Whilst negotiations for the appointment of new posts created by the Lisbon Treaty are entering a decisive phase Pascale Joannin, Director General of the Robert Schuman Foundation spoke on 12th November on the site of Tribune.fr on women's representation within the political bodies in the Member States and above all in the European institutions. The Robert Schuman Foundation's Director General stresses that a great deal of work still has to be done to achieve parity, and she deplores a worsening in the situation at present.

On 11th November the Swedish government published a report on the reforms adopted in view of responding to the effects of the economic and financial crisis and to recovering growth and employment. This comprises both a macro and a microeconomic and also an employment policy. The government published its draft finance law for 2010 on the same day - this is designed to boost growth that declined sharply by 5.2% in 2009. The government believes that this law will enable growth of 1.7%, higher than if the budget had not been established. This will also allow it to create 52,000 additional jobs.

On 9th November the whole world celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the German capital no less than thirty heads of State and government joined the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the crowd of Berliners to celebrate the Festival of Freedom. Religious ceremonies, walks along the remains of the wall together with eye-witnesses, concerts, speeches and splendid shows succeeded each other during this exceptional day. Angela Merkel went to the spot where everything started on the evening of 9th November 1989: the old crossing point at Bornholmer Strasse. She was accompanied by former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev and former Solidarnosc leader Lech Walesa. The evening was also marked by the symbolic fall of a thousand polystyrene dominos, that had been painted and positioned along the path of the Berlin Wall between the Reichstag and Potsdamer Platz.

Vaclav Havel, the former dissident then Czech President spoke to the European Parliament on 11th November on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the democratic change in Europe. In his speech he called on European Parliament the only European body to be elected directly, to play a greater role in the continental arena. He also criticised the position of the present Czech President Vaclav Klaus on the Lisbon Treaty; the latter believes that the application of this treaty will lead to a loss of sovereignty on the part of the Czech Republic. "I feel European, this does not mean that I do not feel Czech. Europe is the mother country of our mother countries," declared Vaclav Havel.

Swedish Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt announced on 11th November that an extraordinary European Council will take place on 19th November to choose those who will be appointed to the positions created by the Lisbon Treaty ie the stable President of the European Council as well as the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and the Security Policy who will be - and this is new - Vice-President of the European Commission. The Secretary General of the Council is also to be appointed. The Swedish Prime Minister admitted that the choice was a difficult one since geographical, political, demographic and gender criteria had to be taken into consideration. He insisted on the importance of establishig open dialogue between the 27 Heads of State and government.

As part of its budgetary monitoring competence the European Commission suggested on 11th November that the Council establish 2013 as the deadline for the rectification of excessive budgetary deficits for Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia; 2012 for Belgium and Italy. In addition to this the Commission tried to establish whether "action followed by results" had been launched in Greece, Spain, France, Ireland and the UK in response to the Council's recommendations of April last. The worsening of the economic situation justifies a review of the existing recommendations and the extension of the previously established deadlines by one year as planned in the Stability and Growth Pact ie 2013 for France and Spain, 2014 for Ireland and 2014-2015 for the UK. The Stability and Growth Pact is still the stable point of all budgetary consolidation strategies.

German women continue to earn a quarter less than German men on average but the gap is five times higher in the West than the East. According to data published on 12th November by the Federal Statistics Office (Destatis) in 2008 women working in the west of the country earned 25% less than men whilst those working in the former GDR earned 5% less. Moreover although the difference in salaries has decreased by one percentage point in the new Länder it has increased as much in the west. The difficulty in reconciling professional and family life, the fact that important positions are taken mostly by men, notably in sectors where the wage differnce is greatest and the importance of part time work amongst German women help to explain the continuation of these differences.

Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen travelled to Tallinn on 12th November on the invitation of his Estonian counterpart Andrus Ansip. Discussions focused on the economic and financial situation, regional issues, energy cooperation and the main European issues. This meeting is part of the "Cooperation opportunities between Finland and Estonia" report published in June 2008 on the basis of which the Prime Ministers decided to improve cooperation between the two countries and to organise annual meetings. The priority areas selected are ITs and commiunication, promotion of the mobility of individuals and information as well as the development of the business environment.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was in Paris to celebrate the armistice 91 years after the end of the First World War. The German anthem was sung at the Arc de Triomphe, an unprecedented event since Franco-German reconciliation.

The Italian Head of Government, Silvio Berlusconi repeated on 13th November that he supported Serbia's accession to the EU after an Italian-Serb Summit in Rome. After a meeting with Serb President Boris Tadic and several members of the Serb government Silvio Berlusconi said that he had pleaded in favour of Serbia's entry into the EU in 2012. The Netherlands are against this however as long as Ratko Mladic, the former military leader of the Serbs of Bosnia runs free. The President of the Italian Council spoke of the possibility of the suppression of visas for Serb citizens travelling to EU countries as from 19th December. The main stumbling block between the two countries is still Kosovo which Italy acknowledged in February 2008 whilst Serbia continues to considerate the former as its own southern province.

