EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT:.

THE PRESIDENT'S DIARY

Wednesday March 19 - Meetings with: Zlatko Tomcic, Speaker of Croatian Parliament, Council President-in-Office Costas Simitis and Commission President Roman PRODI

Thursday March 20 - Meetings with: Rolandas Paksas, President of Lithuania, Mladen Ivanic, Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Hercegovina

Friday March 21 - Brussels European Council; Speech by Pat COX to the European Council

Sunday March 23 - Visit to Ljubljana; Day of Slovenia's referendum on accession to the EU

COMMITTEE MEETINGS IN BRUSSELS

Reports referred to below are due to be put to the vote:

Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy Monday March 17: Discussion with Gunter Verheugen, Commissioner for enlargement. Tuesday March 18: Public hearing on A new EU strategy for South Eastern Europe; Afghanistan: discussion with Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, Minister for Finance, Mr Mohammad Amin Farhang, Minister for Reconstruction. Wednesday March 19: Report by Elmar Brok (EPP-ED, D) on the conclusions of the Copenhagen negotiations on enlargement; Recommendations on applications for membership of the EU (Assent procedure); Report by John Cushnahan (EPP-ED, Ireland) on the Commission's third and fourth annual reports on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Report by Mario Soares (PES, P) on the Macao Special Administrative Region: second annual report, 2001; North Korea - update and discussion: Report by Glyn Ford (PES, UK) on his recent visit to North Korea; Discussion with Mladen Ivanic, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Deputy President of Bosnia and Herzegovina Council of Ministers

Budgetary Control Tuesday March 18: 2001 Budget discharge: Presentation of Council recommendation by Mr Floridis, President-in-Office of the Council (Greek deputy minister of national economy and finance), Discussions with Commissioner Neil Kinnock (to be confirmed), Commissioner Michaele Schreyer and Jules Muis, Internal Auditor of the Commission. Wednesday March 19: 2001 Budget discharge (continued): Report by Ole . Sirensen (ELDR, DK) on the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth European Development Funds, Report by Mar!a Antonia Aviles Perea (EPP-ED, E) on the EU General Budget, other sections, Report by Brigitte Langenhagen (EPP-ED, D) on the ECSC Budget, Report by Freddy BLAK (EUL/NGL, DK) on the budget of CEDEFOP (Salonika), EFILWC (Dublin) and European Agency for Reconstruction (Kosovo), Report by Freddy...