European Globalisation Adjustment Fund: Council agrees its position on support for people at risk of unemployment

On December 1, the Council agreed its position on a regulation that seeks to broaden the scope of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF), extending support to workers facing unemployment. The new rules would apply until the end of 2027, when the current EGF programme expires.

The purpose of the EGF is to show solidarity with workers and self-employed people who have lost their job due to company restructuring, helping them get back into employment.

Support measures that can benefit from EGF financing include active labour market policy measures geared towards equipping workers with the skills needed to move into a different role or find jobs, and may include training, certification of skills, job-search assistance or careers advice. At present, such support is reserved for people who have already been made redundant as a result of restructuring.

However, lay-offs caused by restructuring often occur in waves, meaning that people who are at risk of redundancy also need access to training support and would benefit from receiving it at an earlier stage, before they are dismissed.

Under the revised regulation, workers who are at imminent risk of losing their job as a result of company restructuring would also have access to support under the EGF, to reduce the rate of dismissals and help workers transition to new roles.

Council’s position

The Council has sought to clarify the scope of the revised regulation, ensuring workers at risk of imminent dismissal have access to support earlier on in the process.

The Council’s position also ensures sufficient safeguards, such as the possibility for member states to carry out ex-ante checks in relation to companies’ financial and administrative capacities. The Commission would then be required to take these checks into account when making a decision. Member states would also have the possibility to allocate pre-financing to companies in instalments.

Moreover, the Council has aimed to limit the administrative burden of the revised regulation by specifying that the Commission should produce non-binding guidance for both member states and companies.

Regarding the determination of the financial contribution, the Council has updated the Commission’s legislative proposal to establish an upper limit of four million euros per year for any given company. The aim is to reduce the risk of a single company depleting the EGF’s resources, ensuring that funding will be available across member states.

Next steps

Once the European Parliament has established its position, the two institutions will enter into negotiations to agree on the final text.

Background

On 1 April 2025, the Commission adopted a proposal to amend Regulation (EU) 2021/691 (the regulation on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers) as regards support to workers affected by imminent job displacement in enterprises undergoing restructuring.

The Commission first announced its intention to amend the EGF regulation in the Industrial Action Plan for the European Automotive sector, published on 5 March 2025 as part of the Commission’s actions to support industrial sectors such as automotive and steel in the context of economic disruptions and geopolitical challenges.

The revision was put forward alongside a proposal to amend the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), which is the EU’s main instrument for investing in people and supporting the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights. On 15 July 2025, the Council and the Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the revision of the ESF+ as part of the ongoing mid-term review of the EU’s cohesion policy.

More information: European Council