About ESSL

The statutory purpose of the ESSL is

• to advance meteorology and related sciences in the field of research on severe convective storms and extreme weather events on a European level;
• to operate and extend the European Severe Weather Database, ESWD (essl.org/ESWD/ alternatively eswd.eu), and
• to support or organise the European Conferences on Severe Storms, ECSS (essl.org/ECSS/ alternatively ecss.eu).

Note that neither forecasting nor warnings of severe storms are among the statutory purposes of the ESSL, as these are core activities of the European national meteorological and hydrological services (NMHS).

The ESSL started as an informal network of European scientists in 2002. On 28 September 2006, the ESSL was formally founded as an association, acquiring full legal status on 8 December 2006 following entry to the register of associations. Non-profit status was granted on 21 December 2006. The ESSL is a non-profit research organisation with legal type e. V. (eingetragener Verein, registered association) under German law. Its initial Articles of Association (Satzung) were available as ESSL Administrative Report 2006-01. The version currently in force will always be available here: ESSL Articles of Association.

Legal specifications and bank information

Register court:		Amtsgericht München		Bank:		Raiffeisenbank Gilching eG, (Römerstr. 30, 82205 Gilching, Germany)
Register no.:		VR 200584				BLZ: 701 693 82, Account No.: 344451
VAT no. (USt-Id.-Nr.):		DE 252519763				SWIFT BIC: GENODEF1GIL, IBAN: DE42 7016 9382 0000 3444 51

ESSL e. V. Executive Board

Executive Board member		Function
Dr. Nikolai Dotzek		Director
PD Dr. Bernold Feuerstein		deputy Director
Mr. Pieter Groenemeijer		Technical Director
Mr. Alois M. Holzer		Treasurer

ESSL e. V. Advisory Council

ESSL contact and list of the 10 founding members

Contact			Founding member		Country		Institution
ESSL e. V.			Dr. Nikolai Dotzek		DE		DLR
c/o Dr. Nikolai Dotzek			PD Dr. Bernold Feuerstein		DE		MPG
DLR-IPA, Oberpfaffenhofen			Dr. Dario Giaiotti		IT		FVG-OSMER
Münchner Str. 20			Mr. Pieter Groenemeijer		NL		FZK
82234 Wessling			Mr. Alois M. Holzer		AT		ORF
Germany			Dr. Maria-Carmen Llasat		ES		U Barcelona
			Dr. Romualdo Romero		ES		U de les Illes Balears
Fon: +49-8153-28-1845			Dr. Martin Setvák		CZ		CHMI
Fax: +49-8153-28-1841 (note "attention ESSL e. V." on fax)			Dr. Fulvio Stel		IT		FVG-OSMER
eMail: nikolai.dotzek (at) essl.org			Ms. Jenni Teittinen		FI		FMI

Applying for ESSL membership

Supporting ESSL membership is open to everyone, while full ESSL membership has certain requirements which are outlined in our ESSL Articles of Association (if you think you meet these requirements and would like to become a full ESSL member, please contact us). Prior to applying for individual or institutional supporting ESSL membership, please first read the ESSL Articles of Association, as all ESSL members are obliged to abide by these Articles. You may also have a look at the current ESSL member list member list.

If you decide to apply for membership as an individual (neither representing nor acting on behalf of an organisation), please download and fill in the ESSL individual supporting member application form. However, if you do represent or act on behalf of an organisation, please download and fill in the ESSL institutional supporting member application form.

Individual supporting member	Institutional supporting member
Download application form	Download application form

After filling and signing the form, please return it to the ESSL using the address specified in the form. You will will then be notified if your application for membership has been approved. Your membership will only come into force as soon as your one-time admission fee and first membership fee have both arrived on the ESSL bank account.

Due to its statutory purposes and non-profit status, the ESSL e. V. admission and membership are tax-deductible for the member. We look forward to receiving your supporting member application form and to welcoming you as a new ESSL member soon!

Donations to the ESSL

As a non-profit research organisation, ESSL may cover parts of its funding from donations by individual citizens or by legal entities. The ESSL e. V. is also entitled to provide donators and members with formal contribution receipts for their donations and membership fees - which makes the donations and membership fees tax-deductible.

To aid the ESSL in fulfilling its statutory purposes, donations to the ESSL are encouraged. Donators should clearly indicate their name and address on the bank transfer forms, to enable the ESSL to issue a valid contribution receipt. In addition, the reason for payment on the bank transfer form should indicate "Donation", and you may even direct your donation to specific branches of ESSL activity:

• Donation ESSL: Support for ESSL development and its ability to co-fund participation in research projects;
• Donation ESWD: Support for development of the European Severe Weather Database;
• Donation ECSS: Support for the European Conferences on Severe Storms.

If aside from "Donation", nothing specific is indicated in the bank transfer form, the donation will contribute to general ESSL development. In case you would like to donate, here is the ESSL e. V. bank account information.

The following link will guide you to the list of previous ESSL donators.