[en] 1977 marked the beginning of a new multiannual research programme for the European Commission's Joint research Centre. Regarding the exploitation of HFR (High Flux Reactor), the year was one of steady, on-schedule operation with high utilization, although this fell off slightly in the autumn due to overloading of our capsule project engineering team and manufacturing services. We are pleased to note that the HFR Users' Meeting, held in October, drew about 100 participants from Europe and America and demonstrated a lively interest in the Commission's materials testing reactor. Technical improvements to the plant are being examined as one means of maintaining or even increasing this interest in the 1980's. Following the wishes of the Council of Ministers, new Advisory Committees for Programme Management have been set up for all the Joint Research Centre's activities and those for HFR and High Temperature Materials Programmes have met at Petten. This latter Committee is entirely new to its task, the programme having been served until 1977 by a number of ad hoc meetings of national experts. The work of the Organic Chemistry Laboratory falls under the wings of the Community Reference Bureau Advisory Committee, who have met in Brussels and strongly encouraged the development of the activity