The European Roma Summit in Brussels, a high-level conference on the inclusion of Roma, is taking place on September 16, 2008 under the joint patronage of Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and the French Presidency of the Council. The Conference is bringing together some 350 representatives of EU institutions, Member State Governments and Parliaments, and civil society. The World Bank is being represented by Mr. Shigeo Katsu, Vice President, Europe and Central Asia Region, who is a keynote speaker at the Summit.