The VERA Board meeting on 7/8 May 2018 was to be the first with two potential new member countries: the Belgian Flanders and Switzerland. At the same time, it was the last one of its kind organised by the International VERA Secretariat to be hosted and financed by Germany. Therefore, the meeting venue of the German Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Berlin was selected.
The afternoon of 7 May 2018 was reserved for the existing group of VERA Board members to discuss some open questions regarding ongoing projects and verifications.
The second day consisted of an exchange on current VERA activities, the status of ETV and its potential options for VERA, as well as discussing the future strategy of VERA. During the day, the representatives of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment and the Belgian ILVO had the opportunity to get to know the work of the VERA Board first-hand as well as to learn more details regarding our collaboration and future targets. After the meeting, they intend to report on their experience and then decide on further steps. We will inform you when they have officially joined the VERA initiative.