Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

I. Background

The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) was created to provide additional assistance to workers suffering from the consequences of major structural changes in world trade patterns.

In accordance with point 9 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 16 December 2020, the Commission is required, following the positive assessment of an application, to submit a proposal to mobilise the Fund to the budgetary authority and to complement it with a corresponding request for transfer to the relevant budget lines.

II. Austria’s application and the Commission's proposal

On 15 September 2025 Austria submitted an application EGF/2025/005 AT/KTM for a financial contribution from the EGF, following 1 488 redundancies at KTM. This is the fifth such application of 2025, and the third to be examined under the 2026 budget.

Following the assessment of this application, the Commission has concluded, in accordance with all applicable provisions of the EGF Regulation, that the conditions for awarding a financial contribution from the EGF are met.

On 6 February 2026, the Commission adopted a proposal for a decision on the mobilisation of the EGF in favour of Austria for tailored measures to support the reintegration in the labour market of 420 targeted beneficiaries, i.e. workers from KTM made redundant. In total, EUR 1 806 624 will be mobilised from the EGF for KTM, representing 60% of the total costs of the proposed actions.

The Commission deemed the Austrian application admissible under the intervention criteria of Article 4(2) (a) of the EGF Regulation, which requires the cessation of activity of at least 200 displaced workers or self-employed persons over a reference period of four months, in an enterprise in a Member State, including workers displaced in suppliers and downstream.

EGF co-funding has been requested for the following five types of actions, to be provided to redundant workers:

(a) Case management: This measure aims at offering highly individualised support by accompanying participants in the implementation of their individual action plan and documenting and assessing their individual training pathways.

(b) Career guidance - career orientation: This measure precedes the individual action plan and serves primarily to clarify career prospects based on participants’ interests, strengths and weaknesses. To set up an action plan, individual training objectives are identified, and training possibilities discussed. This is based on a thorough research of labour market trends and prospective job opportunities.

(c) Training and retraining: In drawing up the action plan, particular attention will be paid to improving vocational skills. Therefore, participants can follow training and retraining courses in line with labour market needs, enabling participants to find a new and sustainable job as quickly as possible.

(d) Pro-active job-search: This measure includes assistance with preparing convincing applications, developing search strategies and individual and job-related application strategies, promoting initiative and motivation, dealing with rejection, strengthening resilience, etc.

(e) Training allowance – training-related subsidy: A training allowance will be granted to each participant in the programme to cover the additional training-related expenses related to participation in the training measures.

III. Procedure

In order to mobilise the Fund, the Commission has submitted to the Budgetary Authority a request to transfer a global amount of EUR 1 806 624 from the EGF reserve (budget line 30 04 02; commitment appropriations) to the EGF (budget line 16 02 02; commitment appropriations).

According to an internal agreement within the Parliament, the Employment and Social Affairs Committee and the Committee on Regional Development should be associated to the process, in order to provide constructive support and contribute to the assessment of the applications from the Fund.