WRITTEN QUESTION P-3770/02

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(16 December 2002)

Subject: Conversion of the arms industry

Before the reform of the Structural Funds, the Konver programme was implemented. It made funding available to the arms industry, if the latter so wished, to enable arms manufacturers to switch to civil production. Such conversion measures for the arms industry now form part of the normal budget for the Structural Funds.

How much money has been spent on assisting conversion measures in the arms industry in the past 15 years? Can the Commission indicate, for each Member State, how these funds have been used?

In the specific case of Belgium, can it indicate which companies or authorities have taken advantage of this assistance?

Has overall assistance with the conversion of the arms industry been evaluated, and can the Commission accordingly state how many jobs have been transferred from the arms industry to the civil sector?

Supplementary answergiven by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(11 March 2003)

The Konver Community Initiative was set up in 1993, carrying on from the Perifra I and II special measures adopted in 1991 and 1992. It was devised at the end of the Structural Funds' 1989-93 budget period, as

part of an annual programme linking with the 1994-99 period. This Community Initiative was initially allocated a budget of ECU 130 million. In 1994 it was decided to extend Konver. The budget of ECU 500 million allocated to this Initiative for the 1994-1999 period broke down as follows:

>TABLE>

Konver was designed to enable regions strongly dependent on the defence industry to speed up diversification of their economic activity. The programmes linked to this Initiative have not yet been financially closed.

Subject to the programmes' final closure, the following information relating to Belgium can nevertheless be passed on to the Honourable Member:

- During the 1994-1999 period, the Flemish Region benefited from a Konver programme concerning the administrative districts Brugge, Leuven, Hasselt, Turnhout and Tongeren. At the end of January 2003, a total of EUR 5 806 098,82 was committed under part-financing by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

- Most of the projects part-financed comprised renovating disused military land or buildings. Other projects related to converting industrial land or development sites. The Flanders Konver programme did not part-finance armament firms wishing to switch to non-military production.

- An initial Konver programme for Wallonia was approved in 1993. It gave rise to Structural Funds support of EUR 1 096 million. For the 1994-1999 period, EUR 6 119 million were part-financed in this context. About a hundred businesses were involved, mainly small and medium-sized enterprises. The Konver programme helped them to open up their markets to new areas of activity. The Commission estimates that 68 new jobs were created thanks to this Community assistance.

Lastly, the Commission would draw the Honourable Member's attention to the fact that conversion measures can also be provided for under the Structural Funds' operational programmes, since firms affected by the problems of switching away from the military sector are among those eligible for part-financing from the Structural Funds under the rules applicable.