§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what progress has been made on the distribution of Konver funds.
§ Mr. EggarKonver I grants worth £17.9 million were allocated in 1993 to projects across the country. The introduction of Konver II, intended to cover the period 1994 to 1997, has, however, been delayed throughout the EU.
On 1 July 1994 the European Commission published a notice on Konver II asking member states to send by 1 August lists of areas eligible according to stated job loss criteria; it would then issue a list for the whole EU by 1 October. The Government and other member states duly sent their lists; but the Commission, finding them too long, decided to modify the criteria. I wrote to Commissioner Millan complaining about this procedure on 21 November.
Eventually, on 21 December, the Commission drew up a "provisional" list of eligible areas and invited member states to propose additional ones. A revised provisional list is expected to be published in the Official Journal shortly.
Also on 21 December, the Commission announced that the United Kingdom would receive £79 million from Konver II.
Member states' programmes for the use of Konver II, including their proposals for additional areas, are now to be sent to the Commission by 1 March. The first applications cannot be considered until programmes have been agreed with the Commission, probably in the summer of 1995. Allocations and payments will follow thereafter.