On 12th November the TV channel Euronews asked the following question: A women to head the permanent presidency of the EU. Why not choose Vaira Vike-Freiberga? At 72 the former Latvian president may achieve a consensus amongst the 27 during the extradordinary European Council on 19th November next. In any case she said she was ready for this position giving new wind to the vigorous campaign undertaken by her supporters on the internet via an online petition. Political analysts describe her as a serious candidate. Simone Veil has given her support.

The President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite met her Polish counterpart Lech Kaczynski on 11th November. In Warsaw they discussed the energy connection between the two countries as well as supply security problems in Europe.

The Hispano-Polish Summit took place in Sopot (Poland) on 9th November. The Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his Spanish counterpart, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero discussed the situation in the EU, cooperation in environmental matters, the protection of maritime biodiversity and the railway system.

The National Statistics Institute in Portugal has published "Demographic Statistics 2008". This publication reveals 2008 statistics with regard to demographic events as well as an analysis of demographic indicators such as births, marriages, divorces and the foreign population living in Portugal.

Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc inaugurated the Central European Initiative Summit on 12th November in Bucharest. Romania is ensuring the chairmanship of this regional cooperation body for the first time since 1st January 2009. This summit which is celebrating its 20th anniversary provides an opportunity to discuss the political and economic developments recorded by the regions States in their process to drawing closer to the EU and NATO.

British Foreign Minister David Miliband received his German counterpart, Guido Westerwelle in London on 11th November. Discussions in which the Secretaries of State for European Affairs Chris Bryant and Werner Hoyer took also took part, notably focused on Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, the peace process in the Middle East as well as on European foreign policy, neighbourhood policy and the Balkans, as well as on Europe's relations with the world's major powers.

During a meeting on 14th November between the Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor and Russian PM Vladimir Putin a participation agreement was signed for the Russian-Italian gaspipeline project South Stream between Slovenia and Russia.

The "Movement for Freedom" one of the main opposition parties in Belarus led by Alexander Milinkevich called on 14th November for a rapprochement between Europe and his country which remains isolated in spite of the recent opening to the West undertaken by the ruling powers. Several hundred supporters waving small blue flags with yellow stars gathered in Minsk for a "European forum" together with many personalities including Jean-Dominique Giuliani, Chairman of the Robert Schuman Foundation.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev gave an annual speech to the nation on 12th November which was resolutely oriented towards reform; he notably declared that Russia needs to be "modernised from top to bottom" on a democratic basis. The importance of political reform was highlighted notably on a regional level but economic reform was also mentioned: "instead of an economy relying on raw materials we shall create an economy that produces new technologies that are useful to people," he declared. However no timetable and no specific measures were spoken of.

On 13th November the Ukrainian Central Electorial Commission closed the registration of candidates for the presidential election the first round of which will take place on 17th January. 18 candidates were registered. Two candidates are running neck and neck in terms of voting intentions: Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko and the leader of the Party of Regions, Viktor Yanukovich. The political situation is still tense however: the H1N1 flu epidemic is spreading panic; Ukraine desperately needs the fourth part of the IMF loans to a total of 3.8 billion dollars but the IMF believes that conditions have not been met to be able to grant this. Finally the relationship with Moscow over gas is bringing back the threat of crisis this winter with Moscow warning Kiev and Brussels of payment difficulties on the part of Ukraine notably if no financial support is provided.

According to data published by Eurostat on 12th November industrial production registered a 0.3% rise in September 2009 in the euro area and 0.2% in the Union in comparison with August 2009. The comparison between September 2008 and September 2009 shows a decline of 12.9% in the euro area and by 12.1% in the EU.

The Bertelsmann Foundation has just published a study by Dominik Hierlemann entitled "Ein Präsident für alle" (A president for everyone). The Lisbon Treaty ratified by the 27 Member States plans for the creation of a stable post of president of the European Council. Although speculation rages about the name of the future title holder it is interesting to note that the person chosen will have a certain amount of influence over the profile of this new post.

Marbach-am-Neckar can celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) with pride. After two years of work the native town of this major German poet and playwright will re-open the Schiller Museum, one of the most important literary museums in Germany on 10th November. German President Horst Köhler inaugurated the renovated, historic building - a small Jugendstil castle - that was built in 1903. The national Schiller Museum can now be proud of a new permanent collection that includes 700 items mainly devoted to the life and works of Schiller. But tribute is paid to other writers of the Swabian school and a general overview of German literature in the 18th and 19th centuries can be observed.