Weizmann Institute's Liaison Office to the European Union Opens

A festive event held in a medieval castle in Genval, near Brussels, marked the opening of the Weizmann Institute's Liaison Office to the European Union on December 19, 1995. The office, located in Brussels and headed by Dr. Nico Sprecher, acts to facilitate collaboration among the Weizmann Institute, European universities and research institutions and European industry. New opportunities for such collaboration have now been made possible through an agreement, signed on March 25, 1996, which fully associates Israel with European Union research and development and gives it a more favorable status than any other non-EU country in this regard.

The launching of the Liaison Office was attended by some 350 diplomats, scientists, media representatives and EU officials. It included a round-table discussion on the future of scientific research, with the participation of the Institute's President Prof. Haim Harari and three scientists who are on the Weizmann Board of Governors -- Prof. Hubert Curien, former French science minister and President of the Council at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN); Prof. Sir John Kendrew, former President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science and one of the founders of the European Molecular Biology Association; and Prof. Jozef Schell of the Max Planck Institute, a pioneer in the genetic engineering of plants. The keynote address was delivered by Mme Edith Cresson, former Prime Minister of France and currently a member of the European Commission with responsibility for science, research and technological development.