Following a vote in the European Parliament's Budget committee today which saw MEPs vote in favour of a EUR 2 305 357 aid package to workers from Brandenburg, GUE/NGL MEP Jürgen Klute has said that this EU support does not go far enough and that adequate regulation is necessary to deal with unemployment in the long-term.

The request for help was made to the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) following the loss of more than 959 jobs at the enterprise First Solar manufacturing between November 2012 and April 2013.

The sudden collapse in prices and the decline in worldwide demand caused First Solar manufacturing to re-evaluate its investments in Germany. In July 2012 they decided to stop any further expansion and close its two plants.

“The closure of First Solar manufacturing has led to a 4% increase in unemployment in the region,” commented Klute. “Brandenburg is already suffering from an above-average unemployment rate of 11.3% compared to the national average of 7.4 %. The EGF grant only scratches the surface of Brandenburg's unemployment problem.”

He continued: “It is time we had an adequate regulatory framework at the EU level that aimed to secure the social responsibility and accountability of multinational companies operating in the EU.”