The first item is the interparliamentary meeting on the western Balkans co-hosted by the WEU and the Slovenian Parliament in Ljubljana on 3 and 4 March. I attended on behalf of the committee. It was a very interesting meeting, a report of which will be ready in the next week or so. I had a meeting with the Greek Ambassador, His Excellency Alexander Vallindas, in Leinster House, a note on which will be circulated in due course.
While we wait for the Minister, I propose, with your permission, to move on to some housekeeping work.
Draft minutes of the last two meetings of the joint committee have been circulated. Are the minutes of meetings of 26 and 28 February agreed? Agreed.
Correspondence received since the last meeting has been circulated.
No. 60 is a submission from the financial regulator on the European Commission White Paper on the integration of the EU mortgage credit markets and No. 61 is a submission from the Irish Banking Federation on the same matter. These arise from the committee's invitation to these two bodies to forward views on the White Paper which will contribute to the committee's formal submission to the European Commission on its White Paper. We should consider these at a later stage when the committee is preparing its own submission to the European Commission. It might be advisable to have a visit from the financial regulator before the committee and, perhaps, the banking fraternity as well, at a later date, before making our submission. I suggest we leave it to the secretariat to have a look at that prospect and, perhaps, arrange a meeting when it is convenient. We propose to note at this stage. Is that agreed? Agreed.
No. 62 is the EU News Bulletin, N. 46, produced by the Irish Regions Office. It is noted. Is that agreed? Agreed. No. 63 is the energy and climate change policy brief, produced by the IIEA. This is for notation and will be considered in the context of the Minister's address to the meeting today. It is to be noted as well. No. 64 is a letter from the European Anti-Poverty Network Ireland. The leaflets referred to in the letter will be copied by the secretariat for any Member who wishes to have a copy. It is proposed to note it. Is that agreed? Agreed. No. 65 is the draft European Council conclusions meeting which is to take place on 13 and 14 March. It is proposed that we note it. Perhaps we should devote some time to it. Have Members read them? It will come up in the context of the Minister's speech in any event. After that we might just come back to it, or deal with it during the Minister's address.
No. 5 is a draft travel report for the fourth joint parliamentary meeting on the Lisbon Strategy, 11 and 12 February. A draft report of attendance by a delegation from the committee at the fourth joint parliamentary meeting on the Lisbon Strategy has been circulated. That is our report. Is that report approved? Agreed.