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
New EU Packaging Regulations Implemented
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation rep
Merz’s Deal with the Taliban Alarms Afghan Dissidents in Germany
New Initiative Addresses Urgent Child Safety Concerns
MEPs have welcomed moves to fill a “vacuum” that they say left children “unprotected.”
Since previous rules expired, EU tech platforms have been legally barred from voluntarily flagging child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
But centre right MEPs say this created an “unprecedented online blind spot “with as many as 55,000 reports of child abuse missed every single day.
Historically, up to 99% of re
Europe Prepares for a Total Solar Eclipse
Wednesday’s rare event will bring totality to Greenland, Iceland, Spain and a corner of Portugal as authorities urge safe viewing and careful travel
On Wednesday, 12 August, a total solar eclipse will traverse parts of Europe and the North Atlantic, briefly plunging Greenland, western Iceland, much of northern Spain, and a small section of northeastern Portugal into darkness. A partial eclipse w
Trump Supports Infantino Amid Outrage Over FIFA Chief’s World Cup Sale Plan
Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kush
Secrets to Success as a Chef
Osteria Romana, located at the top of the city’s fashionable Avenue Louise, has built a fine reputation in the near 15 years since it opened.
Here, in an exclusive Q
Safely Viewing a Solar Eclipse in Europe
Using Certified Glasses and Indirect Methods Safely During Eclipses
Observing a solar eclipse safely requires more than regular sunglasses or makeshift filters. Certified solar eclipse glasses or safe indirect viewing methods are essential during partial and annular eclipse phases. Direct viewing without protection is only safe during the brief totality phase of a total eclipse, when the Moon co
Swarming Jellyfish Overrun French Nuclear Plant on Same Date Two Years in a Row
Tuesday’s jellyfish invasion is the latest in a series of climate change-driven incidents impacting French nuclear energy during a particularly intense summer.
Nuclear power plants are typically situated by rivers or coastli
New Law "Infringes on Taiwan’s Sovereignty" – Event Participants Claim
Failure by the international community to respond to perceived attacks on the sovereignty of other nations risks sending the wrong signal.
That was a message from the former Finnish Prime Minister of Finland at an event in Taiwan.
Sanna Marin was speaking at the opening of the 10th Ketagalan Forum in the Taiwanese capital.
The event, hosted by the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ta
The Rudnev Case and the Fall of Verification: A Fresh Academic Analysis
A “commission” of international experts reveals how unexamined narratives led to an international miscarriage of justice.
A new collection of studies on the prolonged and troubled saga of Konstantin Rudnev and Ashram Shambhala emerges at a time when public discussions about minority spiritualities are driven more by repeated claims than actual knowledge. Following earlier discussions in “Bitter
Leave a Reply