Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome members and guests to our meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Union Affairs. I welcome the delegation from the European affairs committee of the Bavarian Parliament. The delegation is led by Professor Ursula Männle and I thank its members for attending. I also welcome our colleagues from the German Embassy.

The delegation is on a short visit to Ireland in the context of Ireland's EU Presidency. One of the priorities of the delegation is to have the opportunity to engage with parliamentarians across Europe. Bavaria is the second largest of the 16 German states. We always hear with great interest the results of different elections in the German Länder. We understand the importance of the Parliament within that system. Many of the issues we are all interested in are known to us in respect of the future of the eurozone, fiscal union, banking union and, most importantly, the challenge of high levels of unemployment, which many of us face, and what we can do to respond to it.

We will first hear from Professor Ursula Männle before hearing from members of the committee and then other members of the delegation.