Bilateral meetings are also a feature of almost every Convention session. There have been very valuable discussions on the Convention among Ministers for European Affairs on the margins of all the recent European Council meetings. The Taoiseach and Minister for Foreign Affairs will be involved in full programmes of visits during the coming months. These will include visits to Germany, Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic. The Minister for Foreign Affairs also met with his Dutch counterpart on the margins of the most recent General Affairs and External Relations Council. These meetings are particularly valuable in helping us to build alliances and establish matters on which there is common ground.