Minister Brouns asks VARIO for advice w.r.t. the opportunities and needs for the Flemish defence industry and innovation

The Flemish Minister for Innovation asked VARIO for advice w.r.t. the opportunities and needs for a broad Flemish defence industry and -innovation. “The geopolitical reality has changed drastically in recent years. At the same time, we saw an increase in the number of initiatives at federal, European and international level related to the security and defence industry and -innovation. These developments are also important for Flanders, given the interfaces and overlap of all this with Flemish (economic) interests and strengths”. The Minister therefore requests advice on the following elements:

1) An analysis of the (changing) policy frameworks in the Walloon Region, NATO, the European Union and its member states, the countries surrounding us.

2) The opportunities for and needs of Flemish industry and knowledge institutions in the security and defence arena.

3) A mapping of Flemish stakeholders with potential in Flemish security and defence initiatives and strategic sectors and/or domains.

It is the intention that in the next legislature, based on this advice, the necessary policy measures will be taken and policy frameworks will be developed to respond to the various initiatives, to elaborate a strategic vision that will increase Flanders' resilience and to further strengthen and profile Flanders' high-tech economy on the international stage.

The minister expects the advisory report by mid-October