The 51st General Assembly of Eurovent was held in Ljubljana (Slovenia), between 27 and 29 May 2009. The meetings of the Board of Directors, the Environmental Commission and the Executive Committee of the association were held on the 27th and 28th. Finally, on May 29th, the General Assembly was held.

What follows is a brief summary of some of these meetings and the decisions taken at them.

Board of Directors

On the 27th, behind closed doors, the Eurovent Board of Directors met to analyse the different issues and proposals that would later be presented for approval to the Executive Committee and the General Assembly. These proposals are included in the summaries of the corresponding meetings of the aforementioned bodies of the Association.

To this board of directors, elected in the General Assembly celebrated in Madrid the year 2007, that celebrated its last meeting, given that preceptively corresponds to renew its composition every two years, belonged as member of full right in representation of AFEC, Javier Fernández of Bordons, as well as Francisco Muñoz of Leyva, ex-president.

Environmental commission

The Secretary of the Commission, Philippe Callewaert, presented with the help of some transparencies the current state and the expected evolution of the different Directives that affect our sector, making special emphasis on the actions carried out by the Environmental Commission and the Eurovent Working Groups in the generation of collective documents, "Position Papers", that reflect the collective opinion of the European manufacturers.

A summary of this presentation is given below.

Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings (EEE).

Highlights of the recast text, approved at first reading by the European Parliament, with influence on our sector:

• Adoption of a methodology for calculating the energy performance of buildings at European level. (Not later than 31.03.2010).
• Adoption of a methodology of calculation at European level of the optimal cost level of minimum requirements for Energy Efficiency of Buildings. (Not later than 31.03.2010).
• Establishment by Member States of minimum energy efficiency requirements for buildings to achieve an optimal cost level. (Not later than 30.06.2015).
• Establishment of minimum energy efficiency requirements for technical systems, new, replacement or modernisation of buildings if technically and functionally possible.
• Establishment of the principle of "Net Zero Energy" in buildings from 2019.

Directives on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS)

Pending the recast text of the two Directives, the position of Eurovent regarding the definition of a common scope for both, as set out in the articles of the RuSP Directive, which is based on Article 95 of the European Union, is recalled.

Directive on Eco-design requirements for Energy-Using Products (EuP)

• Eurovent position on Lot 1 (boilers) and Lot 2. (Water Heaters)
• Request for inclusion of heat pumps.
• Questioning of the calculation procedure.
• Request for simplification of the calculation model and labelling information.
• Lot 6. (Energy losses in standby or off mode)
• Confirmation of the exclusion of heat pumps, air conditioners and ventilation as requested jointly by Eurovent and EPEE.
• Lot 10. (Air conditioners and comfort fans)
• Eurovent will prepare a position paper on the draft measures to be implemented and energy labelling to be analysed at the Consultation Forum on 22 June.
• Lot 11. (Electric motors up to 150 kW, water pumps, fans, etc.)
• The measures to be implemented regarding electric motors and water pumps have already been adopted by the European Commission and are pending analysis by the Parliament.
• The evaluation of the impact of the measures on fans is expected to be completed shortly.

Executive Committee

Optimization of Executive Committee and General Assembly meetings

In order to avoid repetition of the topics discussed at the above meetings, which are usually attended by the same persons representing the national associations that are members of Eurovent, it is agreed that the General Assembly will be held during the first half of the year and a meeting of the Executive Committee will be held in the second half.

The General Assembly shall be divided into two parts. The first part will be held behind closed doors with limited participation, while the second part will be open to guests from other associations and companies that are members of the national associations.

Contribution of national associations

The proposal is presented, which will later be submitted to the General Assembly for approval, that the contributions to Eurovent be established on the basis of the GDP of each country and be distributed among the associations, members of Eurovent, of each country. The consequences of this proposal in different scenarios and countries are discussed and analysed.

