Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

AddedLETTER OF THE COMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

AddedMr Johan Van Overtveldt

AddedChair

AddedCommittee on Budgets

AddedBRUSSELS

AddedSubject: Opinion on Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers following an application from Belgium – EGF/2025/008 BE/Liberty (2026/0066(BUD))

AddedDear Mr Chair,

AddedUnder the procedure referred to above, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs has been asked to submit an opinion to your committee and decided to send the opinion in the form of a letter.

AddedThe Committee on Employment and Social Affairs considered the matter, and, at its meeting of 17 March 2026, it decided to submit the opinion set out below to the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible.

AddedYours sincerely,

AddedLi Andersson

AddedOPINION

AddedA. Whereas, on 13 November 2025, Belgium submitted an application EGF/2025/008 BE/Liberty for a financial contribution from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF), following displacements in Liberty Galaţi Belgian Branch in Belgium (Liberty), that operated in the economic sector classified under the NACE Revision 2 division 24 (Manufacture of basic metals), where the redundancies made by Liberty are mainly located in the NUTS 2 region of Province Liège (BE33);

AddedB. Whereas Belgium submitted the application under the intervention criteria of Article 4(2), point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2021/691, which requires the cessation of activity of at least 200 displaced workers over a reference period of four months (in this case from 24 April 2025 to 24 August 2025) in an enterprise in a Member State, including workers displaced in suppliers and downstream producers and / or self-employed persons whose activity has ceased; whereas, following its 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;

AddedC. Whereas the application relates to 507 displaced workers (eligible beneficiaries) whose activity has ceased in the economic sectors indicated above;

AddedD. Whereas on 2 March 2026, the Commission adopted a proposal for a decision on the mobilisation of the EGF in favour of Belgium to support the reintegration in the labour market of 507 targeted beneficiaries;

AddedE. Whereas the investment of more than EUR 40 million made by GFG Alliance, an international group of businesses with its headquarters in the United Kingdom, after the acquisition of Liberty Steel Liège from ArcelorMittal in July 2019, was rendered ineffective by the weak steel market in 2019, the supply chain disruptions caused by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the high energy prices that followed Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine; whereas Liberty Steel Group's galvanizing lines in Belgium remained idle since December 2021 because of the lack of raw materials triggering a restructuring operation which resulted in the legal transfer of Liberty Steel Liège to Liberty Galaţi (a Romanian subsidiary of GFG Alliance through Liberty Steel Group) in 2023; whereas, despite Galaţi’s takeover of Liberty Steel Liège, production activity did not resume and, therefore, workers were placed in short-time work schemes; whereas, after a long period without engaging in any production, Liberty was declared bankrupt by Liège’s Commercial Court on 22 April 2025;

AddedF. Whereas, the steel sector is very important to Belgium’s economy; whereas, furthermore, Liberty’s bankruptcy represents a major social shock for Wallonia, as it occurs in a labour market already weakened by other restructuring events such as TNT-FedEx or Makro for which Belgium also applied for EGF support;

AddedG. Whereas in October 2025, unemployment rate for Belgium as a whole was 6,4%, 0,6 percentage points (pp) increase year-on-year, and 0,5 pp higher than the EU average unemployment rate (5,9%); whereas, however, the unemployment rate in Wallonia rises up to 7,8%; whereas, in the second quarter of 2025, the employment rate in Wallonia (62,7 %) was 13 pp lower than the EU average (76,2%); whereas older workers are facing more barriers to employment; whereas the national employment rate for the age group 25-49 is 82%, but it falls down to 68,2% for people aged 50 or more; whereas one in four registered job seekers in Wallonia was aged 50 or more, in August 2025;

AddedH. Whereas Belgium has indicated that the co-ordinated package of personalised services has been drawn up in consultation with trade unions, in compliance with Article 7(4) of the EGF Regulation; whereas in a meeting held on 14 July 2025, the General Federation of Labour of Belgium (FGTB) and the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (CSC) were consulted particularly on the workers’ needs regarding upskilling and reskilling; whereas input from the workers representatives was also sought on how to better provide the EGF support; whereas Wallonia's regional legislation provides for specific support for redundant workers, in the form of a redeployment unit (cellule de reconversion) by the Regional Public Employment and Vocational Training Service (Le Forem), at the request of workers’ representative organisations; whereas the redeployment unit does not constitute an obligation for the employer, nor for Le Forem; whereas the implementation of the EGF co-financed measures will be managed through such a redeployment unit;

