DUBROVNIK DECLARATION IS BASIS FOR TRANSFORMING 'COST' PROGRAMME

DUBROVNIK, May 27 (Hina) - Member-countries of the European Cooperation in the Field of Scientific and Technical Research (COST) on Tuesday adopted the Dubrovnik Declaration at a ministerial conference in this southern Croatian coastal town. The document is the basis for transforming the COST, the oldest European groundwork for scientific cooperation. #L# After the one-day ministerial conference, Croatian Science and Technology Minister Gvozden Flego informed reporters about the adoption of the declaration, which is in fact a document on including the COST programme into the European Science Foundation (ESF). The conference was organised by the science and technology ministry under the auspices of Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, who opened the meeting this morning. Some 50 representatives of 35 European countries, members of the COST, attended the conference. Among them were eight ministers of science, mostly from countries in transition and countries candidates for the EU. Present were also senior officials of the European Commission, the ESF, and members of a committee of senior officials -- national co- ordinators of the COST. They confirmed that the Dubrovnik Declaration would guarantee a better cooperation among governments and institutions in the field of science. Intensifying the cooperation will also provide EUR80 million granted to the COST programme by the European Commission for the period from 2002 through 2006, Flego said. (hina) lml sb