From 15 to 19 January 1979 the European Parliament dedicated much of the time at its January sittings' to the Community's institutional problems, at the Palais de l'Europe, in Strasbourg. The statement by Jean François-Poncet, French Minister for Foreign Affairs and President in office of the Council on the programme of the French presidency for the first halfyear afforded an opportunity to consider a number of problems facing the Community: in particular, the differences between Parliament and the Council over the budget, the delay in implementing the European Monetary System and the dismantling of monetary compensatory amounts. The House discussed the first part of Mr Pintat's report on the problems of enlargement, dealing with the political and institutional aspects. Several debates covered various aspects of sectoral policies: the situation of the steel industry and Community supplies of mineral ores; shipbuilding; the selling prices of agricultural products; the common fisheries and common transport policies; ship inspections. In the energy field particular attention was paid to the situation of the Community and the development of research programmes on alternative energy sources. The House also debated several social policy matters: harmonization of social security schemes, family policy, protection of the mother and child and protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer. The debate on the Commission's Communication on Community action in the cultural sector once again testified to Parliament's interest in that field. On the external relations front the House considered the working of the EEC/Malta Agreement and relations with the CMEA. Lastly, the Bantry Bay explosion in Ireland and the natural disasters in the Ardèche prompted the House to call for Community action.