Subject: Nissan's closure of its factories in Catalonia
Nissan has announced the closure of its industrial plants in Catalonia, leading to the loss of more than 3 000 direct jobs and 10 000 indirect jobs. This is a very significant shock for the Catalan economy as Nissan and its ecosystem employs 2.6 % of Catalan workers and accounts for 1.3 % of the region’s GDP. This closure is related to changes in the automotive sector, but was accelerated by the COVID- 19 crisis. Moreover, the Spanish Government recently cut 55 % of the funds for active labour policies allocated to the Catalan Government. State aid given to Nissan by other Member States may have also contributed to the closure.
As the Commission has acknowledged, it cannot wait until 2021 to take action, especially if an agreement to stop the closure through State aid is not found.
1. Does the Commission think that active labour policies for unemployed people are a basic tool to tackle this crisis and minimise long-term unemployment?
2. Does it believe that the EU’s Globalisation Adjustment Fund and instrument for temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) should be activated and that the Just Transition Fund should also apply to cases from 2020?
3. Will it investigate whether any State aid by another EU country has contributed to the closure?
Answer given by Mr Schmit on behalf of the European Commission
(6 August 2020)
Active labour market policies facilitate labour market integration and increase opportunities for job seekers. The Commission’s proposal for 2020 employment guidelines (1) encourages Member States to strengthen their effectiveness. The Council recommendations on Youth Guarantee (2) and long-term unemployed (3) provide guidance for specific groups. Dismissed workers may qualify for such measures under the European Social Fund (ESF) programmes (4).
The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund can be mobilised if a Member State submits a request (5) meeting the regulation (6) criteria and the European Parliament and the Council approve it. In 2020, Spain could request support from the European instrument for temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) (7) to finance short-time work schemes or similar measures. After 2020, pending the finalisation of interinstitutional negotiations, the Just Transition Fund (8) can complement the ESF+ for the transition to a climate neutral economy in those regions identified in the Just Transition Plans. The Commission proposed a Recovery and Resilience Facility to boost reforms and investments geared towards green, digital and social resilience with a view to creating jobs and sustainable growth.
The Commission verifies that state aid granted by Member States to companies carrying out economic activities does not unduly distort competition and trade between Member States. The aim is to avoid subsidy races between Member States. The Commission has not been notified of any individual state aid granted by a Member State to Nissan linked to the coronavirus outbreak and has no indications that Nissan’s decision-making on the future of its Catalan plants was influenced by state aid considerations.
⋅1∙ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1584545829001&uri=CELEX%3A52020PC0070
⋅2∙ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32013H0426(01)&from=EN , as updated by the Commission proposal
Bridge to Jobs — Reinforcing the Youth Guarantee and replacing Council Recommendation of 22 April 2013 on establishing a Youth Guarantee https://eur- lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1594047695309&uri=CELEX:52020DC0277 ⋅3∙ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32016H0220(01)&from=EN ⋅4∙ See website of the Spanish authority in charge of managing ESF, Unidad Administradora del Fondo Social Europeo (UAFSE):
http://www.mitramiss.gob.es/uafse/es/properativos/index.htm, and information on the regional ESF Operational Programme of Cataluña: https://serveiocupacio.gencat.cat/es/soc/el-servei-public-docupacio-de-catalunya_soc/el-fons-social-europeu-a- catalunya/periode-2014-2020/programa-operatiu-fse-catalunya-2014-2020/ ⋅5∙ EGF website under ‘How to Apply’ — https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=581&langId=en ⋅6∙ Regulation (EC) No 1309/2013, OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 855. ⋅7∙
Council Regulation (EU) 2020/672 of 19 May 2020.
⋅8∙ Just Transition Fund — Proposed Regulation COM(2020) 22 final of 14 January 2020.