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Oil Spill identification - Round Robin 20045 
5. Future aspects 
5.1 The Bonnagreement expert group. 
According to the Bonnagreement meeting in September 2005: 
A forum of BONN experts on oil-spill identification should be created, 
with Dr Gerhard Dahlmann (Germany) as convenor. As recommended 
by the workshop, the forum should aim to provide mutual assistance in 
difficult cases, to promote quality assurance in oil-spill identification 
(especially through ring-tests, development of common reference 
materials (CRMs), and sample exchanges) and consider the possibility 
of a common database of oil sources. 
This forum/network of experts will be established in February 2006. 
Each BA member country will nominate a national representative. 
The future activities (e.g. Round Robins) will thus be conducted in the 
framework of the Bonn Agreement. 
Nevertheless, since oil spill identification is a very special area and 
scientists working in this field are rare, colleagues from outside the 
Bonn Agreement area are always very welcome to join the BA network. 
5.2 Countries cooperating in Bonn agreement. 
Agreement for cooperation in dealing with pollution of the North Sea 
by oil and other harmful substances, 1983, by the Governments of 
the Kingdom of Belgium, 
the Kingdom of Denmark, 
the French Republic, 
the Federal Republic of Germany, 
the Kingdom of the Netherlands, 
the Kingdom of Norway, 
the Kingdom of Sweden, 
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 
Fig. 20. 
Countries cooperating in 
Bonnagreement 
recognizing that pollution of the sea by oil and other harmful 
substances in the North Sea area may threaten the marine environment 
and the interests of coastal States.