FAQ

Only Member States may apply. The initiative for an application may come from stakeholders, i.e. from the affected locality or region, or from the social partners involved, or the workers involved – but the application has to be submitted by the Member State and signed by a person authorised to represent the Member State.

The normal representatives of the Member State are the relevant ministry, or the Permanent Representation to the EU of the Member State.

This is possible, but this delegation would have to be documented and made available to the Commission upon request.

They should get in touch with their Member State’s EGF Contact Person, whose details can be found on the EGF website under “How to apply”. They may also contact a trade union, the public employment service, or their local or regional authorities and ask them to make the first contact with the EGF Contact Person.

Workers laid off before or after the four-month reference period of Article 4(1)(a) (dismissals in one enterprise and its suppliers), or Article 4(2) when it derogates from the criteria set out in Article 4(1)(a), may be eligible for EGF assistance if:

• they are made redundant as a result of the same event which triggered the redundancies during the reference period, and
• their redundancy occurred after the general announcement of the projected redundancies, but before the Commission has finalised its assessment on whether the conditions for making a financial contribution are met.

The Regulation does not offer the same possibility with regard to Article 4(1)(b) (dismissals within the same sector and the same region or two or more contiguous regions) since this provides for a longer (nine-month) reference period.

If this is already planned at the time of application, the details of such a scheme should be set out in the application itself. A mix between work and training may be an integral part of a programme for the integration of a group of workers, in that there may be an element of job experience provided to them while training, or there may be an element of coaching or mentoring at the start-up phase of a new job or a new business.

The worker remains an eligible beneficiary throughout the implementation period, even after having found a new job. If the worker can benefit from training outside working hours, or can be helped to progress with plans to set up a new business, this remains possible even after the worker has taken up full-time or part-time employment.

And if the worker loses the newly found job, he or she still remains eligible for the full range of measures on offer during the implementation period.

As long as the beneficiaries are eligible under the terms of Article 6 of the EGF Regulation, they qualify for assistance from the EGF. While the EGF itself cannot fund unemployment benefits, it does not prevent the Member State from paying these to workers benefiting from EGF support for active labour market policy measures.

Yes, there is one extra category. NEETs (i.e. young people not in employment, education or training) can in certain circumstances be included in an application for EGF support. By way of derogation from Article 2, Member States may, until 31 December 2017, provide personalised services to NEETs as part of an EGF application. The NEETs need to be under the age of 25 or, where Member States so decide, under the age of 30 on the date of submission of the application. The maximum number of NEETs who can be included is equal to the number of targeted worker beneficiaries. Priority should be given to young persons made redundant or whose activity has ceased. This derogation only applies if at least some of the worker redundancies occur in a NUTS 2 level region eligible under the Youth Employment Initiative and if the NEETs themselves reside there.

Yes. Article 6 (2) provides that ”The support may be rendered to NEETs under the age of 25, or where Member States so decide, under the age of 30.” Member States may provide EGF aid to NEETs up to the age of 30 even if they decide to set a ceiling of 25 years in the Youth Employment Initiative itself.

No. The number of NEETs may at most be equal to the number of targeted workers expected to participate in the measures.

Yes. The personalised services provided to the NEETs must end on 31 December 2017 at the latest. Services provided to NEETs later than this date will be ineligible for EGF support. Provided that the services have been provided before the cut-off date, any payments related to these services can be made afterwards, but all payments have to have been made by the time the final report is due.

Yes. The European Parliament and the Council are free to accept or reject the Commission’s proposal and to ask questions in order to provide them with further information. In practice, so far, no application proposed to the Budgetary Authority has been rejected, but questions have been asked about most of them.

Yes. Article 7(4) of the EGF Regulation provides that Member States can include in their proposed budget both the coordinated package of personalised services to be funded, and activities for implementing this package, i.e. preparatory, management, information and publicity, control and reporting activities.

The same co-financing rate applies to all these items. A reasonable percentage for the implementing activities should be somewhere around 4 % of the total budget. A somewhat higher percentage is acceptable, if duly justified by explanations from the Member State. The application must contain details on the administrative expenditure proposed. As both communication and control & audit are obligatory in EGF implementation, an application would be expected to contain appropriate amounts for each of these items.

Expenditure for implementing activities, such as preparatory work or data collection becomes eligible from the date on which the Member State incurs such expenditure implementing EGF. Even if these items are implemented before the formal application is submitted, auditable evidence must be collected from the outset. The earliest date for such expenditure is the date when the impending redundancies are first announced (e.g. via a press release from the dismissing enterprise).

