Launching the Fifth RTD Framework Programme

The European Commission, DG XII, is organising a two-day conference to mark the launch of the EU's Fifth RTD Framework Programme, in Essen, Germany, on 25 and 26 February 1999. The conference will be targeted at both potential and current research project coordinators, representatives of scientific and industrial circles, and institutions.

The purpose of the conference is to provide participants with full information on the new RTD Framework Programme which will run from 1999-2002. The new features of the programme will be presented and participation procedures will be explained to interested parties, clarified with examples of particularly successful European projects. The conference organisers also intend to enable potential coordinators to establish networks in an original and creative way, in particular with a view to forthcoming calls for proposals.

The conference will have six focal points:

- Presentation of the various programmes of the new Framework Programme;
- Presentation of the services and expertise offered by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre;
- A series of workshops to inform potential coordinators of participation conditions;
- The presentation of particularly successful research projects;
- An exhibition of research projects presented by their coordinators;
- A cybercafé and e-mail system which will enable participants to make contacts, seek partners, and place advertisements. The debates during the conference will also be relayed via the Internet.
For further information, please contact:

European Commission
Joint Interpreting and Conference Service (SCIC/B.1)
200 rue de la Loi (DM 24 1/74)
B-1049 Brussels
Tel. +32-2-2953736; Fax +32-2-2964992
E-mail: marc.vallons@scic.cec.be or E-mail: int4.scicbl@scic.cec.be

Information may also be found on the Web, at:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/dg12/fp5/conference.html(opens in new window)