Brussels, 14/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - The second Conference of the Presidents of Constitutional Regions (with legislative power) will take place in Liège (Belgium) on Thursday and Friday. Fifty regions will be represented and twenty-five Presidents of Regions will attend, including Jordi Pujol from Catalonia; the President of Tuscany; the Minister-President of Baden-Württemburg; fifteen European Affairs Ministers; Michel Barnier, European Commissioner for Regional Policy; and Jos Chabert, President of the Committee of the Regions. The conference comes under the heading "strengthening the role of consultative regions in the European Union" and according to the man hosting the meeting, the Minister-President of the government of Wallonia (Belgium), Jean-Claude van Cauwenberghe, it will demonstrate "the mobilisation of consultative regions". On Thursday, the conference will discuss how the regions are involved in the EU's decision-making and also a more precise definition of powers, while on Friday the conference will look at the prospects for federalism in an enlarged Europe. After Liège, Jean-Claude van Cauwenberghe told journalists that it would be necessary for constitutional regions to work together as a network to defend their interests against the background of the reform of the Institutions. The first meeting of the Presidents of Regions which have legislative powers was held in Barcelona a year ago. The Committee of the Regions' Political Bureau has just published a statement in which it expresses concern at this movement and calls on the constitutional regions to act within the Committee of the Regions (see EUROPE of 26 October, p.9).