general As a result of conflicts between national interests there was again little progress
in the field of European integration during the year under review.
For the brewing industry this meant that the harmonization of national systems
of legislation for beer was postponed indefinitely. We greatly regret this, because
consequently the unsatisfactory situation continues to exist that in the intra-
community trade in beer different national systems of legislation for beer have
to be taken into account.
Harmonization of the various regulations regarding beer will now presumably
take place within the framework of directives which will affect a large number
of products (so-called horizontal directives). We are afraid that in this system it
will be difficult to take account of the specific problems for each individual
product, in our case beer.
In this context it is gratifying that the work on the preparation of a European
directive concerning soft drinks is being continued, although the progress
made in the past year must be described as very modest.
During the year under review a pilot maltwork was added to the pilot brewery
at Zoeterwoude. This apparatus makes it possible, inter alia, to investigate new
varieties of brewing barley on a small scale.
In view of the international field of activity of our Group, Heineken Finance N.V.,
established in Curacao, has been set up.
This company, with an issued share capital of N.fl. 80 million, will look after
the central financing of the companies of the Heineken Group. The raising of
funds on the international capital market is also one of its objectives.
At the end of May 1977, for the first time since its foundation in 1947, the
biannual international congress of the European Brewery Convention - an
association established at Rotterdam which has the object of promoting co
operation in the field of the brewing and malting industry - was held in the
Netherlands.
Some 1200 congress members were our guests in our breweries.
The sudden death of Mr. R. van Marwijk Kooy on April 21, 1977, was a great
shock to us. He had been a member of our Board since the merger with Amstel
Brouwerij N.V. in 1968.
Mr. Van Marwijk Kooy was a personality who performed his wide range of
duties with keen insight and great perseverance. He accomplished a great deal
not only in the technical field, but also in the social sector.
His activities in the latter field were not only within the enterprise, where
amongst other things he was chairman of the Central Staff Council, but also
outside it.
We are grateful to him for everything that he did.
In him we have lost a good colleague and a faithful friend.
We should like to associate ourselves with the gratitude expressed by the Super
visory Council to its retiring members, Mr. C. R. C. Wijckerheld Bisdom and
Mr. P. Plantenga.
We have always had a very good understanding with both of them.
Their contributions were of great value to us in determining Group policy.
social developments Anyone considering the developments with regard to the place of the enterprise
in society in a number of West European countries cannot avoid the impression
that factors of (power) politics often play a more decisive role in that connection
than purely economic principles.
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