Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers: application EGF/2025/004 BE/Tupperware - Belgium

C.whereas the application is based on the intervention criteria of Article 4(2), point (a), of the EGF Regulation, which requires the cessation of activity of at least 200 displaced workers or self-employed persons over a reference period of four months in an enterprise in a Member State;

D.whereas Tupperware filed for bankruptcy on 17 February 2025; whereas in Belgium bankruptcies are on the rise since 2022;

E.whereas Belgium indicated that VDAB is providing the national pre-financing and co-funding of the measures;

F.whereas the requirements laid down in Union and national legislation concerning collective redundancies have been met;

G.whereas financial contributions from the EGF should be primarily directed at active labour market policy measures and personalised services that aim to reintegrate beneficiaries rapidly into decent and sustainable employment, while preparing them for a greener and more digital European economy;

H.whereas the EGF shall not exceed a maximum annual amount of EUR 30 million (in 2018 prices);

1.Agrees with the Commission that the conditions set out in the EGF Regulation and in particular in Article 4(2), point (a), thereof are met and that Belgium is entitled to a financial contribution of EUR 1 622 650 under that Regulation, which represents 85 % of the total cost of EUR 1 909 000, comprising expenditure for personalised services of EUR 1 843 500 and expenditure for preparatory, management, information and publicity, control and reporting activities of EUR 65 500;

2.Notes that the Belgian authorities submitted the application on 28 August 2025, and that, following the receipt of additional information by Belgium, the Commission finalised its assessment on 20 January 2026, almost five months later, and notified it to Parliament on the same day; stresses the importance of shortening the time between the submission of an application for EGF assistance and the financing decision, while fully safeguarding the rights of the European Parliament as one arm of the budgetary authority;

3.Notes that the application relates to 267 targeted beneficiaries made redundant in Tupperware;

4.Notes that Tupperware was located in Aalst in the Province of East Flanders where only one in two people were employed, compared to two in three on average across the Flanders region, already before Tupperware’s bankruptcy; regrets that these redundancies will further aggravate the situation; stresses that swift action is needed to prevent structural regional decline;

5.Deplores that the American parent corporation Tupperware Brands was taken over by creditors in October 2024 and, due to a significant restructuring, revoked the manufacturing and licences granted to Tupperware General Services NV, rendering the Belgian subsidiary financially inviable and leading to its bankruptcy on 17 February 2025;

6.Welcomes the initiative by a group of European entrepreneurs aiming to revive the brand in Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, and Poland;

7.Emphasises that in Flanders unemployment risk is more than double for people with a low level of education; notes that one third of the displaced workers have no more than a lower secondary education level; calls on Belgian authorities to provide specific support tailored to these profiles to help workers overcome their shortcomings and find new jobs, while taking measures to reduce bankruptcies and address social disparities leading to exclusion of work force;

8.Recalls that, in agreement with trade unions, experts and social partners, personalised services to be provided to the workers consist of the following measures: information sessions for reintegration into employment, outplacement services, including ICT training; assistance in finding a job through guidance and job-search assistance, training and retraining, job fair, job-scouting and job-matching; emphasises the importance of fostering high-quality, future-oriented jobs to ensure long-term economic and social resilience; calls on for Belgian authorities to establish a dialogue with the new European Tupperware representatives to explore possibilities for reintegration of displaced workers in their economic activities;

9.Emphasises that the qualifications and skills of the laid-off workers remain key to a future-proof European economy; considers therefore that the mobilisation of the EGF needs to be embedded in a larger policy response on all political levels to ensure that the workers affected find adequate opportunities in line with their qualifications and skills; recalls further that the EGF is an instrument of solidarity and just transition and that the Union’s primary task must be to prevent such closures in the first place; considers that, while the EGF provides necessary support to affected workers, a stronger industrial policy, a more robust, sustainable and resilient economy, and the diminution of strategic dependencies are essential to safeguard the European industrial employment base;

10.Stresses that the Belgian authorities shall ensure the visibility of the Union funding and highlight its added value by providing effective and targeted information to beneficiaries, regional and local authorities, social partners, and the wider public;

11.Calls for thorough final evaluations of the measures implemented, including clear information on how the funds have been used and whether they were spent in line with the approved plans; stresses that such evaluations should be based on clearly defined objectives and measurable results, allowing an assessment of the outcomes delivered for the workers concerned; underlines the importance of ensuring faster and more effective interventions and recalls, in this context, the need to explore ways to ensure the sustainability of the EGF, or its successor programme, in the framework of the next Multiannual Financial Framework 2028–2034;

12.Notes that Belgium started providing personalised services to the targeted beneficiaries on 17 February 2025 and that the period of eligibility for a financial contribution from the EGF will therefore be from that date until 24 months after the date of the entry into force of the financing decision;

13.Notes that Belgium started incurring administrative expenditure to implement the EGF on 17 February 2025 and that such expenditure shall therefore be eligible for a financial contribution from the EGF from that date until 31 months after the date of the entry into force of the financing decision;

14.Notes that the Belgian authorities provided assurance that the principles of equality of treatment and non-discrimination will be respected in the access to the proposed actions and their implementation, and that any double financing will be prevented;

15.Reiterates that assistance from the EGF must not replace actions that are the responsibility of companies, by virtue of national law or collective agreements;

16.Approves the decision annexed to this resolution;

17.Instructs its President to sign the decision with the President of the Council and arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;

18.Instructs its President to forward this resolution, including its annex, to the Council and the Commission.