Jean François-Poncet, Senator, former Foreign Minister and Member of the Robert Schuman Foundation's board will present his latest work at the Maison de l'Europe on 19th December - the book is entitled "37 quai d'Orsay, Mémoires pour aujourd'hui et pour demain" (Editions Odile Jacob).

The Robert Schuman Foundation has published a study by Daniela Schwarzer, head of the European Integration department at the Stiftung Politik und Wissenschaft (SWP – the German Institute for International Policy and Security)on the Franco-German couple. After analysing Franco-German relations as they have been over the last five years especially in terms of political, administrative and parliamentary co-operation, she looks at the differences in style of the German and French presidencies of the Council of the European Union. She then looks into the differences and common points of interest with regard to the government and public opinion in three distinct areas: economic and monetary union, the enlargement and neighbourhood policies, and the European policy for security and defence. Finally she concludes her study with an analysis of what the future holds for the Franco-German relationship. This study is available in both French and German.

The 27 Heads of State and government came to agreement allowing for the implementation by 2020 of the objectives in the energy/climate package that are to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 20% in comparison with 1990 and to bring the share of renewable energies in the EU's total energy consumption up to 20% and finally to achieve savings of 20% in terms of energy consumption. This agreement was found thanks to compensation granted to countries who are more reticent with regard to this package. The new Member States, which are extremely dependent on coal will be able to take advantage for example of a financial solidarity mechanism. Their coal fuelled power stations will as a result be exempt from purchasing pollution rights until 2020. Germany and Italy achieved adjustments for some of their companies.

On 11th December the 27 heads of State and government approved the 200 billion euro recovery plan, ie 1.5% of the European GDP put forward by the European Commission on 26th November last to counter the recession. It comprises a common framework in support of the work undertaken by the Member States and the Union and is designed to guarantee coherence. Several support initiatives for the economy have been established and include a 30 billion euro increase in interventions on the part of the European Investment Bank over 2009/10, a reduction in non-salarial labour costs, a simplification and acceleration of the Fund's various procedures. The Commission gained permission to use 5 billion unspent euros from the European Funds to take part in the recovery plan. To this end it is due to put forward real projects.

On 12th December the 27 Heads of State and Government adopted a declaration showing that they wanted to enhance the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). They approve the declarations made by the 27 Defence Ministers on 10th November last and commit to the development of both military and civilian capabilities. They also encourage progress in terms of restructuring the industrial and technological base of European defence qualified as a strategic and economic necessity. They re-iterated their goal to strengthen the UN/NATO strategic partnership and support the establishment of an informal EU/NATO group. The European Council finally approved the analysis included in the report with regard to the implementation of the 2003 European security strategy than enhances and optimises European capabilities in the future and stresses the EU's desire to act in the name of peace and international security whilst concretely contributing towards citizens' security.

According to a second assessment by the National Statistics Institute Istat published on 10th December Italy entered recession in the third quarter a period during which time its GDP declined by 0.5%. In comparison with the third quarter in 2007 the GDP declined by 0.9%. In the second quarter the GDP had already decreased by 0.4% in comparison with the 1st quarter. However household consumption continued to rise by 0.1%. Per sector agriculture's added value decreased by 3%, industry by 1.4% and services by 0.2%. Italy has not experienced technical recession (two consecutive quarters in which the GDP declines) since the fourth quarter of 2004 and the first quarter of 2005 when the GDP decreased by 0.2% and 0.1%. To counter the recession the government adopted a package of measures at the end of November targeting families and companies to a total of around 6 billion euros in 2009.

The IMF Director General Dominique Strauss-Kahn repeated on 11th December the IMF's commitment to developing tools that will help all IMF members to face the present economic crisis. At the same time he warned governments of the effects of the crisis in 2009: "The financial crisis is global and no country will escape its effects which will be worse in 2009 than this year."

