Cervantes Prize
Culture
On 27th November the Spanish Culture Minister César Antonio Molina announced that the 2008 issue of the literary Cervantes prize, considered in the... EU/China
Presidency
On 27th November China decided to delay sine die the EU/China Summit that had initially been planned for December 1st. This is in protest against the... Elections/Romania
Foundation
The two main Romanian parties, the PDL and the PSD achieved tight scores in the parliamentary elections on 30th November according to the final... Finland
Luxembourg
From 24th to 26th November the Finnish President Tarja Halonen was on an official visit to Luxembourg. During this visit she had interviews with... Study
Financial Crisis
According to the most recent estimates published by the European Commission the confidence of company heads and consumers in the EU collapsed in... Cyprus
Greece
Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias undertook his first official visit on 26th to 28th November to Greece on the invitation of Greek President... Interim Government
Belgium
Outgoing Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt succeeded in reaching agreement on 19th December to form an interim government until 23rd March next... Italy
France
The institute for political studies in Paris together with the Embassy of Italy in Paris and the Embassy of France in Italy are organising a... Treaty/...continued
Ireland
The sub-committee on the future of Ireland in the EU that was set up after the negative referendum on the Lisbon Treaty on 12th June last published... Budget
Germany
On 28th November after four days of discussion the Bundestag adopted the 2009 budget to a total of 290 billion euro. The budgetary debate provided an... Unemployment
Germany
Unemployment continued to decline in Germany in November, with the labour market standing up better than economists had expected. The gross... Cohesion
Presidency
On 26th November the 27 European Ministers responsible for regional development and cohesion policy unanimously adopted a new stage in the... Commission
Financial Crisis
On 26th November the European Comission presented a comprehensive plan to drive Europe's recovery from the current economic crisis. The Plan calls... Russia
Studies/Reports
The Center for Applied Policy Research in Munich (CAP) has published "Double win in EU-Russia Relations - Roadmap for a New PCA" by Mirela Isic and... Schengen
Switzerland
On 27th November the Mixed Committee rallying the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland decided to lift land border controls between... Home Affairs/Justice
Council
On 27th and 28th November the 27 Justice and Home Affairs Ministers adopted priorities in the fight against terrorism and the strategy to fight... China
Greece
Chinese President Hu Jintao and Greek Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis agreed on 25th November to increase co-operation in the area of sea trade to... Europe
Publications
"L'Europe et vous" is the first title in the series "L'Actu Facile" jointly edited by the Documentation Française and the Editions RadioFrance. The... Bananas
WTO
On 26th November the WTO confirmed condemnation of the EU with regard to its banana import system thereby complying with complaints lodged by the USA... UK
Financial Crisis
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced an action plan on 24th November in the fight against the financial crisis and economic slow-down. In... Space
European Agencies
At a meeting in the Hague on 25th and 26th November Ministers responsible for space activities from the 18 Member States of the European Space Agency... EBRD
Studies/Reports
According to the Transition 2008 report by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, economic growth will be halved in Central Europe and... Agriculture
Council
On 28th November the 27 Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers discussed what is to be done with regard to the future of the Common Agricultural Policy... Poland
UK
On 24th November British Prime Minister Gordon Brown met his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk. Bilateral discussions mainly focussed on the follow-up... Slovakia
Eurobarometer
According to a recent Eurobarometer survey more than half of the Slovakians (57%) are happy that the euro has replaced the Slovakian crown and think... Taxation
Luxembourg
The European Commission addressed a reasoned opinion to Luxembourg asking it to modify parts of its legislation in terms of savings taxation. The... Nationalisations
UK
The British government, which promised to guarantee an increase in capital to a total of 18 billion euro for the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), the... Franco-German
France
On 24th November the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced that they wanted to establish a co-ordinated... Services
Eurostat
According to Eurostat's most recent figures published on 27th November the EU's international services trade recorded a rising surplus of 84.1... Environment
Germany
Germany has already achieved its goals to reduce CO2 emissions - four years ahead of time - established by Kyoto said the Environment Minister on... EULEX
UN
On 26th November the UN Security Council approved the deployment of the future EU police and justice mission in Kosovo (EULEX). It gave the green... Greenland
Denmark
On 25th November the official results of a referendum on greater autonomy of the island confirmed that 75.5% of the 57,000 inhabitants want to move... Industry
Eurostat
According to Eurostat figures released on 24th November in September 2008 compared with August 2008, the euro area industrial new orders index fell... The Netherlands
Financial Crisis
On 25th November the Dutch Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende announced measures to limit the impact of the economic crisis. He advised on the... Demography
Commission
The European Commission presented its two yearly report on demography on 24th November confirming that the population is ageing: over the next 25... Treaty ratified
