EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 2.6.2017 COM(2017) 266 final Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund following an application from Spain – EGF/2017/001 ES/Castilla y León mining EN EN EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 1. The rules applicable to financial contributions from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) are laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (2014-2020) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1927/20061 (the ‘EGF Regulation’). 2. On 20 January 2017, Spain submitted an application EGF/2017/001 ES/Castilla y León mining for a financial contribution from the EGF, following redundancies2 in the economic sector classified under the NACE Revision 2 Division 5 (Mining of coal and lignite) in the NUTS level 2 region of Castilla y León (ES41) in Spain. 3. Following its 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. SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION EGF application EGF/2017/001 ES/Castilla y León mining Member State Spain Region(s) concerned (NUTS3 level 2) Castilla y León (ES41) Date of submission of the application 20 January 2017 Date of acknowledgement of receipt of the 20 January 2017 application Date of request for additional information 3 February 2017 Deadline for provision of the additional 17 March 2017 information Deadline for the completion of the assessment 9 June 2017 Intervention criterion Article 4(2) of the EGF Regulation Sector(s) of economic activity Division 5 (Mining of coal and (NACE Revision 2 Division)4 lignite) Number of enterprises concerned 5 Reference period nine months: 1 February 2016 - 1 November 2016 Total number of redundancies 339 Total number of eligible beneficiaries 339 1 OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 855. 2 Within the meaning of Article 3 of the EGF Regulation. 3 Commission Regulation (EU) No 1046/2012 of 8 November 2012 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) as regards the transmission of the time series for the new regional breakdown (OJ L 310, 9.11.2012, p. 34). 4 OJ L 393, 30.12.2006, p. 1. EN 2 EN Total number of targeted beneficiaries 339 Number of targeted young persons not in 125 employment, education or training (NEETs) Budget for personalised services (EUR) 1 603 940 Budget for implementing EGF5 (EUR) 66 500 Total budget (EUR) 1 670 440 EGF contribution (60 %) (EUR) 1 002 264 ASSESSMENT OF THE APPLICATION Procedure 4. Spain submitted application EGF/2017/001 ES/Castilla y León mining within 12 weeks of the date on which the intervention criteria set out in Article 4 of the EGF Regulation were met, on 20 January 2017. The Commission acknowledged receipt of the application on the same date, and requested additional information from Spain on 3 February 2017. Such additional information was provided within six weeks of the request. The deadline of 12 weeks of the receipt of the complete application within which the Commission should finalise its assessment of the application's compliance with the conditions for providing a financial contribution expires on 9 June 2017. Eligibility of the application Enterprises and beneficiaries concerned 5. The application relates to 339 workers made redundant in the economic sector classified under the NACE Revision 2 Division 5 (Mining of coal and lignite)6. The redundancies are located in the NUTS level 2 region of Castilla y León (ES41). Enterprises and number of dismissals within the reference period Hullera Vasco Leonesa S.A. (HVL) 227 Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo S.A. (CIDSA) 68 Hijos de Baldomero García S.A. 7 Minas del Bierzo Alto S.L. 8 Unión Minera del Norte S.A. (UMINSA) 29 Total no. of enterprises: 5 Total no. of dismissals: 339 Total no. of eligible workers: 339 Intervention criteria 6. Spain submitted the application under the intervention criteria of Article 4(2) derogating from the criteria of Article 4(1)(b) of the EGF Regulation, which requires at least 500 workers being made redundant over a reference period of nine months in enterprises operating in the same economic sector defined at NACE Revision 2 Division and located in one region or two contiguous regions defined at NUTS 2 level in a Member State. 7. The reference period of nine months for the application runs from 1 February 2016 to 1 November 2016. 5 In accordance with the fourth paragraph of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013. 