On 11th December the Belgian government came to an agreement on a recovery plan aiming to counter the devastating effects of the economic crisis - the plan will total 2 billion euros, ie 0.6% of the GDP. This comes together with the measures that have already been announced by the two major Belgian regions - Wallonia (1.5 billion euros) and Flanders (842 million euros), bringing the total amount to around 4 billion euros. This measure should encourage public companies such as the Railway Company (SNCB) to launch major work projects. Finally a rise in social allocations, notably for those who have been temporarily laid off has been announced. In spite of the recession that is affecting Belgium and the decline of the GDP by 0.2% forecast for 2009 Prime Minister Yves Leterme said that he did not want to go beyond the 2% limit set for the public deficit.

On 11th December the Swedish government announced an aid plan for the car industry to a total of 28 billion Swedish crowns (2.65 billion euros). It notably takes the shape of greater investment in research and development and State guarantees for loan requests from the European Investment Bank so that conversions can be made over to green technologies. The government has asked the Riksdag to grant emergency loans to a total of 5 billion Swedish crowns maximum to companies in difficulty.

On 8th December the Latvian government announced that it had come to an agreement with a group of creditors, including the International Monetary Fund and the EU with regard to an envelope of financial aid. On the announcement of his aim to ask for international financial aid at the end of November the Latvian Financial Minister mentioned a sum totalling up to 3 billion euros. Brussels then set the conditions of a loan to Latvia against the implementation of a rigorous adjustment programme. According to estimates by the Central Latvian Bank, the GDP may drop by between 3.5% and 3.9% after a decline of between 1.5% and 1.7% in 2008.

On 13th December the Portuguese government announced an anti-crisis plan for 2009 to a total of 2.18 billion euros focussing on employment, investment and aid to companies, which will be funded in part by the state leading to a worsening of the public deficit to 3% of the GDP. This plan will be funded to a total of 1.3 billion euro by the State budget, the remainder will emanate from the community fund, said Portuguese Prime Minister José Socrates after an extraordinary ministers' council. The series of measures approved represents 1.25% of the GDP. The Portuguese government's plan aims to increase public investment in education, energy and new generation technologies, to support companies and economic activity and finally to aid employment and the enhancement of social protection.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel accused of hesitating in the face of the recesssion that is affecting Germany during a pre-electoral period convened experts, company heads and politicians on 14th December to look into the measures to take to counter the crisis. It is time for the various players in the economic sector and political leaders "to take joint responsibility", said Angela Merkel during a press meeting at the chancellery before the start of the meeting "because as a government we cannot support the economy alone." The priority is "to safeguard jobs above all", she insisted. The labour market in Germany is resisting well for the time being but it may worsen rapidly. Announcements of people being laid off have recently been on the increase in the industrial sector.

The European Commission presented two healthcare initiatives. On 8th December it put forward a draft directive as well as a ten point action plan to improve the efficiency, quality and safety of organ donation and transplant systems between Member States. On 10th December it presented its "medicines package" that includes a communication to improve market access and pharmaceutical research together with three legislative proposals to fight against counterfeiting of medicines, improving information available to citizens with regard to medicines prescribed and enhancing the community system of medicine security control.

On 10th December the European Commission proposed to revise the EU financial framework to source the €5 billion required by the Economic Recovery Plan for trans-European energy interconnections and broadband infrastructure investment. The proposal uses part of the financial margins available in the EU budget under agriculture for 2008 and 2009 and shifts them to the budget heading for Competitiveness for Growth and Employment in 2009 and 2010. This means using funds that would otherwise remain unspent, while staying within the overall ceiling of the EU budget. The proposal does not change the total amount set out in the 2007-2013 financial framework, nor does it compromise spending for agriculture. The next step is to reach an agreement with Council and European Parliament.

On 11th December European Commission Vice-President for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy Margot Wallström presented a review of 2008 - including 10 real results provided by the EU to its citizens: the control of the use of chemcial products in Europe; a joint response to the financial crisis; enhanced rights for temporary workers; improvements in child protection; rights equality for handicapped passengers; healthier and simpler eating; solidarity between Member States in the face of catastrophes and more transparent community funding.

On 12th December the European Commission put forward a new regulation to promote international merchandise transport via rail. In order to encourage the development of this type of transport which does not pollute the Commission suggests the definition of international rail corridors offering operators a better infrastructure thereby making European rail freight transport more competitive. The Member States will be free to establish the corridors in application of the subsidiarity principle.

