BPU
President Prof. Christos S. Zerefos Tel.: +30 31 998041 / 998156 Fax: +30 31 248602 E-mail: zerefos@ccf.auth.gr		Vice-President Prof. Matey Mateev Tel.: +359 2 622938 Fax: +359 2 9625276 E-mail: mateev@phys.uni-sofia.bg
Scientific Secretary Assoc. Prof. Efstathios Polychroniadis Τel.: (031) 998163 Fax: (031) 998019 E-mail: polychr@ccf.auth.gr		Executive Secretary Assis. Prof. Athanasios Lambros Τel.: 093/345612 Fax: (031) 248602 E-mail: lambros@kelifos.physics.auth.gr

Address: Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, Physics Dept., Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki, 540 06 Thessaloniki, Greece

ACTIVITIES UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF BPU 1997 - 2000

1. BPU created a website to which all interested scientists and bodies of BPU, or collaborating with BPU, are invited to submit their activities, calls for meetings, proposals etc. The site has also a long list of BPU members, kindly provided by the Romanian Colleagues. Updates and requests should be sent to the BPU President or Vice President.

2. BPU participated at the activities of UNESCO “Environment and Society” which led to the Thessaloniki declaration for the Environment in December 1997.

3. BPU organized the 1998 Balkaniad for the Environment. Awards have been presented by members of the Executive Council of BPU and by the Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization during three days of festivities in Thessaloniki in September 1998.

4. In 1998 a non-profit Union under the name: “Friends of BPU” has been proposed and legally established and registered in the Greek Court in 1999. All members of the executive council have signed and are founding members of this Society. The Society “Friends of BPU” is now a legal body and further actions are needed to provide funds for BPU activities.

5. EU and BPU co-organized in Halkidiki, in October 1998 an Advanced Study Institute which followed the earlier “Eastern Europe and Global Change”, The Institute was entitled “Photochemical Activity and Solar Ultraviolet Radiation”. The following scientists from Balkan and Eastern European Countries have obtained scholarships to attend the advanced study Institute:

1. Serafim Merkulov, 2. Tania Erukhymova, 3. Velibor Novakovic, 4. Georgiadou Elisavet, 7. Poupkou Anastasia, 8. Simeonidis Panagiotis. The call for scholarship was open and published in the EU official journal.

6. A follow-up Advanced Study Institute co-sponsored by WMO, EU and NATO took place in Crete in May 1999. The following scholarships were provided to scientists from the Balkan and Eastern European Countries countries:

1. Vargin Pawel, 2. Tarasova Oksana, 3. Peeva Doroteia (Bulgaria), 4. Sobolewski Piotr (Poland), 5. Lapeta Bozena (Poland), Dubrovsky Martin (Czetch Republic), Eren Tolga (Turkey), Kosecioglou Agh Ibrahim (Turkey).

7. BERDI / BPU with FOCUS and an EU panel of experts visited Serbia and estimated the environmental damages from the war in Kossovo - 3 reports have been published in the international literature. In the frame of BERDI/BPU activities a Bulgarian / Greek pilot project on transboundary pollution transport in the Balkan was executed in 1999/2000. A new proposal including partners from Romania, Bulgaria, FYR Macedonia, Albania and Turkey is underway. The results from the pilot studies have been published in GRL and the open scientific literature

8. Under the BPU frame of activities seminars and meetings have been organized in Turkey, Romania, Greece and the Balkan Physics Letters Continued.

9. BPU is organizing BPU-4 for details see appropriate entry kindly provided by the Bulgarian colleagues and Prof. M. Mateev.