Introduction
The Optical Infrared Co-ordination Network for astronomy brings together all the national and international agencies and organisations which fund, support, develop and operate Europe’s facilities for optical and infrared astronomy, both night-time -classical astronomy-and day-time -solar astronomy. OPTICON provides a framework allowing joint actions to improve the quality of Europe’s infrastructures, to train new astronomers, especially those from Central Europe, in modern new research methods, to develop innovative technologies to enhance research quality, to plan for future developments, and to work towards a strategic plan for Europe’s future research infrastructures.