Socialists and Democrats Euro MP will tonight in Strasbourg call on the European Commission for better management of EU funds in the light of the Dell case. Dell closed its plant in Ireland, laying off of 2,840 workers and suppliers, and moved production to Poland with the help of Polish government subsidies approved by the European Commission.

Said vice-president of the S&D group in charge of Employment and social Affairs, Stephen Hughes: « This is simply not acceptable. It is obvious that the Commission’s right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. « Dell cannot close a plant relying on EU funds to help the workers who lose their jobs, then reopen another in another member state with subsidies from public funds. The European Commission, which approved the aid should have handled the case better.  « We cannot accept this way of setting EU workers against one another. »

Said Parliament’s employment and social affairs committee chairwoman Pervenche Berès: « The European Parliament will tomorrow approve the release of 14.8 million euro from the European globalisation fund to help Dell’s Irish workers and suppliers find new jobs. These people must not be punished twice.

« The Dell case must never happen again. The Commission should be more careful in future.

« The EU recovery plan commits EU institutions to maintain jobs whenever possible; obviously, the Commission did very little to implement this policy in the Dell case », added Pervenche Berès.

Said Irish Euro MP Alan Kelly, who led a delegation of Dell workers to Strasbourg today: « Once the money is approved by the EU, we are half way there. It is up to the Irish government and the agencies to use every penny in a way that deals with the interests of the workers.

« They must get organised. The money must be used very, very quickly. We have made it clear to the Irish authorities that this fund is not to supplement any national employment programme that is already there to help the unemployed ».