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. Belgium’s application and the Commission's proposal

On 22 December 2025 Belgium submitted an application EGF/2025/009 BE/Soliver for a financial contribution from the EGF, following 803 redundancies at Soliver NV. This is the ninth such application of 2025, and the sixth 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 30 April 2026, the Commission adopted a proposal for a decision on the mobilisation of the EGF in favour of Belgium for tailored measures to support the reintegration in the labour market of 803 targeted beneficiaries, i.e. workers from Soliver (manufacturer of high-tech automotive glass) made redundant. In total, EUR 2 132 535 will be mobilised from the EGF for Soliver, representing 85% of the total costs of the proposed actions.

The Commission deemed the Belgian 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 eight types of actions, to be provided to redundant workers:

a) Task force: Account managers with in-depth knowledge of the local labour market, along with consultants experienced in providing guidance during collective redundancy processes, organise and run the information sessions. Working closely with the workers, they define personalised paths for reintegration into employment and readjust them where necessary. The task force is supported by a team of experts in European projects.

b) Outplacement: Outplacement services provided in group or individual sessions include, among other things, an initial interview and individual guidance, certification of acquired skills, guidance on using "My Career" (Mijn Loopbaan) a digital platform for job searching provided by the Flemish public employment services (VDAB17), as well as guidance before, during, and after the job fair described below. Within this measure a 'job vacancy action' was organised on 3 December 2025. During a job vacancy action job offers are presented/made available to small groups of workers to apply for. Workers are helped by experts during the application process and VDAB monitors the progress of such applications and their outcome.

c) Assistance in finding a job: The assistance begins by evaluating jobseekers’ suitability for current labour market demands and the realism of their job search. It then provides tailored assistance, including CV and cover letter refinement, confidence-building, and interview preparation. Digital skills are evaluated, with basic ICT training offered to digitally illiterate workers who also gain access to ‘digibanks’, where they can borrow laptops, receive training, and get digital support. Meanwhile, webinars and online tools such as 123digit.be help those with existing skills to further develop their digital competencies.

d) Reinforced job-search assistance: The support includes individual coaching and job-scouting, group coaching with a vocational mediator, assistance with job applications and interview preparation, and visits to hiring companies and to training centres, to encourage upskilling. Additionally, information sessions on cross-border work opportunities in the Netherlands will be organised with EURES experts from the Dutch employment services.

e) Guidance: The guidance services offer career advice, job-openings search, and job placement (matching candidates' skills and goals with employers' needs), individual job search assistance, and mental support. Topics covered during the outplacement sessions are reviewed, as needed. Delivered via a voucher system to give workers flexibility, VDAB counsellors tailor support intensity (ranging from standard to highly intensive) based on individual assessments.

f) Training and retraining: Workers receive tailored coaching through specialised learning paths to enhance technical, digital, and in-demand skills (including those linked to labour shortages and the green transition). After agreeing on individual plans with a vocational counsellor, they access targeted training—either through VDAB or external providers—to address identified needs. Dutch language courses are also available, as many former Soliver employees have limited proficiency in Dutch, potentially limiting their employment options.

g) Training at the workplace: Workers receive on-the-job training with their future employer, securing a permanent or fixed-term contract lasting at least as long as the training.

h) Job fair: This recruitment event helps put together jobseekers and hiring employers. Before attending the event, counselling sessions help to prepare the meeting with potential employers. Two job fairs were organised in June and September 2025.

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 2 132 535 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.