The EESC’s Bureau held a very productive meeting this afternoon and evening. As always, the meeting was in part about the routine of preparing Wednesday’s and Thursday’s plenary session although, even then, not all is ‘routine’; the Committee will be hosting the European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso and Vice-President Joaquin Almunia and signing a new cooperation protocol with the Commission and debating the crisis and adopting a resolution. In addition to these political discussions, the Bureau also discussed the Committee’s draft budget for 2013 and approved a set of Guidelines governing the use of interpretation. Basically, the provision of interpretation is expensive and the Committee is constantly seeking ways of reducing costs through better planning and discipline in meetings.