Negotiations in Frankenthal. The first stages have been completed in the conversion of BASF Aktiengesellschaft to a European company (SE). In June, Robert Oswald, Chairman of the Group Work Council and of the current BASF Euro Dialogue, was elected head of the Special Negotiating Committee (known as the BVG) by 29 employee representatives from 22 European countries at the BVG’s constitutive session. Negotiations on the actual content of the participation agreement were then launched on September 6. A twelve-person BVG commission is holding negotiations with company representatives. The photo shows members of the negotiating commission from Belgium, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Poland and Spain, as well as a representative of the executive management. Simultaneous interpreters are providing communications support. The actual details of the lengthy closed-door negotiations with the company’s executive management are to remain confidential until the final round. Head negotiator and BASF Personnel Director Hans-Carsten Hansen and BVG Chairman Robert Oswald have resolved to conclude the negotiations by November. This will leave sufficient time to make all the necessary preparations in time for the SE conversion in 2008. The results of these negotiations are not only necessary for the next steps in converting BASF AG to an SE; they will also set a standard for other companies undergoing the same process.