Christian Patermann, Director of Directorate I (Environment, Marine Ecosystems and Biodiversity) of the Directorate-General for Research of the European Commission, visited Trieste's international scientific institutions on 19-20 February to discuss potential areas of participation under the EU's 6th Framework Programme for scientific research and technological development. He spoke of EU's keen interest in working in partnership with scientific institutions in the developing world and expressed hope that the institutions that make up the Trieste System--most notably, ICTP, the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), and the International Centre for Science and High Technology (ICS)--could serve as an important conduit between the North and South.