The "EU Common Forum on Contaminated Land" was initiated in 1994 and provides a discussion forum for experts from all EU Member States and Accession Countries. Main topics are the develoment of strategies for the treatment of contaminated sites and for land recycling. Key aspects of the 9th meeting of the Forum in November 2002 at Berlin are the Groundwater Directive, Environmental Liability, Soil Policy, Sustainable Landuse, the 6th RTD Framework Program and two EU research projects (EUGRIS, METROPOLIS).