Brussels, 02/05/2003 (Agence Europe) - In Leipzig (Germany) on 5/6 May the Committee of the Regions is organising a conference on the future of the Cohesion Policy, attended by more than 400 representatives of cities and regions in the Member States and candidate countries, along with Commissioner Barnier. The two days of debates (in plenary and workshops) on the various questions raised by enlargement and the reform of the Cohesion Policy will enable the regions to formulate their views ahead of the informal regional council in Chalkidiki (Greece) on 16 May. The council will spend the morning looking at the current programming period (2000-2006), assessing the state of programming and potential simplification. The afternoon will focus on preparing for the period 2007-2013. Candidate countries will be present for the first time at this meeting.