The date on which the Member State first incurs such administrative expenditure must be stated in the application, and this date is referred to in the Commission’s proposal and Implementing Decision. Expenditure predating this date will not be eligible.

No. The costs for implementing EGF are agreed in the decision of the Budgetary Authority (European Parliament and Council). The eligible expenditure for implementing the EGF package presented in the final report will be accepted, but an increase in the percentage of administrative expenditure within the overall final accounts must be duly explained and needs to be justified.

Yes. As long as these activities are directly related to helping the redundant workers in a particular EGF case, they are eligible and even encouraged. Such support could also cover setting up a Monitoring Committee for co-ordinating the measures within the case while they are being implemented. Such activities could either constitute measures in their own right, or they could be included under the “management” heading of the financial table. The details should be described in the application.

No. Article 7(2) of the EGF Regulation lays down that the EGF cannot cofinance passive social protection measures. These include unemployment benefits not explicitly linked to active measures, as well as early retirement pensions.

Article 7(1)(b) also states that the package of EGF measures can include special timelimited measures, such as job-search allowances, mobility allowances or allowances for individuals participating in lifelong learning and training activities. These allowances can be co-financed only for the time during which an eligible beneficiary participates in the active measures contained in the EGF package of measures. The eligibility of the time-limited allowances is also conditional upon the eligible beneficiary’s participation in active measures during the period for which the allowance is being paid.

In accordance with Article 7(1), the allowances and incentives (i.e. any direct payments to the beneficiary or the employer, apart from that for business creation, which has its own ceiling) proposed in the application may not exceed 35 % of the total costs for the co-ordinated package of personalised services. This percentage is also applied to the financial figures presented in the final report.

Examples of non-eligible passive social protection supports are those provided to the worker whether or not s/he actively prepares for a new job. These include out-ofwork income maintenance and support independent of a worker’s participation in the EGF co-funded measures, as well as early retirement benefits.

Yes. All administrative expenditure is eligible until the date of submission of the final report. This is why, in the Implementing Decision, a different deadline is fixed for these items.

The activities as such must have taken place within the implementation period. Outstanding bills may be paid after this period, but must have been paid before the final report is due (six months after the end of the implementation period). Costs arising after the end of the implementation period cannot be co-funded by the EGF, with the exception of education or training courses the duration of which is two years or more, where the fees (but no ancillary costs) are also eligible until the date when the final report is due. For more information on this aspect, see Question 6.5.

Funding with relation to micro-credits is eligible but in practice limited. Examples include interest payments on micro credits incurred during the implementation period of the EGF, any advisory or legal fees needed, the cost of a business plan, etc. Given that all expenditure must be incurred during the implementation period (i.e. the loan would have to be both paid out and reimbursed before the end of this period), it is not practicable for the EGF to fund the loan as such. For the purposes of business creation or takeover, the EGF provides the possibility of a financial grant instead.

In order to exclude any risk of double financing from EU financial instruments (Article 9(5) of the EGF Regulation), micro-credits intended for start-up initiatives (business creation) which are to receive (co-)funding from the two EU sources would have to support totally separate aspects of the start-up initiative. Each case being different, it is highly recommended that Member States seek the advice of the Commission staff before they programme the use of micro-credits from more than one EU financial instrument.

No. Member States must present an integrated package of measures for the EGF and request EGF co-financing for the entire package. Any measures which they intend to fund themselves, should be described, but not included in the package presented for EGF support.

Yes. The EGF Regulation does not specify the components of the Member State contribution. However, the private funds, just like the public funds, may not include spending which is obligatory under national law or a collective agreement. Private co-funding is also subject to the same EGF audit and control requirements as public co-funding.

Yes, this is possible provided that certain principles are respected. While implementing the co-ordinated package of personalised services, Member States have the flexibility of re-allocating amounts between the various items of this package as set out in their application, provided that the total amount of the budget established by the approval procedure and laid down in the Implementing Decision is not exceeded. The Commission expects the Member State to inform it about such changes before the end of the implementation period, setting out the revised budget, with each re-allocation explained, particularly if such changes exceed a 20 % increase for one or more of the lines in the budget (as attached to the Implementing Decision).

Re-allocation can take place within the coordinated package of personalised services, or within the implementing activities (such as preparation, management, control etc.), and even across these two broad categories, provided that the re-allocation respects the principle of sound financial management and is in line with the principle of proportionality and the provisions of the Regulation. For further information on, please also read questions 7.2. and 7.4..

