On Monday, the Committee on Budgets approved Germany’s request for support from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF). MEPs acknowledged that the “COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine have reduced economic competitiveness and have a negative impact on economic growth in Germany”.

Following years of financial losses, a number of restructuring and downsizing measures and a dedicated recovery plan were launched in 2018. In 2021, Vallourec S.A. in France decided to sell its tube mills in Mülheim an der Ruhr, in the Ruhr area, and to move offshore production to Brazil. The sale failed, leading to the definitive closure of the sites and resulting in the remaining workforce losing their jobs by 1 January 2025.

National co-financing

The support is aimed at facilitating the reintegration of the affected workers into the labour market, acknowledging the structural shifts in the global steel industry and the local…