THE European Commission was accused of trying to take over the role of national governments in providing social security after it presented a £340 million plan to give benefits to workers who face redundancy because of globalisation.

The European Globalisation Fund will give an average of £6,000 each to around 50,000 workers a year who lose their jobs because of competition, particularly from China and India.

The Commission proposed the fund as part of a campaign to win back the hearts of European voters, particularly in France, after the shock of losing two referendums last year on the European Constitution. “We want to show the European Union cares,” said José Manuel Barroso, the Commission president.

“It is nice for national politicians to say ‘we care and the European Union doesn’t care . . . they just speak about liberalisation and they don’t think about social responsibilities.’ We think it’s very important to show that we in the EU care.”

Rather than supporting failing companies, the money will be given direct to workers.

In addition “in-work supplements” will be paid to those who face redundancy and go into training or who are over 50 and face particular problems getting back into the labour market.

Vladimir Spidla, the Employment affairs commissioner, said: “This fund is about people. As the EU takes external trade decisions, it is logical that it takes responsibility . . . to ensure workers who lose their jobs due to such trade changes are neither forgotten nor ignored.”

Senhor Barroso said: “No member state, not even the biggest ones, can respond to globalisation on their own. It is a kind of European insurance policy.”

The fund is firmly supported by Britain and France, with one British official saying: “This is what the EU is for, clubbing together to help each other.”

But it has caused widespread concern among other EU governments and members of the European Parliament.

Syed Kamall, Conservative MEP for London, said: “The European Commission’s goals may be honourable but this fund will compete with national social security programmes.

“The Commission is saying that it knows better than elected governments how to spend taxpayers’ money on social security.

“The Commission would be better off handing the cash back to national governments, who can be held accountable for their spending.”

One sceptical EU diplomat said: “We wonder about the added value of doing this at the European level, and about whether it would mitigate the effects of globalisation in any way.”