Official Report 299KB pdf
We move on to our regular consideration of the agendas and reports of Council of the European Union meetings. The paper on the agriculture and fisheries council that we were expecting is not included in the committee papers because it was received after the papers for this meeting had been issued. We will send it to members before the next meeting. Do members have any comments?
In the interests of time, I will not comment on the many items that I picked up on. When we receive details about what is being considered in Europe I can rarely find an item that is not relevant to the interests of our national Government. Some of the matters are reserved and some are not, but many matters that are being discussed throughout Europe seem to be outside the responsibilities of the European Union. There are myriad committees and people involved and how people can track the issues is beyond comprehension. That augurs badly for the future, unless we can get a grip on things somewhere along the line.
I recognise the serious point that Phil Gallie makes. It is important to consider details, although we may not agree on outcomes. However, most of the information that is before us is on pre-council agendas, and information will therefore come back to us at a later meeting. In the interests of time, I am therefore happy to note the papers.
Okay. All that remains for us to do is to thank the Executive for the information.
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