Member States must in their final reports provide a clear explanation of the reallocations made during the implementation period.

At the application stage, if necessary, this may be done soon after the submission of an application (such amendments may be included in the Member State’s response to the Commission’s request for additional information). After this period, it is no longer possible to introduce new measures, since the proposal for a Decision by the European Parliament and the Council will then have entered the process of adoption.

Following adoption of the proposal by the European Parliament and the Council, the Commission adopts its Implementing Decision, which is transmitted to the Member State. This Implementing Decision lays down the agreed measures with their respective budgets, the implementation period and the date when the final report is due.

During implementation, Article 16(5) of the Regulation provides that the Member State may submit a proposal to the Commission to amend the actions by adding other eligible actions, provided that such amendments are duly justified and the total does not exceed the financial contribution granted. The Commission will assess the proposal and, if it agrees, adopt and notify to the Member State an amendment to the Implementing Decision.

In accordance with Article 22 of the Regulation, the Member State will be asked to reimburse the unspent part of the pre-financing contribution awarded, as set out in the Statement Justifying the Expenditure submitted by the Member State with its final report. 

After having allowed the Member State to submit its comments, the Commission will adopt an Implementing Decision addressed to the Member State, setting out its calculations and requiring the Member State to reimburse the unspent EGF contribution, if any.

Yes, they can be – but only that portion of depreciation which occurs during the implementation phase of an EGF case is eligible for EGF co-funding.

Capital goods used as training devices for one or more EGF co-funded measure(s), such as laptops, video projectors or cameras, can be considered as equipment directly linked with the implementation of the action. Provided that the piece of equipment is written off in accordance with the national tax and accounting rules, the portion of the equipment’s depreciation corresponding to the duration of the EGF related use can be charged to the EGF accounts. Audit trails have to be clear and correctly documented.

Example: The purchase price of an item used as training device is 800 EUR and the depreciation period of this item according to national rules is four years (i.e. monthly depreciation: 800 EUR / 48 months = 16,7 EUR). In the event that the training device was used for one or more EGF training measure(s) during 20 months, then 16,7 EUR x 20 months = a total of 334 EUR can be charged to the EGF accounts.

An EGF application should be submitted via SFC2014, where there is an online application form. Please ask the EGF Contact Person for your Member State who in your country is entitled to fill in this form and who may validate it for submission to the Commission.

It is helpful to notify the Commission staff by email to the EGF mailbox [email protected], so that the case handler is informed that a new application has been formally submitted.

:  The latest date on which an application can be submitted (the “deadline date”) is calculated as follows (see Article 8(1) of the EGF Regulation):

• 4-month or 9-month reference period, within which the eligible redundancies occur,
• plus 12 weeks for the preparation of the application.

Applications submitted after that date are ineligible.

The 12-week period for preparing and submitting an application (Article 8(1) of the EGF Regulation) starts on the last day of the 4- or 9-month reference period and ends 12 weeks later on the same day of the week. Example: if the last day of the reference period is Thursday 6.10.2016, the last day for submitting the application is Thursday 29.12.2016.

The 4- or 9-month reference period (Article 4 of the EGF Regulation) is calculated from date to date – example: from 7.6.2016 to 7.10.2016. Exception: when the same date does not occur in the relevant month, for example: from 31.10.2016 to 28.02.2017 (instead of 31.02).

The 24-month implementation period from the date of application (Article 16(4) of the EGF Regulation) is again calculated according the ‘month rule’ – example: date of application 16.12.2016 – last day of implementation period 16.12.2018.

The same is true for the 6 months (Article 15(1) of the EGF Regulation) within which Member States are required to submit their final implementation reports – example: last day of implementation period 16.12.2018 means that the last day for submitting the report is 16.6.2019.

Exception: If the due date is a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, it is shifted to the next working day (i.e. the Monday following a week-end, or the day following a public holiday).

The above mentioned approach how to calculate the months and weeks is based on Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No. 1182/71 of the Council of 3 June 1971.

Yes, and in most cases it will need to do so. Following the submission of the application, the Commission has two weeks during which to ask follow-up questions on any issues which are not sufficiently clear in the application. The Member State then has six weeks to respond (Article 8(2) and (3) of the EGF Regulation). Following this deadline, the Commission assesses the application on the basis of the information at its disposal.

