Brussels, 28/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - On 29-30 January the European Commission is organising a ministerial seminar in Brussels on the European Social Funds (ESF), which will present the conclusions of the seminars in the Member States on this subject for proceeding to a mid-term review of the ESF for 2000-06. Ministers for social affairs and the enlarged European will be taking part in this seminar, as well as Anna Diamontopoulou, who will be examining how the EU could invest more in human resources through the ESF (see the ideas of Odile Quintin on the future of the ESF, the Director General of DG Employment at the Commission in EUROPE 24 November p 15). Member States will underline at this event the importance of ESF in job creation and in the fight against exclusion of the underprivileged at both regional and local levels and on the advantages in the decentralised approach followed in programme implementation. Member States consider that implementation rules should be clearer and simpler and that bureaucracy is reduced. They also note that the Equality Initiative (promotion of innovative Trans-national actions for combating inequality and discrimination on the labour market) had proved to be extremely valuable.