[en] The introductory part discusses general aspects of fusion research such as the technological potentials and the main approaches, the physical research results achieved in the last decade, and physical and technical key problems, together with alternative plasma device design. The European research programme and activities are compared with what has been established so far in the USA, the USSR, and Japan. International cooperation in the field of thermonuclear reactor research is another aspect. The survey informs about the established programmes, the activities of West Germany, the capital expenditure for the European and the German programmes, about environmental aspects and safety engineering, and about the economic potentials. (GG)