
Brussels (Eurotoday) – EU Parliament approved aid worth €700,000 to help 632 dismissed workers in Belgium.
The European Parliament Committee on Budgets endorsed Belgium’s request for €704,135 in EU support through the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF). The aid will help 632 former workers from machinery and paper companies Purmo and Sappi in the Flemish region of Limburg.
As reported by EU Parliament Press, MEPs stated that the profiles of the displaced employees, one-third of which are aged 55 years or more and 30 % with low education, translate into extreme barriers in the labour market.
What caused the layoffs at the Sappi and Purmo plants?
Both Sappi Lanaken and Purmo Group had to expel employees due to dropping demand for their products and economic difficulties. Sappi Lanaken shut its plant because digitalization decreased the need for woodfree coated paper and shifting production was too expensive, while Purmo Group’s Zonhoven plant stopped production due to a 60% reduction in panel radiator demand, higher operational expenses, and unfavorable market conditions affected by the war in Ukraine and EU ruling favoring alternative heating systems.
How will the €700,000 EU aid help displaced workers?
According to the EU Parliament, the EGF funding will assist in paying for counseling and vocational orientation, job search allowances, as well as skills activity in vocational, digital, and language skills. The total calculated cost of these actions is €1.2 million, with 60% (€700,000) spent by the EGF and the remaining 40% (€500,000) funded by the Flemish Employment and Vocational Training Service (VDAB).
What role does the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund play?
Moreover, under the EGF regulation 2021-2027, the Fund helps displaced employees and self-employed people who have lost their activity due to unexpected significant restructuring events. Since 2007, the EGF has assigned €696 million in 180 cases, providing support to more than 169,000 people in 20 Member States. EGF-supported efforts complement national active labour market measures.
Comments
5 responses to “EU Parliament Approves €700,000 Aid Package for Displaced Workers in Belgium”
-
Ah, €700,000 for 632 displaced workers in Belgium—because nothing says “we care” quite like tossing a few coins into a fountain while the real heavy lifting of job creation clearly remains a job for the next EU committee meeting, right?
-
Ah, the EU Parliament has graciously approved a whopping €700,000 to help 632 Belgian workers displaced by the whims of digitalization and market trends—because who needs a stable career when you’ve got a charmingly bureaucratic safety net to fall back on, right?
-
Ah, nothing like a €700,000 aid package for 632 displaced workers in Belgium to remind us that in the EU, even the crumbs of compassion come with a side of bureaucratic theatrics—because what’s more reassuring than an EU safety net that’s frayed at the edges and still costs more than your average Belgian waffle?
-
Ah, €700,000 to help 632 workers find new careers in Belgium—because nothing says “let them eat cake” quite like a bureaucratic band-aid on a digital age bullet wound!
-
Ah, the EU Parliament’s generous €700,000 gift to help 632 displaced workers in Belgium—because nothing says “compassionate governance” like a financial band-aid for a gaping wound in the job market, eh?
Last News
Mark Van Bommel Appointed as Belgium National Team Head Coach
Brussels, July 24 Eurotoday Newspaper — Belgium national team news is dominated by the appointment of Mark van Bommel as the new head coach of the Red Devils. The Royal Belgian Football Association confirmed that the former Netherlands international will replace Rudi Garcia after the federation chose not to extend Garcia’s contract following Belgium’s 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign. Van Bommel has
Isaac Hammouch-Ceuta: les questions sans réponse derrière l’exode de milliers de Marocains
Trump Calls Off Strikes on Iran, Announces Imminent Deal
Iran has yet to respond to Trump’s announcement or confirm
Europe’s energy supply "must become more independent," says EESC
The body representing civil society at EU level has called for a “comprehensive storage strategy.”
The demand comes with the European energy system facing deep geopolitical, economic and social transformation.
Now, the Brussels based European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) argues, in a newly adopted opinion, that the EU now needs a “clear, common plan” for energy storage, something that is
June 19, 1862: U.S. Congress Abolishes Slavery
The act declared that slavery or involuntary servitude would not exist in any U.S. territories, except as punishment for a crime.
This action
Hungary Confronts Energy Crisis with Paks Nuclear Plant Shutdown Due to Drought, PM Reports
The Soviet-built Paks facility remains the backbone of the country’s power system. The loss of output has triggered national energy-saving measures and offers of support from regional neighbors.
A prolonged outage would cripple Hungary’s electrici
ECR Claims Ceuta Crisis Stems from "Years of Weakness"
Some MEPs say the renewed migration crisis in Ceuta “once again demonstrates the consequences of migration policies that send the wrong signals.”
The claim, by the ECR group in the EU parliament, comes as 60,000 people are locally estimated to have crossed into the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco in the last 24 hours.
It appears that this is part of an apparent attempt to ove
Wildfires Threaten Europe’s Outdoor Workers
A Major Milestone for Belgian Animal Park
A Belgium conservation centre has chalked up a world first.
With the birth of two Lear’s macaws, Pairi Daiza has become the only nature conservation centre open to the public in the world to have successfully bred all three species of blue macaw on Earth: the hyacinth macaw, the Spix’s macaw and the Lear’s macaw.
On 1 and 3 July, two Lear’s macaws (Anodorhynchus leari) were born at Pairi Daiza’s
Roma Holocaust Remembrance Confronts Europe’s Present
On th



Leave a Reply