The year shown in brackets indicates the year when the position occupied by the person in question comes up for election. Because the EPD has no funds of its own, the financing of an annual meeting that gathers the whole EC and AB together to follow EPD progress and plan for the future is becoming increasingly difficult. Prior to the election of new members the possibility of reducing the number of EPD AB members was discussed. It has frequently been underlined that the adequate representation in the AB of the different geographical regions of Europe and different areas of expertise is of special importance. As a result, it was decided that the number of AB members should remains the same as it is at present.