6 This is the first application regarding redundancies in the mining of coal and lignite sector. EN 3 EN Calculation of redundancies and of cessation of activity 8. All the redundancies during the reference period have been calculated from the date of the de facto termination of the contract of employment or its expiry. Eligible beneficiaries 9. The total number of eligible beneficiaries is 339. Link between the redundancies and major structural changes in world trade patterns due to globalisation 10. In order to establish the link between the redundancies and major structural changes in world trade patterns due to globalisation, Spain argues that the European coal industry is increasingly suffering from competition from cheaper coals from non- European countries. 11. Coal production at EU level fell sharply over the period 2005-2015. In 2005, European coal production was 198,8 million toe7 while in 2015 it was 145,3 million toe. This represents a decline in production by 26,9 %. Coal production fell constlantly over the period 2005-2010 (-17,9 %), recovered in 2011 (+1,7 %) and it fell contstantly again between 2012-2015 (-14,4 %). In the same period the production of coal worldwide increased by 26,3 %; from 3 033,6 million toe in 2005 to 3 830,1 million toe in 2015. This resulted in a decline of the EU market share in coal production worldwide which fell from 6,6 % in 2005 to 3,8 % in 2015. Coal production worldwide (Million toe) 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 EU 198,8 193,2 187,0 178,9 167,9 165,6 Worldwide 3 033,6 3 188,5 3 326,7 3 436,0 3 435,3 3 627,6 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 EU 168,4 167,7 157,3 150,3 145,3 Worldwide 3 891,4 3 930,4 3 986,5 3 988,9 3 830,1 Source: BP Statistical review8 12. The coal market in Europe is characterized by increasing imports along with the decline in production. In 2010, imports surpassed production and since then EU coal production has been lower than imports. Furthermore over the period 2010-2014, imports increased by 16,5 % (from 230,9 million tonnes in 2010 to 268,9 million tonnes in 2014). 7 Tonne(s) of oil equivalent, abbreviated as toe, is a normalized unit of energy. By convention it is equivalent to the approximate amount of energy that can be extracted from one tonne of crude oil. It is a standardized unit, assigned a net calorific value of 41 868 kilojoules/kg and may be used to compare the energy from different sources. 8 www.bp.com EN 4 EN Coal imports in the EU and Spain, 2010-2014, (millions of tonnes) 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 EU 230,9 245,2 262,1 267,0 268,9 Spain 12,5 16,5 22 6 14,0 17,1 Source: Datacomex, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. Coal imports in the EU and Spain, 2010-2014, change over previous year (%) 2011 2012 2013 2014 EU 6,20 6,89 1,86 0,72 Spain 32,71 37,55 -38,57 21,94 13. The volume of imports of coal from non-EU countries grew as the price of coal decreased. The decline in prices was mainly due to the weakness of the world economy coupled with lower demand following the slowdown in industrial production in Asia (mainly China) and the oversupply in China resulting from the coal rush during the first decade of the century9. The currency of the main coal exporters10 depreciated versus the US dollar pushing prices further down. Thus, the selling price of coal in Europe fell from EUR 120/tonne (mid-2011) to EUR 50/tonne (2015)11. This fall in prices has turned unprofitable many of the EU coal mines and triggered its closure. 14. In Spain, both coal production and imports followed a trend similar to that of coal production and imports at EU level. However, both the downwards trend in production and the upwards trend in imports were sharper in Spain. During the period 2010-2015 Spanish coal production fell by 63,3 % (from 8,35 to 3,06 million tonnes). The decline in coal production in Castilla y León, the region concerned by the redundancies, was even sharper (86,27 %). In 2014 compared to 2010, coal imports into Spain increased by 36,76 % (i.e. 20 percentage points more than the increase in coal imports into the EU). 9 Investment in coal mining capacity during the five years plan 2006-2010 was 2,5 time higher than it has been throughout the entire history of PRC. 10 The top five coal exporters in the world are Indonesia, Australia, Russia, USA and Colombia. 11 Coal Medium-term Market Report 2015, OECD/IEA.