The six-week deadline for replies from the Member State can be extended by a further two weeks (Article 8(3) of the EGF Regulation) if the Member State sends a request to the Commission, explaining why the extra time is needed.

Once the Commission has received the responses from the Member State and the deadline for any further responses has passed, it assesses the application and prepares a proposal for a Decision by the European Parliament and the Council. This must be done within twelve weeks of the deadline for the Member State’s responses.

The normal timeline is therefore as follows:

4- or 9-month reference period for the Member State to count the redundancies 12 weeks for the Member State to prepare and submit an application  2 weeks for the Commission to seek any outstanding information  6 weeks for the Member State to provide the outstanding information 12 weeks for the Commission to prepare and adopt a proposal for a Decision

On rare occasions, this timeline may be extended:

• If the application is received by the Commission in a language which it needs to have translated, the timeline will begin to run only after the translation has been provided by the Commission’s Translation Services.
• If the Member State has duly justified difficulties responding to the Commission’s questions within the 6-week period, it may request a further 2 weeks to comply.
• If the Commission is exceptionally unable to complete its assessment within the 12-week period, it must explain in writing why this problem has arisen.

Once the Commission’s draft proposal has received the opinions of the various internal departments consulted, the Member State is asked to review its planned budget for a final time, in case any of the estimated figures have meanwhile changed. This is done immediately before the proposal is translated into all EU languages, ready for adoption.

The Commission assesses applications and proposes a Decision to mobilise the EGF to the Budgetary Authority (the European Parliament and the Council). The Budgetary Authority then has a month to approve the contents of the application and a concurrent six weeks to approve the relevant funding. Once the Budgetary Authority has adopted this decision, the Commission pays the financial contribution to the Member State in a single 100 % pre-financing payment, in principle within 15 working days. The whole process, from the submission of the application to the payment, therefore normally takes around 28 weeks, i.e. 7 months.

The Decision of the European Parliament and the Council is published in the Official Journal.

Yes. The Commission adopts a Decision awarding a financial contribution to the Member State (the Implementing Decision). This is a signed original, which is sent to the Permanent Representative in Brussels of the relevant Member State, and in that country’s language(s). The Implementing Decision refers to the deadlines for the implementation, the reporting and evaluation obligations, and reflects the estimated budget for the planned measures, as well as the estimated numbers of participants. The total budget in the Implementing Decision is normally paid to the Member State within 15 days of adoption of the mobilisation Decision by the European Parliament and the Council.

It is of utmost importance for the Member State to comply with all the conditions established in the Regulation and referred to in the Implementing Decision. The Member State should read it very carefully and, in case of any mistakes in the Implementing Decision, contact the Commission immediately to have them corrected.

Article 12(1) of the EGF Regulation lays down who should be informed, and also provides that the information should be visible. The Member State concerned has to provide the information about the EGF and the actions it co-funds, ensuring that the contribution from the EGF is visible and highlighted in the community. It is up to the Member State to choose among the communication actions possible those that are suitable in accordance with national particularities.

Creating a website is a good example of communication, as it combines in one tool all the information addressed to the workers concerned, to the social partners, the media and the general public. The Commission also encourages the use of existing EGF dissemination materials such posters, videos, leaflets, etc.

The Member State may decide to convene a conference, for instance towards the end of the EGF implementation period, raising awareness of the EGF and of the results of the measures. The scope of the conference could vary, from a local one to an international one, but in any case it should attract good coverage by the media.

The costs of the information activity and publicity material can be covered from the budget co-funded by the EGF as part of the administrative expenditure to implement EGF. Questions 7.2. to 7.4. provide further information about the relevant budget.

Putting up a sign, if all the workers use the same location, is essential, but more is expected, depending on the circumstances. The workers should, if possible, be individually informed. All information / literature / brochures / posters could for instance contain the EGF-related logo chosen by the Member State with some words to the effect that the EGF is co-funding. Mentioning the EGF on the relevant web site is important. Member State authorities should communicate with the press, ensure TV coverage, call meetings with the social partners, convene a conference, etc. The budget proposed for such activities should take account of these needs. Audit visits will check whether the EGF support has been well publicised, and how.

An EGF leaflet (in all official EU languages) and other communications materials are available from the EGF web site (publications).

Yes, this is possible and is welcomed by the Commission. A budget for the study must be included in the application, and it must be carried out before the final report is due and presented to the Commission as part of that report.

Management is the running of the programme, the overall supervision, laying down guidelines, making sure that the funds reach the right people and that the measures are carried out. Management reaches from the Ministry right down to the grass roots, where activities are taking place.