The 27 Transport Ministers who met on 8th December re-iterated their commitment to the development of safe and sustainable transport systems. They adopted conclusions with regard to the "greening of the transport system" package. In the area of maritime security they reached agreement on the Erika 3 package relative to shipowners' responsibility that will oblige ship owners to have insurance. With regard to road security Ministers confirmed their desire to punish dangerous behaviour on the part of European drivers. With regard to aviation they adopted two negotiation mandates for the Commission in view of the establishment of Euro-Mediterranean agreements with Algeria and Tunisia. Finally in the area of telecommunications, Ministers adopted a decision establishing a multi-annual community programme aiming to protect children when they use the Internet.

On 9th December the Co-operation Councils between the EU, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan took place. With regard to Georgia EU representatives maintained their support of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of this country. The Council also provided an opportunity to discuss improving bilateral relations and the means of enhancing visa, trade and assistance policies. The Co-operation Council with Azerbaijan notably focussed on energy co-operation. The Council with Armenia gave rise to an agreement on certains aspects of air services. Finally the European Commission presented the main proposals of the communication on eastern partnership adopted on 3rd December last.

On 10th December the German government adopted a project put forward by the Interior Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble to enhance the protection of personal data. This measure comes after a series of revelations about the faults in the confidential data security system in Germany. The aim is to improve the level of protection of personal data and the transparency of their use as well as greater influence on the part of citizens in the use of data by advertising. The first chapter plans for the implementation of a facultative audit procedure. The second chapter aims to submit the use of their data by advertising and market or opinion research to the explicit authorisation of the citizens themselves. Advertising for charitable or trade advertising is notably exempt from these obligations - this includes advertising supplements placed in newspapers.

In spite of the financial and economic crisis German exports have continued to increase over the last twelve months although the pace has slowed slightly. According to the Federal Statistics Office exports rose by 1.4% between October 2007 and October 2008. With its imports growing by 5.4% per year Germany revealed a trade surplus of 16.4 billion euros at the end of October (in comparison with 18.9 billion in October 2007). Most of German exports go to the EU that absorbs slightly more than 63% (56.8 billion euros), of which 42% are absorbed by the euro area. The latter also sells nearly 65% (47.5 billion euros) of the merchandise that it imports to Germany including nearly 45% which comes from the euro area. These figures make Germany the world's leading exporter ahead of China and the USA.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy held a press conference on 12th December in Brussels after the conclusion of the last European Council of the French Presidency of the European Union. The Lisbon Process has been revived : the 27 decided to encourage the Irish to vote again. In exchange for concessions granted to Dublin such as the upkeep of its commissioner, Ireland is to organise another referendum on the treaty by November 2009. The Council also came to an agreement on the European economic recovery programme: the 27 agreed "on the need for recovery to a total of around 1.5% of the GDP" ie 200 billion euros in an effort to put an end to the economic crisis that is affecting the entire continent. The president qualified the EU's agreement with regard to protecting the climate and reducing CO2 emissions as historic.

According to figures from the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) published on 9th December the British GDP decreased by 1% over the period September-November 2008, in comparison with 0.8% over August to October. In the NIESR's opinion there is strong reason to believe that the drop in the GDP will continue and be higher than 1% in the last quarter of 2008. All indicators point to a continued worsening in the UK's economic activity that is sinking into recession in the wake of the credit crunch and a downturn in the real estate market, which as a consequence has led to a rise in unemployment and a fall in consumption. The authorities have admitted that the country is falling into recession and the government, which announced a recovery plan of 20 billion pounds (24 billion euros) last month, is now reckoning on a GDP decline ranging from 0.75% to 1.25% in 2009. According to national statistics the GDP stagnated in the second quarter and declined by 0.5% in the third quarter, decreasing for the first time in sixteen years.

