Parliament approves €7.5 million EU aid for Audi Brussels workers

The European Parliament has approved a financial contribution of EUR 7.5 million from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF) for the 3,414 workers displaced by the closure of the Audi plant in Brussels and of its suppliers. The approval came in a Parliament resolution of 11 February 2026, published on 12 August 2026 in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union under reference C/2026/3785.

The decision backs Belgium’s application EGF/2025/006 BE/Audi, submitted on 18 September 2025 and assessed by the European Commission, which finalised its evaluation on 9 January 2026. The resolution endorses the mobilisation of the Fund and approves the annexed decision, which corresponds to the final act Decision (EU) 2026/454. Parliament agreed with the Commission that Belgium is entitled to EUR 7,527,625, representing 85% of the total cost of EUR 8,856,030.

A closure after more than 70 years

The Audi plant shut down on 28 February 2025 after more than 70 years of operation, having produced a single model whose production was discontinued earlier than planned because of high production costs linked to the plant’s location. Parliament noted with regret that Audi ceased activities in Belgium despite remaining profitable, and that production is being moved to China and Mexico. MEPs described the closure as proof that the challenges facing European industry are structural rather than merely technological, with the lay-offs adding pressure on regions where bankruptcies have already raised unemployment, notably Brussels and Hainaut.

Beneficiaries and measures

The application covers displacements in the NACE Revision 2 division 29 sector (manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers) in the regions of Brussels-Capital (BE10), Oost-Vlaanderen (BE23) and Hainaut (BE32):

• 3,148 displacements within the reference period of 28 February to 28 June 2025: 2,580 workers whose activity ceased in Audi S.A./n.V. and its subsidiaries, and 568 workers in five suppliers and downstream producers;
• 266 further displacements before or after the reference period, with a causal link established to the plant closure.

Personalised services for the workers, agreed with trade unions and social partners, include:

• counselling, information and placement services;
• training, including IT skills;
• job day events;
• contributions to business start-ups;
• incentives for participation in job-search activities.

Funding and timeline

The total cost of EUR 8,856,030 comprises EUR 8,738,968 for personalised services and EUR 117,062 for preparatory, management, information, control and reporting activities. Belgium started providing services to beneficiaries on 17 February 2025, making expenditure eligible from that date until 24 months after the entry into force of the financing decision; administrative expenditure, incurred since 9 July 2024, is eligible until 31 months after that date. The contribution stays within the EGF’s annual ceiling of EUR 30 million (in 2018 prices).

Why it matters

The resolution stresses that the EGF is an instrument of solidarity and just transition: it supports workers after jobs are lost but cannot replace a proactive EU industrial policy. Parliament urged the Belgian authorities to repurpose the former factory site to create quality jobs, to guarantee the visibility of Union funding, and to evaluate how many workers are successfully reintegrated into the labour market.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union (EUR-Lex), C series, C/2026/3785, 12 August 2026, section I – Information and Notices (official reference: C/2026/3785; ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/3785/oj).