis. It is, however, also a condition that at least 500 employees must lose their job in a company or in one or two adjoining regions to be eligible for EGF funds. Exceptions from this rule only apply to very small labour markets, such as Cyprus or the Baltic States, where the number of job losses may be lower.

Since 2007, 18 of the 27 Member States have at least once applied for financial assistance from the Globalisation Fund. According to the overview on the EGF homepage, 62 applications were made during the period 2007 to 2010, of these 30 in 2009 and so far 20 in 2010. So far, Austria has made three applications: two concerning the region of Styria and Styria/Lower Austria respectively, one concerning AT&S. In total, the Austrian cases amount to € 17.4 million financial assistance.

Being in its fourth year, the European Globalisation Fund should be widely known by now. However, it has now become apparent that the criteria for granting any funds are obviously too rigid. It should therefore be considered to reduce the minimum number of 500 persons, who lose their job to 250 persons, a proposal the Chamber of Labour had made right from the beginning. The condition, only to make funds available if an enterprise moves to a third country must be reconsidered (the currently existing extension of this criterion  concerning job losses due to the economic crisis unfortunately ends in December 2011).

A renewed revision of the EGF Regulation is probably required soon.

On 20. September 2010, the Chamber of Labour Vienna will host a panel discussion on the European Globalisation Fund.

Title of the event: "The European Globalisation Fund - a white knight?"

Time: Monday, 20. September 2010, 10 a.m. to 2.30 p.m.

Location: AK Bildungszentrum (Training centre of the Chamber of Labour Vienna), Großer Saal at Theresianumgasse 16 - 18, 1040 Vienna

Email applications can be sent to the following email address am@akwien.at