The first item on the agenda is to ask the committee to agree to discuss in private at its meeting on 30 October the draft report on the state of preparation for the introduction of the euro and possible changes to the committee's remit.
I raise a point that relates to our previous discussions on the proposal for a directive that would establish a general framework for informing and consulting employees in the European Community. Although I am conscious that we need often to discuss items in private, especially when discussing the committee's conclusions, we do not always have a means or mechanism to discuss the direction of reports in public. Before we discuss paragraphs and conclusions, I hope that we can have a general discussion on the direction of the draft report. Otherwise, if members do not agree with the draft report, they must vote against it rather than annotate it by setting out the direction in which they think it should go. That is my position on discussing the draft report in private.
Following Ben Wallace's comments on our previous report, I have had discussions with the clerks. We will consider the question of how dissent from committee reports is handled. We can have a discussion prior to going into the detail of the draft report. We can also discuss that in private when we meet next week.
Only one member has contacted me to discuss in private my report on European Union enlargement. That matter will come up soon and I remind other members that there is an opportunity to discuss it. I had a lengthy meeting with John Home Robertson and will include what came out of that meeting in the report.
Do members agree to discuss the items in private at our meeting on 30 October?