On 10th December Üli Maurer, the former chair of the Democratic Centre Union (UDC) was elected onto the Federal Council as Defence Minister in a third round of voting. The UDC, the Swiss far right party which is populist xenophobic and anti-European is making its comeback into the government one year after the ejection of Christoph Blocher, the charismatic leader, on 12th December 2007. Üli Maurer replaces Samuel Schmid, a former UDC member esteemed too moderate by the party and who resigned on 12th November. The new federal advisor is extremely conservative with regard to issues of society and is totally against Switzerland's acession to the EU; he is notably against the opening of the labour market to Bulgarian and Romanian workers as part of the continuation of the bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the EU.

According to figures published by Eurostat on 11th December, the GDP per capita varied in 2007 between 37% and 267% depending on the Member States given that the European average is 100. Hence the GDP per capita in Luxembourg in 2007 was two and a half times higher than the EU average (index 267) whilst the GDP per capita in Romania and Bulgaria was slightly more than a third of the European average (index 37).

According to Eurostat figures published on 11th December the EU external current account recorded a deficit of 26.0 billion euro in the third quarter of 2008, compared with a deficit of a deficit of 30.9 bn in the second quarter of 2008. In the third quarter of 2008, the EU external balance of trade in services recorded a surplus of 21.2 billion euro, compared with a surplus of 20.5 billion in the second quarter of 2008.

According to Eurostat figures published on 12th December the total hourly labour cost had increased annually by 4% in the euro area and by 4.1% in the EU in the third quarter of 2008. The two main components of labour costs are wages and salaries and non-wage costs - in the euro area, wages and salaries grew by 3.8% in the year and by 4% in the EU. The increase in labour costs was lowest in Germany and Sweden (2.5%) and highest in Romania (+21%).

According to the latest estimates published by Eurostat on 12th December in October 2008 compared with September 2008, seasonally adjusted industrial production fell by 1.2% in both the euro area and the EU. In October 2008 compared with October 2007, industrial production declined by 5.3% in the euro area and by 5.0% in the EU. The monthly decline mainly involved durable consumer goods and capital goods. Industrial production only increased in Portugal (+1.3%) and fell in 19 Member States, the greatest decrease being in Ireland (6.4%).

The Royal Belgian Institute for International Relations has published a study by Louise Van Schaik & Karel Van Hecke entitled "Skating on thin ice: Europe's internal climate policy and its position in the world". This study focuses on European policy with regard to the climate and the implications for its external policy in international negotiations on the climate. The authors highlight the interrelation between the internal and external aspects of the EU climate policy; they demonstrate that the EU is not a flexible negotiator due to its internal decision making procedure.

The European Policy Centre has published a paper by Rosa Balfour entitled "UN Declaration of Human Rights at 60: what role for EU foreign policy?". Although she believes that the EU has worked hard to integrate Human Rights issues into its external policies the author thinks that there is still work to be done for example in terms of the fight against torture and to develop a common culture of Human Rights between Member States.

The European Council of Foreign Relations has published a study by Daniel Korski, Ulrike Guérot and Mark Leonard entitled "Re-wiring the US-EU relationship" on EU/USA relations. The authors notably believe that whilst the Europeans want to enhance co-operation with the Americans they should improve both formal and informal means of dialogue by inviting for example the American Secretary of State to participate in the Councils of Foreign Affairs Ministers or by improving relations with the American Congress.

The Strategic Analysis Centre has published a paper entitled "A new vision of the European Research Area". As witnesses to the fragmentation of research amongst the 27 Member States, the authors believe that it is vital to establish a long term vision and to set up effective governance. Stressing the adoption of a vision extending to 2020 of the European Research Area by the Competitiveness Council on 2nd December they suggest that the Czech and Swedish presidencies provide this vision with detailed content and governance.

German Chancellor from 1974 to 1982, Helmut Schmidt will be celebrating his 90th birthday on 23rd December next. In a book entitled "Ausser Dienst" (literally "Out of Service"), he describes historical developments since the end of the Cold War and looks into Germany's present policy and its future. He also mentions personal matters: his experiences during the war, the mistakes he made, his beliefs and the end of his life.

The world of cinema has paid tribute to its eldest member, Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira who celebrated his centenary on 12th December; he is celebrated as a "free" and "uncompromising" artist whose unchanging vitality still contributes towards enhancing mystery and legend.