Workers who have lost their jobs in Denmark's shipbuilding and wind turbine industries will benefit from funds granted by the European Commission.

A total of more than €20.4 million has been allocated through the European Union (EU) Globalisation Fund for redundant members of staff in the country.

The Danish government submitted two applications for assistance through the resource in order to help 1,775 individuals who have lost their jobs in the two industries.

Members of the European Parliament and the EU Budgetary Authority must now approve the grants, which will help people to identify new opportunities for work outside their respective sectors.

"The global financial crisis has transformed the future of shipbuilding with much of this industry moving to low-cost areas like Asia," EU commissioner for employment, social affairs and inclusion Laszlo Andor commented.

Last month, Denmark's prime minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen presented his fiscal austerity plans in a bid to reduce the country's spending and balance public finances by 2020.

Posted by Alex Donnell