Presiding Officer George Reid

The latest in a series of European events at Holyrood took place on Monday 5 December with a visit by the Joint UK Delegation of the Committee of the Regions.

The Committee of the Regions is the political assembly that provides local and regional authorities with a voice at the heart of the European Union, and the new UK delegation is meeting in Edinburgh for the first time this week.

Welcoming guests to the Parliament, Presiding Officer George Reid spoke about the importance of the growing interaction between Scotland and the European Union - "a supranational region and our main trading partner".

The aim of the Scottish Parliament was, he said: "to build a sustainable society here in Scotland, a society that is comfortable with itself, and is, above all, confident that it can compete in today's global marketplace.

"And central to that process are the two principles you have been discussing today - subsidiarity and self-government. If you are going to make Europe confident you have got to start with the foundations, to build Europe from the bottom up, not from the top down."

Among the guests visiting Holyrood was the new leader of the delegation, Gordon Keymer.

Other recent European events held at the Parliament during the UK's Presidency of the EU include:

• A meeting of the Committee of the Regions Economic and Social Commission (ECOS) in the Main Chamber;

• A sitting of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in the Main Chamber;

• A visit from the President of the European Parliament, Mr Josep Borrell Fontelles;

• A visit from Douglas Alexander MP, the Minister for Europe and MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South.