This Regulation sets out the procedures to follow and the template to be used for conducting the beneficiary surveys referred to in Article 22 of Regulation (EU) 2021/691.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2696 of 4 December 2023 setting out the procedures to follow and the template to be used for conducting the beneficiary surveys of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2021/691 of the European Parliament and of the Council
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2696 of 4 December 2023 setting out the procedures to follow and the template to be used for conducting the beneficiary surveys of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2021/691 of the European Parliament and of the Council
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/691 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF) and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013(1), and in particular Article 22(6) thereof,
After consulting the Committee on the EGF established by Article 26 of Regulation (EU) 2021/691,
Whereas:
In order to ensure the monitoring of results and to facilitate evaluations of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF), Member States are required to support the Commission in conducting a beneficiary survey after the implementation of each financial contribution from the EGF pursuant to Article 22 of Regulation (EU) 2021/691.
To ensure the effectiveness of the use of surveys for evaluation purposes, it is necessary to lay down uniform provisions for conducting the surveys, and to establish a common template that enables the aggregation of data at Union level.
To ensure the efficient analysis of the surveys for monitoring and evaluation purposes, it is necessary to fully exploit the advantages of electronic tools for conducting the surveys, while preserving the security of exchanges and ensuring integrity, authenticity and confidentiality of information, in compliance with applicable data protection rules. Therefore the Commission should design an online tool for conducting the beneficiary surveys on EUSurvey, the online survey-management system of the Commission.
Member States should support the Commission by informing beneficiaries about the survey to be conducted and encouraging them to participate by sending out the invitation to take part and at least one reminder. As the Commission is managing the surveys, Member States should inform the Commission as soon as invitations or reminders are sent out. Member States should also encourage beneficiaries to keep their contact details updated until the launch of the survey, and extend help in accessing the online survey.
As the owner of the data, the Commission should use the quantitative and qualitative information collected for monitoring and evaluation purposes only.
The Member State concerned may request to receive the aggregate results of a survey for national monitoring and evaluation purposes. Should the Member State concerned wish to add questions that it deems useful for national monitoring or evaluation purposes, the Commission should be enabled to add these questions to the survey to be conducted, while ensuring the wholeness of the template,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1 Subject matter
Article 2 Procedures on conducting the beneficiary survey
1.
The Commission shall set up the survey on an online survey-management system, in the official language(s) of the Member State concerned, using the template referred to in Article 3. The link to the survey shall be sent to the Member State concerned not later than five months after the end of the implementation period of the relevant financial contribution.
2.
The Member State concerned shall launch the survey during the sixth month after the end of the implementation period in accordance with Article 22(4) of Regulation (EU) 2021/691 by sending out an invitation to participate in the survey to each beneficiary of European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF) assistance. From the date of the launch of the survey, the Commission shall keep the survey active for at least four weeks.
3.
The Member State concerned shall inform the Commission about possible holiday periods or other circumstances that might impact the participation rate. In this case, the survey may be scheduled for an extended period of up to eight weeks.
4.
The Member State concerned shall send a reminder to the beneficiaries one week before the scheduled end of the survey.
5.
In case of low participation rates, the Commission and the Member State concerned may agree on an extension of the survey period. If it is agreed to extend the survey period, the Member State concerned shall send out an additional reminder to the beneficiaries and shall indicate the duration of the extended period.
6.
The Member State concerned shall report to the Commission about the efforts made to encourage participation and inform the Commission as soon as the survey has been launched, and as soon as any reminder has been sent out.
7.
The Member State concerned shall make aware the beneficiaries of the future survey as soon as they seek assistance and request them to keep their contact details updated until the launch of the survey. Member States shall help beneficiaries in accessing the online survey-management system.
Article 3 Template for beneficiary surveys
1.
The beneficiary surveys referred to in Article 22 of Regulation (EU) 2021/691 shall be carried out using the template set out in the Annex.
2.
The Commission shall make the template available in all official Union languages.
3.
The Member State concerned may request to add questions to the template for national monitoring or evaluation purposes, as long as the template as such is not altered. The suggested additional questions have to be submitted to the Commission in the official language(s) of the Member State not later than two months after the end of the implementation period. The Commission decides whether to allow additional questions to be added.
Article 4 Use of the survey data
1.
The Commission shall be the owner of the data collected. The Commission shall use the quantitative and qualitative information collected for monitoring and evaluation purposes only.
2.
Upon request, the Commission shall make the aggregate results of a survey available to the Member State concerned for national monitoring and evaluation purposes.