on reductions in arms spending and troop withdrawals, and the impact of these developments on employment in the hardest hit regions of the Community

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission's answer to the oral question on this subject,

- having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mr Vittinghoff on the reconversion of the arms industry and military bases (B3- 1146/90),

- having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mr Köhler on the conversion of military sites in the European Community (B3- 0518/91)

- having regard to Article 19 (Review clause) of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2052/88 of 24 June 1988 on the tasks of the Structural Funds and their effectiveness,

A. having regard to the PERIFRA Programme adopted by it initially for the 1991 financial year (budget heading B2-61), under which the impact of disarmament measures was acknowledged as a subject of Community interest,

B. in the expectation that the PERIFRA Programme will shortly be extended into the 1992 financial year to allow time for the basic arrangements referred to below to be established,

C. whereas for the conversion of regions that have been hard hit as a result of disarmament measures the same criteria should be applied in practice as are laid down for regions seriously affected by industrial decline within the meaning of Objective No. 2 of the Regulation.

1. Notes that the abrupt end to the Cold War and the latest international disarmament agreements are associated with significant reductions in armaments expenditure in real terms in Community Member States; welcomes this development unreservedly (SIPRI has established that there was a reduction of 5% worldwide in 1990);

2. Draws attention to the danger that branches of industry dependent on armaments production may seek to compensate for cuts in national supply contracts by unleashing an export offensive;

3. Calls consequently on the Council and the Commission, in the context of the review of Regulation (EEC) No. 2052/88 pursuant to Article 19 thereof:

(a) to complete Article 1(2) as follows:

converting the regions, frontier regions or parts of regions (including employment areas and urban communities) seriously affected by industrial decline, or by the removal of military bases and troop reductions consequent upon disarmament measures ('Objective 2');

(b) to amend Article 9 accordingly;

4. Points out however that in the category of Member State industries dependent on arms contracts, product conversion measures and production cutbacks are under way that could result in as many as half a million redundancies in coming years;

5. Points out that high-tech production and research capabilities that could be an asset to production for civilian use are likely to be especially hard hit by these cutbacks;

6. Stresses in particular that a large part of the anticipated job losses will be concentrated in those regions of the Community that already suffer from above average rates of unemployment and emphasizes the complexity of the arms production industry in the Community, which employs 1.1% of the total workforce; draws attention in particular to:

- the concentration of large firms in particular regions;

- their extreme specialization, particularly in the field of low- technology conventional arms production;

- the differences not just between the large producer countries on the one hand and the smaller ones on the other, but also between those which produce advanced- technology weapons and those which mainly have large firms producing conventional weapons.

7.Points out that these redundancies are a consequence not only of the most recent military and political developments but that such developments as concentration of European markets, a relaxation of 'dual use' public sector procurement procedures, increased capital intensiveness, and concentration on selected high- tech programmes also come into play;

8. Recalls the role of armaments contracts in stabilizing residual Community shipbuilding capacity hitherto; asks for substantial support within the structural funds for regions in which firms involved in the production of low- technology conventional armaments are concentrated (shipbuilding, heavy arms production etc.);

9. Concludes that a new employment crisis threatens to arise in this sector that will be comparable in its scope to the steel and shipbuilding crises of the past;

10. Considers it urgently necessary for the Community to begin immediately to grapple with this newly emerging regional structural crisis and to make special preparations to deal with it;

11 .Calls on the two sides of industry to come up with suggestions as to how those threatened with the loss of their jobs as a result of troop withdrawals can be made eligible for social assistance, and expects the Commission to provide appropriations for the retraining and further education of those affected;

12. Recommends that the Commission make increased efforts to have Article 233 of the EEC Treaty abolished, so as to extend to arms, munitions and military equipment the rules on transparency and competition applied to other products;

13. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission.