ECHAMP was founded as a European Economic Interest Group (EEIG) on 25 October 1999 in Brussels. There were 25 member companies present at that first foundation assembly, representing 10 of the then 15 EU Member States.

An extraordinary Membership Assembly was held immediately after the foundation, to vote on decisions necessary for the start-up: budget, membership fees, board members, president of the Board of management. Lucas W. von Hebel was elected as first president of ECHAMP.

Since that first event, ECHAMP’s membership has grown from 25 to 52 full members, homeopathic or anthroposophic pharmaceutical companies from 17 of the now 27 EU Member States in the Community. There are now also 12 corresponding members (practitioners’ and patients’ organisations) and 10 associated members (national manufacturers’ associations).

The next three Membership Assemblies were held in Brussels (2000, 2001 and 2002), each in April, followed by a second extraordinary Membership Assembly in July 2002 in Frankfurt-am-Main, at which changes to the constitution of the association were agreed.

In 2003, the fifth annual event was held in Amsterdam. By then, ECHAMP had 41 full members, 3 associated members and 6 corresponding members. For the first time, a social event was held, an Asian dinner on a boat touring the canals of Amsterdam.

Paris was the next destination in April 2004. For the first time, a workshop was held, to make an in-depth analysis of the revised pharmaceutical legislation in the EU, published in the OJ of the EU at about the same time. Also for the first time, a member from a CEEC country, Poland, joined ECHAMP. The participants enjoyed a socio-cultural evening event in Paris, a guided tour of the Louvre museum, focussing on herbs and flowers in the history of art, with a quick glance at the Mona Lisa, followed by dinner in the museum.

In 2005, the Membership Assembly was held in London. Max Daege was elected the second president of ECHAMP. For the first time, there were more than 50 participants from 14 different countries. New members from two further CEEC Member States joined – Bulgaria and Lithuania. The programme included our first speaker from a competent authority - Sue Harris from the UK Medicines Agency (MHRA), and Dr Peter Fisher from the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital (RLHH).  The workshop focussed on the particular concerns of the implementation of the EU-pharmaceutical legislation in the various Member States. In the evening, the participants were given a guided tour of London and a view of its skyline from the London Eye.

Since 2006 the annual Membership Assembly has been organised in the Member State holding the Presidency of the EU. In April 2006 this was Vienna in Austria, where the assembly was chaired by Gerhard Peithner. It was held under the high patronage of Mrs Rauch-Kallat, the Austrian Minister for Health and Women, who gave an enthusiastic welcome address in which she referred to her good experience with homeopathy. Prof. Robert Jütte, Director of the Institute for the History of Medicine at the Robert Bosch Foundation in Stuttgart gave an exciting lecture on the history and tradition of homeopathy in northern, central and eastern Europe, based on his recent publication on that subject. Three new full members joined from the Nordic countries Denmark, Finland and Norway, and one from France.  In Vienna there were workshops on regulatory developments, raising public awareness and scientific networking. In the evening, the participants were entertained for dinner in a typical Austrian ‘Heurigen’, just outside Vienna.

The ninth and most recent Membership Assembly was held in Bonn, Germany being in the presidency of the EU in the first half of 2007. It was chaired by Walter Witt. ECHAMP was honoured by the patronage of Mrs Ulla Schmidt, the German Minister of Health and Social Affairs. Special guests were Dr. Klaus Theo Schröder, the Secretary of State to the Minister of Health and Dr. Werner Knöss, Director of the Unit 5 (herbals, homeopathic and anthroposophic remedies) at the German Medicines Agency, the BfArM. Two workshops were on the programme: one to help develop 'an appropriate regulatory environment', the other to discuss communication with the authorities in the European Union and in the Member States. The number of full members rose to 52.

In Bonn, ECHAMP said farewell to its first president, Lucas von Hebel, who resigned from the Board of Management. A special farewell event included speeches from Prof. Konstantin Keller, Dr. Eberwein and Prof. F.H. Kemper, who spoke of Lucas’s significant achievements during his professional life. Max Daege talked of the considerable influence Lucas had had on the growth and development of ECHAMP. In the evening, guests had dinner on a boat with a trip on the Rhine.

2008 brings ECHAMP to Slovenia on 28 and 29 April for our tenth Membership Assembly, Slovenia currently holding the Presidency of the EU, and being the first CEEC Member State to introduce the euro. There will be almost 70 particpants and we hope that they will find useful information in the presentations and have interesting discussions during the workshops on the first day and that they will enjoy the programme, the contacts and the social evening event in this surrounding that is new for most of us, Bled, Slovenia. Patrick Sirdey will chair the Membership Assembly on the second day of ECHAMP’s stay in Slovenia.

Details of this next Membership Assembly and workshop will be reported in the next issue of ECHAMP News.