Brussels, 01/06/2004 (Agence Europe) - According to a press statement, the General Assembly of the AWES (Association of European Shipbuilders and Shiprepairers) and CESA (Committee of EU Shipbuilders Associations) decided to set up a joint organisation, the Community of European Shipyards Association. The Association, which will be up and running on 1 July has elected Patrick Boissier, from Chantiers de l'Atlantique (France) as president and Yrjo Julin from Kvacrner Masa (Finland) and Francisco Arderius from the Union Naval Barcelona (Spain). Corrado Antonini, the president of Fincantieri was elected honorary president. The press statement explained that "in the face of fierce, and not always fair, competition on the world market, European yards realised that only be joining forces can they be successful". The shipyards belonging to the new association will therefore be concentrating on the implementation of the LeaderSHIP 2015 initiative launched in 2002.