The interdisciplinary field of free boundary problems (FBP) has developed rapidly over the past three decades with new problems from technology and natural sciences, as well as a corresponding increase number of mathematicians interested in these problems. In order to promote the integration of the national activities and groups with complementary backgrounds and expertise, the European Science Foundation (ESF) sponsors a scientific programme Mathematical Treatment of Free Boundary Problems that started in 1993 and is expected to promote initiatives till 1997. The Current Activities based in Europe, include several Workshops each year, Summer Courses, in addition to the co-sponsoring of an already existent Conference Series, Grants for individual visits and fellowships to young scientists, as well as the publication of the FBP-News, the programme newsletter with three issues per year.

The programme is supported by fourteen European countries with contribution organizations from Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom. It has a Scientific Steering Committee, with a FBP-Secretariat based at the Centro de Matemática e Aplicações Fundamentais, of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, Portugal, and with an administrative management done at Strasbourg, France, by the European Science Foundation.