productivity, reduction of production costs and the ability to modify operations quickly are amongst the gains made when applying CIM technologies. The integration of automation islands and the application of information technology throughout manufacturing and engineering environments constitute key tasks for European industry. ESPRIT (European Strategic Programme for Research and Development in Information Technology) is a pre-competitive industry-oriented collaborative research and development programme in information technology. The programme is managed and co-funded by the European Community and is organised in close liaison with industry, national administ­ rations and the research Community. ESPRIT has the following three objectives: - To provide the European information technology industry with the basic technologies to meet the competitive requirements of the 1990s; - To promote European industrial cooperation in information technology; - To pave the way for standards. The CIM part of the ESPRIT programme addresses the application of information technology in industrial environments. CIM-Europe is an information and awareness activity of ESPRIT. Its aim is to consolidate and enhance the effects of ESPRIT CIM by disseminating information on progress and achievements in the programme. It stimulates interaction between project teams in CIM and other areas, encouraging the development and the application of CIM techniques to the benefit of European industry. CIM-Europe's main activities are meetings (Study Groups, Workshops and its Annual Conference) and publications (Notices and Proceedings) .

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