THE EU’S flagship fund to help workers dismissed as a result of the recession has all but ground to a halt, failing to disburse any money for applications made in the past 11 months.

Plagued by poor design and sclerotic bureaucracy, only €140 million of the nearly €2 billion that could have been spent by the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund has been disbursed, Financial Times research has revealed.

Of the €140 million, €26 million has been returned to Brussels because projects were poorly designed or delays in payment meant intended recipients no longer qualified for the money.

The EU promotes the fund as its show of solidarity with workers who have lost their jobs. A brainchild of José Manuel Barroso, European Commission president, it was set up in 2007 to help redundant workers acquire skills or set up businesses.

It was amended in late 2008 to “fully exploit its potential” as part of the bloc’s crisis response but national bodies that have tried to tap the fund on behalf of redundant workers say it is impossible to get any money in a timely way.– (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010)