Policy Statement By The Bureau (12 August 1999)
The Bureau is aware of the concerns expressed by a number of members
of IUPAC bodies regarding continuity in scientific activities with
implementation of the two actions requested of Council in Agenda
Items 16 and 17.
The Bureau wishes to emphasize that it is not the intention of
the changes that it has proposed to discontinue nor even to interrupt
those activities, such as the collection and critical assessment
of useful data, the work on atomic weights and isotopic abundances
and on chemical nomenclature, on which the international reputation
of the Union has been established. The proposed changes will provide
more flexible and effective structures within which these activities
will continue. The two-year interval until 2001 is intended to give
adequate time for all our activities to be reviewed and for the
putting in place of the most appropriate structures, including some
new Commissions, to carry forward the work of the Union.