16/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Commission has not yet defined its position on the duration of the next programming period, for agriculture or for regional policy. It is keeping its right of own initiative to put a proposal forward on this duration, specified Commissioner Michel Barnier. Speaking on Thursday at the plenary session of the Committee of the Regions, he answered a question on the polemic between the Cohesion Fund countries and other Member States regarding the duration of the next regional package. Spain, Greece and Portugal wished to add to the Nice Treaty a declaration stipulating that for the next Agenda, like Agenda 2000, it should be 7 years. Other countries, with Germany in the fore, replied that no date had been fixed and that the Commission "keeps its right of own initiative" (see EUROPE of 14 February, p.6). Furthermore, the Commissioner again regretted that Spain had insisted for keeping unanimity when adopting the next regional policy package.