The October FEANI General Assembly in The Hague provided an opportunity to strengthen links within Europe and reinforce the standing of Engineering Council registrants.

The FEANI Board reported that it has made a surplus for the past two years and will do so again in 2010, resulting in the organisation having a balance of one year's operating cost - a welcome change to the position ten years ago when Philippe Wauters, the current Secretary General took over. Not only has the financial position improved, but also the visibility of FEANI, especially with the European institutions, eg Commission, Parliament. This is due in large part to the contribution from Philippe Wauters, so his retirement in October 2010 will be a challenge and the Executive Board, on which UK has a member, is currently seeking a suitable successor.

Another welcome change over the past ten years is that national members, who had previously viewed FEANI as interfering in their activities, have come to realise that collaborative action orchestrated by FEANI has produced results which individual initiatives would not have managed. This was confirmed by a workshop on the future of FEANI held as part of the business meetings. The consensus was that national members wanted FEANI to do more - not less. Good preparation by Engineering Council staff and volunteers ensured that our contributions to debate were sound and well articulated.  With Engineering Council representatives on the Board and on committees, the UK is well placed to guide the future direction of FEANI.