The Balkan Physical Union (BPU)
The foundational meeting of the representatives of the Balkan physical professional organizations in Bucharest on the 11 and 12 of July 1986.
The meeting was initiated by Professor Ioan Ursu and called in his invitation to the participants from the other Balkan countries “A meeting of the Executive Board of the Balkan Physical Union”. On it Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Yugoslavia were represented. Turkey could not attend, because their representatives did not get in time an approval by their higher ranking institutions, but they informed the meeting that they will in principle support all the decisions taken there.
According to the preliminary agenda, the main objective of the meeting was to discuss and finally sign the Constitution of the Balkan Physical Union. Further a discussion of its functions and a program for its activities for the years 1987 -1988 was scheduled.
After a presentation of the participants, the discussion on the Union’s Constitution was opened on the basis of three previous documents:
- Project for a constitution proposed by Yugoslavia and Romania on a meeting in Pristina in 1985 (G1 – PYU-85);
- Project for a constitution proposed by Bulgaria in 1986 (G1 – BG – 86);
- Recommendations from Greece on the Project G1 – PYU-85 (G3 – GR-86).
A new version of the Constitution (document G6 –R – 87) created on the basis of the above propositions was submitted for discussion by the organizers of the meeting. The discussions on it went informally, but very benevolently and creatively on the content of the document and on the formulations of its statements. Almost all the participants took part in it. As a result the finalized draft was ready for signing.
After the discussion on the Constitution, prof. Uroshevich from Yugoslavia reminded the meeting that in 1985 in Pristina, a decision was taken that the BPU is to start its functions from the beginning of 1986 with a first chairman elected Professor Ursu. The delegations of Greece, Albania and Romania confirmed this decision. Bulgaria joint in, since it was not at the Pristina meeting. Nevertheless after a short discussion a decision was made that the mandate of Professor Ursu will start officially after this meeting from June 1987.
The official signing of the agreed Constitution was on the 12-th of June 1987. On the proposition of prof. Ursu as a Secretary General of the BPU was elected prof. I. A. Dorobancu from Romania. For a vice president from Romanian side was proposed prof. M. Ivashku. The other Balkan countries were supposed to present their proposed vice presidents in the nearest future. The symbol of the Union was also accepted.
With this the meeting was closed by Professor Ursu. He thanked the participants for the well-intentioned and fruitful work of the delegates from all countries, for the trust given to him as a chairman and promised to prepare and present shortly for discussion to the other member unions the program for the future activities of the BPU and the meetings of the managing board, a project for some publishing actions and a plan for the organization of a congress of the Union.
Comments from the Bulgarian delegation on the Constitution of the BPU from 1987
A comparison of the documents on which the 1987 Constitution was based and its final version shows that under the recommendations from the Bulgarian side the final version contained a lot of changes, which improved it substantially. In particular the following posts should be noted:
- The problem of individual membership in the union was discussed and led to a decision that BPU is Union of the National Organizations, which was reflected and contained up till now in Articles 1. and 2. of the Constitution.
- The Executive Committee was composed by the president, 6 vice presidents from each member country and the scientific secretary. In the present version there is only one vice president and there is a position of an executive secretary.
- In Article 4. the structure of the highest forum of BPU – the BPU Council is defined as composed of three representatives from each country member. For a stability in the Council it was recommended without written condition that these representatives must be the same for one whole mandate of 3 years. If the National Union wants to change one of its representatives, the Council must be immediately informed for the change.
- The publication of a scientific organ of the Union was discussed a lot with a enthusiastic support from all the participating members, but a particular decision was not taken yet. In the present Constitution this matter is treated in Article 8.
- The problem of the financial support of the Union was not discussed at this meeting and not particular propositions in this respect were made. These issues are now treated in Article 9.
Although this first draft of the Constitution was not complete and many problems were left open this was an important document of the BPU, which opened the way to its organization and functioning for reaching the common aims of the Balkan Physical Unions, defined in Article 1. of the present Constitution.
