Membership Fees: The 2003 EPF membership fee was due in January. The following nations have not yet paid: Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Georgia, Great Britain, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Yugoslavia. The fee is €250 and the fine for late payment is €10 per month overdue.

Combined European Powerlifting Championships: National Federations are invited to submit bids to host the combined 2006 Men's and Women's European Powerlifting Championships. Bids have already been received from the Czech Republic and Finland.

The Hirner Case: The Hirner doping case, which dates back to 2000, has yet to be resolved. The EPF suspended Arthur Hirner (GER) for two years after he tested positive at the 2000 European Masters Bench Press Championships. Hirner disputes the EPF suspension and a Munich court has ruled that his case must be referred to the Norwegian judiciary.

EPF Treasurer: Heiner Köberich has decided to relinquish his position as EPF Treasurer. He feels that by giving up the office of Treasurer, he will be able to concentrate on his role as EPF General Secretary. In addition, the Hirner case lawyer advised that it weakens the EPF's legal position if both the Treasurer and General Secretary posts are held by the same person.

Questionnaire: Only eighteen nations have returned the questionnaire, which was sent out in November. The General Secretary requests that those national federations who have not yet completed their questionnaires do so as soon as possible.

Note: The original version of this newsletter is available for download as a Word document.