Control is checking whether all this is working properly, including the establishment of all necessary audit procedures and carrying out the required audit activities, again from the centre all the way to the grass roots.

Whilst it is for the Member States to decide how to manage the EGF, it may be convenient for them to make use of the Structural Funds managing authorities for this purpose. This is for a number of reasons:

• a Member State may not apply for EGF assistance frequently; therefore, setting up a separate structure may not be necessary;
• given that complementarity between the ESF and the EGF must be ensured by the Member State, it may be helpful for the Member State if the managing authority for the ESF is also responsible for the EGF or if a close relationship exists between the two;
• if the management and control system is a common one, the results of an ESF systems audit may be used for EGF purposes also.

Even if the ESF system is used, it would normally make sense to adapt the system to the (much simpler) needs of the EGF. Whatever system the Member State decides to use must be described in an EGF application when it is submitted.

Yes. But Member States should make sure that their auditing arrangements are appropriate and transparent. The Commission staff can advise upon request by the Member State.

The EGF Regulation provides for a mid-term evaluation which must be ready by 30 June 2017, to analyse the effectiveness and sustainability of the EGF results achieved, and an ex post evaluation by 31 December 2021, to measure the impact and added value of the Fund (see Article 20).

These evaluations are carried out by the Commission, with the assistance of external experts, in close co-operation with the Member States. To this end, the Member States are requested to provide the evaluators with the lists of workers helped by the EGF, prepared at the end of the 24-month implementation period, so that these workers can be contacted. In addition, the Member States will be contacted with queries or requests by the evaluators or be asked to comment on draft evaluation reports. Member State representatives may also be invited to participate in technical meetings organised by the Commission staff.

The final report (Article 18 of the EGF Regulation) needs to be sent to the Commission six months at the latest after the end of the implementation period. The deadline for submitting the final report is referred to in the Commission’s Implementing Decision.

Should Member States opt to close the package of personalised measures before the end of the 24-month from the date of application, this does not advance the date by which the final report is due.

Article 18 of the EGF Regulation provides that the final report should present detailed information on the implementation of the financial contribution. The final report must contain all the elements listed in Article 18 of the EGF Regulation and be approved by an official empowered to make such a report on behalf of the Member State. This could be the official who originally submitted the application or another official designated by the Member State authorities.

The final report should be presented online within the SFC2014 template and should be submitted at the latest by the date established by the EGF Regulation and referred to in the Implementing Decision of the EGF case.

As laid down in Article 18(1)(e) of the EGF Regulation, a “statement justifying the expenditure” is an integral part of the final report. Member States should use the model statement available as part of the final report template in SFC2014.

By validating the statement, the authority designated certifies that operations were implemented in accordance with the applicable European and national rules, with the provisions of the EGF Regulation and with the EGF Implementing Decision. The authority further certifies that all transactions related to the EGF contribution are lawful and that all expenditure included in the “statement of expenditure” table complies with the criteria for eligibility of expenditure set out in the EGF Regulation and has actually been paid.

The Implementing Decision specifies that, for the purposes of carrying out the ex-post evaluation of the EGF, the Member State concerned is to make available to the Commission all necessary information regarding the actions supported by the EGF and the beneficiaries of each action, in particular the employment status of the beneficiaries one year after submission of the final report, with a breakdown by sex and by category of worker.

In practical terms, Member States should maintain a database with the contact details of the beneficiaries who have been supported by the EGF (provided the beneficiaries have agreed to this), so that the evaluators can make contact with a sample of workers so as to obtain information about their labour market status one to two years after the end of the implementation period. If possible, this database should be up to date at the moment of the ex-post evaluation.

In addition, Article 21(5) of the EGF Regulation stipulates that Member States must keep all supporting documents regarding expenditure incurred, available for the Commission and the Court of Auditors, for a period of three years following the winding-up of a financial contribution received from the EGF. Member States may keep such documentation in electronic form.

When it has received the final report, the statement justifying the expenditure and the opinion of an independent audit bodyty the Commission adopts an Implementing Decision requiring the Member State to reimburse the unspent funding declared by the Member State in its statement justifying the expenditure.

It may also ask the Member State to provide further information on aspects which have remained unclear in the report and statement. Once in possession of all necessary information, the Commission winds up the financial contribution within six months. This is done by means of a formal letter (called the “winding-up letter”). The obligation to store all supporting documents is for a three-year period following the date of the winding-up letter.