CALENDAR.

* Research CouncilInitially scheduled for October 1, the next session of the EU Council of Research Ministers has been postponed until October 30. The following points are included on the agenda for the meeting: - Sixth Framework Programme for Research and Development (EC and Euratom) 2002-2006: the Presidency will seek a common position;- implementation of the Sixth Framework Programme: debate on the proposal for a Decision regarding rules for the participation of enterprises, research centres and universities and rules applying to dissemination of research results;- proposal for a Decision on the implementation of Article 169 of the Treaty (EU participation in research programmes undertaken by several Member States): debate.Ministers will also discuss the development of the European Research Area, focusing more specifically on the following points: benchmarking, mobility of researchers, the regional dimension and the international dimension. They will also hear a presentation from Commission on the GMES project (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) action plan.* Events focusing on intellectual property rightsThe largest gathering of intellectual property rights professionals in Europe is expected at the EPIDOS and PATINNOVA annual conferences, taking place jointly in Cardiff, Wales, on 15 to 18 October. The event represents a joint effort by the European patent office (EPO) and European Commission. PATINNOVA 2001 will cover two central themes: patents in the digital era and intellectual property serving entrepreneurship. The EPIDOS annual conference will focus on the retrieval of patent information, the Internet and other tools available on the market. A cybercafe will also be on hand for anyone wishing to test some of the tools available. An exhibition will be open to the general public at the event, where experts will be available to answer questions on the topics relating to intellectual property rights.For further information on either event, contact: Viktoria Sacher; tel.: +43-1-52126408; fax: +43-1-521264192; E-mail: infowien@epo.org; URL: http://www.european-patent-office.org/epidos/conf/eac2001/index.htm* Informal meeting of EU Ministers for Audiovisual PolicyAn informal session...