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2007 SCFEA Annual Report

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2007 SCFEA Annual Report SSTTAANNDDIINNGG CCOOMMMMIITTTTEEEE OONN FFOORREEIIGGNN AANNDD EEUURROOPPEEAANN AAFFFFAAIIRRSS AANNNNUUAALL RREEPPOORRTT 22000077 PRINTED AT THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING PRESS ANNUAL REPORT 2007 “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers” Shakespeare, Henry V, Act 4 Scene 3 3 ANNUAL REPORT 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAIRMAN ’S FOREWORD ...............................................................................................7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................10 PART 1: THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AND EUROPEAN AFFAIRS .................12 THE WORK OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AND EUROPEAN AFFAIRS IN 2007 .......................................................................................................................12 VISITS ABROAD BY THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AND EUROPEAN AFFAIRS ...............................................................................................................................16 Visit to Italy - 22 to 24 January 2007..................................................................16 Visit to the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait - 3 to 8 February 2007.................................................................................................18 Visit to India - 11 to 17 March 2007....................................................................21 Visit to the European Commission in Brussels - 14 June 2007..........................23 PARTICIPATION IN THE CONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMITTEES (COSAC) ...............................................................................................................................26 DELEGATIONS HOSTED BY THE FEAC.......................................................................28 Visit by a Parliamentary Delegation from Slovenia - 15 to 17 April 2007...........28 Visit by a Parliamentary Delegation from Lithuania - 9 to 11 May 2007.............29 Visit by a Parliamentary Delegation from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - 12 to 14 November 2007...............................................................31 Visit by a Delegation from Saudi Arabia - 9 to 21 November 2007....................32 PART 2: THE ROLE OF THE SCRUTINY COMMITTEE .......................................................36 THE WORK OF THE SCRUTINY COMMITTEE IN 2007....................................................37 The Working Groups ..........................................................................................38 The Scrutiny Process .........................................................................................39 PARTICIPATION IN IPEX ...........................................................................................41 VISITS ABROAD BY THE COMMITTEE STAFF ...............................................................42 COSAC – Portugal/Germany .............................................................................42 IPEX – Copenhagen ..........................................................................................43 European Commission – Brussels .....................................................................43 MEETINGS OF THE COMMITTEE STAFF ......................................................................43 STRENGTHS OF THE COMMITTEE IN 2007 .....................................................................44 PLANS FOR 2008.........................................................................................................45 CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................45 APPENDIX 1 - STANDING ORDER 120F SETTING UP THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AND EUROPEAN AFFAIRS ..............................................................................47 APPENDIX 2 - FORMAL MEETINGS OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AND EUROPEAN AFFAIRS ....................................................................................................49 MEETING 98 – 14 DECEMBER 2006 ..........................................................................49 Meeting with Mr Bechir Tekkari, Minister of Justice and Human Rights of Tunisia ...........................................................................................................................49 MEETING 99 – 10 JANUARY 2007 .............................................................................49 Meeting with Dr Gabriella Pace, Chief Executive Officer at the Forum Malta fl- Ewropa ...............................................................................................................49 MEETING 100 – 17 JANUARY 2007 ...........................................................................50 4 ANNUAL REPORT 2007 Meeting with Mr Joseph FX Zahra, Chairman of the National Euro Changeover Committee (NECC) ............................................................................................50 Meeting with HE Gideon Meir, Ambassador of Israel to Malta...........................51 MEETING 101 - 30 JANUARY 2007............................................................................52 Meeting with Delegation from the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels .............................................................................................................52 Meeting with HE Karl Andreas von Stenglin, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, on the Work Programme of the German Presidency of the European Union between January and June 2007 ............................................52 MEETING 102 - 19 FEBRUARY 2007..........................................................................53 Presentation by HE President Emeritus Ugo Mifsud Bonnici on the role of the European Commission for Democracy through Law known as the Venice Commission .......................................................................................................53 MEETING 103 – 16 APRIL 2007 ................................................................................54 Meeting with the Mr Anton Kokalj, Chairman of the European Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Slovenia ............................54 MEETING 104 - 17 APRIL 2007 .................................................................................54 Meeting with Delegation from the Senate and House of Representatives of Australia .............................................................................................................54 MEETING 105 - 26 APRIL 2007 .................................................................................55 Presentation by the Hon Michael Frendo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, regarding travel abroad on official business.......................................................................55 MEETING 106 - 30 APRIL 2007 .................................................................................56 Meeting with Mr Richard Cachia Caruana, Permanent Representative of Malta to the European Union on the Work Programme of the German Presidency, the Commission Legislative and Work Programme 2007 and the 18-month programme of the German, Portuguese and Slovenian Presidencies ...............56 MEETING 107 - 9 MAY 2007 .....................................................................................57 Meeting with the Delegation from the Foreign and European Affairs Committees of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania....................................................57 MEETING 108 - 16 MAY 2007 ...................................................................................58 Meeting with HE Ms Molly Bordonaro, Ambassador of the United States of America to Malta ................................................................................................58 MEETING 109 - 18 MAY 2007 ...................................................................................59 Meeting with Commissioner Joe Borg, responsible for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, on the theme: Towards a Maritime Policy for the European Union........59 MEETING 110 – 29 MAY 2007 ..................................................................................60 Meeting with Mr Jo Leinen, Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs of the European Parliament ...............................................................................60 MEETING 111 - 20 JUNE 2007..................................................................................61 Presentation by HE Nicholas Archer, High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to Malta on the theme: Cost Effective Diplomacy...............................................61 MEETING 112 - 27 JUNE 2007..................................................................................61 Presentation by Mr Marek Belka, Head of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and former Prime Minister of Poland with the theme: strengthening economic cooperation in Europe.....................................61 MEETING 113 - 5 JULY 2007 ....................................................................................62 Meeting with Jacques Barrot, Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner responsible for Transport ...........................................................62 MEETING 114 - 11 JULY 2007 ..................................................................................63 Meeting with HE Antonio Augusto Russo Dias, Ambassador of Portugal to Malta, on the Work Programme of the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union,
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