AddedI. Whereas the EGF shall not exceed a maximum annual amount of EUR 30 million (in 2018 prices), as laid down in Article 8 of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2020/2093 of 17 December 2020 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027;

AddedTherefore, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to integrate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution:

Added1. Recalls that the objective of the EGF is to demonstrate solidarity with, and provide support to beneficiaries; considers that financial contributions from the EGF should be primarily directed at active labour market policy measures and personalised services that aim to reintegrate beneficiaries rapidly into decent and sustainable employment within or outside their initial sector of activity; stresses the importance of preparing and supporting workers for the urgently needed green and digital transitions of the European economy and society; reiterates in this context the important role the Union plays, including through the EGF, in contributing to the financing of necessary qualifications for the just transition in line with the European Green Deal;

Added2. Agrees with the Commission that the conditions set out in Article 4(2), point (a), of the EGF Regulation are met and that Belgium is entitled to a financial contribution of EUR 2 033 869 under that Regulation, which represents 85 % of the total cost of EUR 2 392 788, comprising expenditure for personalised services of EUR 2 012 322, expenditure for allowances of EUR 346 600 and expenditure for preparatory, management, information and publicity, control and reporting activities of EUR 33 866;

Added3. Notes the fact that Belgium has provided all necessary assurances that the requirements laid down in national and EU legislation concerning collective redundancies have been complied with and that the principles of equality of treatment and non-discrimination will be respected in access to the proposed measures and their implementation; notes that all the procedural requirements were met; welcomes the involvement of the social partners as well as Forem in the package of measures for which the EGF co-financing is requested; underlines the need for transparency at every step of the procedure and calls for social partners’ involvement in the package of service’s implementation and evaluation;

Added4. Recalls the profile of the redundant workers, of which more than 90% are men, more than half are over 54 years old and more than two thirds have only lower secondary, upper secondary or post-secondary education or less; considers that the workers will need additional tailored support, particularly targeted assistance focusing on upskilling and retraining, to help them succeed the transition to employment;

Added5. Stresses that Belgium has confirmed that the measures supported by the EGF will not receive any financial contributions from other Union financial instruments;

Added6. Notes the personalised coordinated package to be provided to displaced workers consists of the following measures: (a) outplacement and vocational guidance (these services are provided by a team of vocational advisors specialised in restructuring events and social support workers generally drawn from the company's employee representatives) (b) training, retraining and vocational training, (c) support towards business creation, (d) contribution to business start-up (the workers who start a business or a self-employed activity will receive a contribution up to EUR 15 000), and (e) incentives and allowances ((1) job-search allowances (EUR 2 per hour of effective participation in job-search activities entitled to the allowance), (2) return-to-school allowance (a monthly allowance of EUR 350 to workers who embark on full-time secondary and tertiary studies, or qualifying training to acquire the necessary skills for jobs that are in demand and for which recruiting is difficult or linked to critical functions), and (3) allowance towards business creation); given the age and educational profile of the targeted beneficiaries stresses the specific needs of these groups should be taken into account when providing personalised services;

Added7. Stresses in particular the importance of Article 7.2 of the EGF Regulation, which requires the coordinated package to anticipate future labour market perspectives and required skills, which are compatible with the shift towards a resource-efficient and sustainable economy and with a particular focus on the dissemination of skills required in the digital industrial age; welcomes the fact that the training to gain and to strengthen digital autonomy, that complements Forem's standard training to develop digital skills, together with a module on circular economy and efficient use of resources caters for the dissemination of the skills required in the digital industrial age and in a resource-efficient economy, as required by Article 7(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/691; also welcomes the fact that the module on circular economy and efficient use of resources developed for former Swissport workers (EGF/2020/005 BE) is now part of Le Forem's standard training offer co-financed by ESF+ and, therefore, it is not budgeted in this proposal;

Added8. Recalls the possibility for special time-limited measures within the coordinated package including, inter alia, to pay childcare allowances, as provided in Article 7.2 b of the EGF regulation to facilitate job seekers’ participation in the activities proposed.