Italia
Italian deputies have voted at the unanimity on july, 31th the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, just one week after the positive vote from the... Counterfeiting
Presidency
On 26th November the French Presidency of the EU presented the major guidelines of its customs action plan to fight against counterfeiting 2009-2012.... Regulation
Foundation
The European Commission's Academy for Moral and Political Science and Representation in France is organising a seminar on 5th December dedicated to... Family
Eurobarometer
A Eurobarometer survey on "Family Life and the Needs of an Ageing Population" reveals that although 9 Europeans in 10 are happy with their family... OECD
Financial Crisis
Most OECD countries will suffer "severe and extended recession" - for some this means until 2010, forecasts the OECD in its economic perspectives... Nuclear
Commission
On 26th November the European Commission suggested a revision of the directive establishing the community framework for nuclear security 2004. The... Environment
Studies/Reports
The Foundation for Political Innovation has published a study under the management of Elvire Fabry and Damien Tresallet entitled "Environment and... Italy
Financial Crisis
On 28th November the Italian government adopted anti-crisis measures targeting families and companies so that they can confront the recession - aid... Climate
Studies/Reports
The German Society for Foreign Policy (DGAP) published a study entitled "Eine neue europaïsche Klimadiplomatie-Einbindung der USA bei der Lösung der... Spain
Financial Crisis
On 27th November the Spanish government announced its recovery plan to a total of 11 billion euros - this entails investment in public works and... Ukraine
Russia
The Ukrainian gas company Naftogas and the Russian Gazprom agreed on 25th November on a partial reimbursement of the Ukrainian debt. "An agreement... Payments
ECB
The European Central Bank published its 6th progress report on 24th November on the Single Euro Payments Area - SEPA. This report reveals significant... Broad Band
Commission
According to a report by the European Commission released on 28th November Broadband penetration in Europe continues to grow, from 18.2% in July 2007... Poland
Financial Crisis
On 30th November Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the adoption of a stabilisation and development programme for 2009-2010 totalling 91.3... EU/Africa
Presidency
On 25th November the second Euro-African conference on migration and development rallied the 27 EU Member States and 27 African countries in Paris.... Treaty/Court
Czech Republic
On 26th November the Czech Constitutional Court said that the Lisbon Treaty was in line with Czech fundamental law thereby opening the way to its... Economy
Lithuania
The European Commissioner for the Budget, Dalia Grybauskaite recalls that Lithuania must first settle its finances before being able to apply the... Patents
European Agencies
Stem cells designed for research cannot be patented in Europe if they have been obtained from the destruction of human embryos decided the European... Sweden
Croatia
Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader travelled on an official visit to Sweden - which will take over the presidency of the EU in the second half of... Elections
Romania
The two main Romanian parties, the PDL and the PSD achieved tight scores in the parliamentary elections on 30th November according to the final... Sanctions
Bulgaria
On 25th November the Commission decided to withdraw permanently the 220 million euros in European funds from Bulgaria due to inadequate measures... Georgia
Russia
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has promulgated the friendship treaties with the Georgian separatist republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia... Pharmacies
Commission
The European Commission is accusing pharmaceutical groups operating in Europe of preventing the entry of competing medicines onto the market -... Opera/Milan
Culture
The Scala of Milan is presenting the Richard Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde" until 2nd January under the management of Daniel Barenboïm and the... Unemployment
Eurostat
According to recent Eurostat estimates published on 28th November the unemployment rate rose to 7.7% in the euro area and to 7.1% in the EU in... Inflation
Eurostat
According to an estimate published by Eurostat on 28th November the inflation rate in the euro area in 2008 lay at 2.1% in November 2008. This is a... France/USA
Foundation
The Robert Schuman Foundation and the Center for Transatlantic Relations (Johns Hopkins University) are organising a Franco-American conference in... Council
Publications
Daniel Naurin and Helen Wallace, professors at the European University Institute of Florence have published a paper entitled "Unveiling the Council... REACH
European Agencies
December 1st was the deadline for the pre-registration of chemical substances submitted to the REACH legislation. Since June 1st 2008 companies have... Telecom
Council
On 27th November the 27 Ministers adopted measures to support consumers notably with regard to a ceiling on SMS tarifs between European countries -... Kosovo
Estonia
From 24th to 26th November Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip was on an official visit to Kosovo where he met Kosovar President Fatmis Sejdiu and... Education
Presidency
On 26th November the 27 Education, Vocational Training and Higher Education Ministers adopted the "Bordeaux Communiqué" the aim of which is to review... Ireland
Studies/Reports
The Irish Institute for International and European Affairs (IIEA) has published a report entitled "Ireland's Future After Lisbon: Issues, Options and... Sport
Presidency
On 28th November the 27 European Sports Ministers signed a joint declaration asking the European Commission "to look into the comptability of a... USA
Studies/Reports
The Center for European Reform has just published a study entitled "What Europe wants from President Obama".