Election of the President and six Vice-Presidents

The Executive Committee agrees to submit to the Assembly for approval, the proposal of continuity of the current president, Lambert Bouwmeester, for one year, to give way to Carlo Grossi the following year. It is agreed to propose to the Assembly the election of the Vice-Presidents nominated by the different National Associations.

Appointment of auditors

The Executive Committee thanks Emmanuelle Briere, from the GFCC-Uniclima association, for the audit of the 2008 accounts and agrees to propose to the General Assembly her appointment as auditor for the 2009 accounts.

Election of the President of the CPPC. (Policy and Certification Programs Committee)

At the proposal of the Board of Directors, the nomination of Gian Carlo Sormani as President of the CPPC is approved and the incorporation of Anders Freyschuss as a full member of the committee is accepted.

General Assembly

The meeting of the 51st General Assembly of Eurovent began on 29 May with a brief speech by the President, Lambert Bouwmeester, which then led to the development of the agenda.

Within the same, the president of AHRI, Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute, Jim Walters, expressed his satisfaction with the fruitful collaboration between both associations, highlighting, among other issues developed in his speech, the growing importance of legislative action by governments and, consequently, the special attention that the industry must pay in its relationship with them.

Subsequently, Mr Bouwmeester outlined the most important actions carried out within the Association during the past year, to end up presenting the Executive Director, Joop Hoogkamer, who will take up his post in August 2009. This incorporation is one of the most important milestones in the development of the Business Plan.

Nomination of Eurovent representatives in Eurovent Certification Company

The list of members elected to the Eurovent Certification Company's Management Committee for the period 15 April 2009-15 April 2012 is as follows:

• Tomas Valencia (AFEC; Johnson Controls)
• Carlo Grossi (CO-AER; Climaveneta)
• Christian Herten (VDMA ALT; Gea)
• Laurent Legay (GFCC-UNICLIMA; Carrier)
• Göran Robertson (DANKS VENTILATION, FAMBSI, SWEDENT; Systemair) Elected as President.

Ex officio members of the Committee, they are in turn

• The President of Eurovent: Lambert Bouwmeester
• The Managing Director of Eurovent Certification Company: Jacques Benoist (until 30 June 2009), and Erick Melquiond (from 1 July 2009).

Following this, and once the Assembly had approved the Strategic Plan for Eurovent Certification, the income statement and balance sheet for 2008, and the action plan for the period 2010-2011, the amount of the contributions from the national associations was once again discussed.

Contribution of national associations

A fixed contribution of 4,000 Euros and a variable amount related to the country's GDP is adopted, to be distributed among the national associations, members of Eurovent, of each country. A maximum of 15% increase is established in the contribution of the national associations that, as a consequence of this new structure, will see their contribution increase.

Once this point had been approved and the 2010 budgets had been linked to it, the President and six Vice-Presidents for the 2010-2011 period were elected by secret ballot. The result of the election is shown in the attached table.

OWNER	POSITION	ASSOCIATION
Lambert BOUWMEESTER	President (2010)	NKI-VLA
Carlo GROSSI	President (2011)	COAER
Christian HERTEN	Vice-president (Certification)	VDMA ALT
Georg MAGER	Vice-president (Finances)	AGORIA
Didier DA COSTA	Vice-president (Marketing)	UNICLIMA
Alex RASMUSSEN	Vice-president (external relations)	DANSK. VENT
Javier FERNÁNDEZ DE BORDONS	Vice-president (Technical Commission)	AFEC
Carlo GROSSI	Vice-president (Environmental Comission)	COAER

Eurovent Board of Directors

The meeting ended with the scheduling of meetings of the Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Commissions, etc., for the coming year.

Within this programme, we would highlight the nomination of Bruges (Belgium) as the venue for the 52nd Eurovent Assembly, which will take place from 26th to 28th May 2010, and the designation, for the next ten years, of the countries in which successive general assemblies will be held.

According to this scheme the sequence is: Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, France, Finland, Spain, Turkey and Slovenia.