The European Commission approved three new applications for assistance under the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF), totalling €13 million, on 2 September. The applications from Denmark, Spain and Portugal bring to four the number of applications approved during this first week of September and to 66 the total number of assistance requests submitted by member states.

The first of the three was submitted by Denmark after the lay-off of 1,122 workers in the shipbuilding sector. “The global financial crisis has changed the conditions and expectations for the future of shipbuilding,” commented Employment Commissioner László Andor. “The EGF can help cushion this dramatic change [shift of activity to Asia - Ed] by preparing workers for new job opportunities.” The EGF assistance of €7.5 million will help the 951 most vulnerable workers made redundant in the marine manufacturing sector back into employment. A total of 1,222 workers were laid off in 45 companies in Jutland, in the North of Denmark, which has the country’s lowest employment rate.

The second application concerns workers made redundant in Catalonia (Spain) in the automotive industry, a sector hit particularly hard by the economic and financial crisis. Between 2008 and 2009, the number of job cuts rose by 157% in this sector in Catalonia. The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund will help 1,429 of the 2,330 workers dismissed, those with the greatest difficulties getting back into employment. It will include orientation measures, preparation of personal plans for getting back into work and training. The European Union will contribute €2.7 million via the EGF to the total cost of the Spanish plan (estimated at €4.2 million).

The third application for assistance is meant to facilitate the return to work of 839 workers who lost their jobs in the semiconductors industry in Portugal. A previous request for EGF assistance in the same region (North of Portugal) was approved by the European Commission in 2009. This time, the authorities seek to help workers made redundant by Qimonda Portugal SA as a result of the stoppage of production at the Qimonda plant in Germany. The total cost of the package is estimated at €3.7 million, of which €2.4 million contributed by the EGF.

The applications will now be transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council to mobilise the budgetary resources.

The applications from Denmark, Spain and Portugal bring to 66 the total number of assistance requests