Robert Schuman Foundation Chairman Jean-Dominique Giuliani, will speak at the 26th congress of the "Families of France" that will take place on 5th December in Strasbourg on the theme of "Families, Europe is in our hands".

Just as the Lisbon Treaty enters force on December 1st the Robert Schuman Foundation is offering internet users 10 fact sheets to understand everything with regard to the main modifications brought about by the Lisbon Treaty to the running of the EU. Four annexes complement the 10 sheets for those who want to find out more.

The Slovenian Parliament adopted the 2010 and 2011 budgets on 25th November. These plan for deficits of 5.8% and 4.8%, down in comparison with the 5.9% deficit expected this year. The Slovenian Finance Minister France Krizanic said that Slovenia would come down below the 3% mark in 2013 as requested by the European Commission.

During the annual German employers' congress on 24th November in Berlin Angela Merkel gave her analysis of the economic situation. In her opinion it is still weak in spite of the publication of encouraging figures. According to the German statistics office, Germany recorded growth of 0.7% in the third quarter, confirming that it had emerged from the recession. Angela Merkel justified her projects to reduce tax announcing that she would extend the measure to support partial unemployment for another year. However she intends to be careful not to create another bubble via state aid which must remain temporary. On 28th November she qualified the credit situation as critical and called on banks to do more to help finance business.

In the latest IMF update released on 23rd November the organisation's Director General Dominique Strauss-Kahn observed that the world economy was "stable", but he insisted on the upkeep of support measures due to the vulnerability of some countries. He set the establishment of balancing public finances as a priority of economic strategy especially in developed countries. The economic model driven by household consumption is coming to an end. Western economies must be aware of increasing competition on the part of the emerging countries and they must rise to new challenges. On the same day he spoke to the Confederation of British Industry, pointing to four challenges: the progressive suppression of support policies, adaptation to an increased flow in capital towards the emerging countries, the establishment of a new world growth model and the reform of the financial sector.

During a speech to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) British Prime Minister Gordon Brown presented his projects for growth based on investments and exports. He indicated that the government wanted to liberate "the entrepreneurial, innovative and dynamic talent" of British entrepreneurs and employers. To encourage growth the Prime Minister promised that the government would devote its efforts to five areas in particular: digital, competence and science, transport, planning and energy.

According to figures published on 27th September by the National Statistics Bureau of Sweden the Swedish economy recorded a rise in growth of around 0.2% in the third quarter of 2009 which made it possible to restrict the decline of the GDP to 5% over one year. After suffering the full force of the world economic crisis Sweden emerged from recession in the second quarter with growth of 0.3% in comparison with the first quarter after a successive year of GDP decline.

On 27th November the European Commission published new figures with regard to the Economic Sentiment Indicator for the EU and the Euro Zone. Data shows an increase in this index, that measures the confidence of economic operators, of 2.7 points in the euro area and 1.9 points in the EU. The ESI continues to rise, as it has done for the last 8 months, although its level is still below the long term average.

On 27th November the Spanish government re-iteratd its will to change "the economic model" in reaction to the severe crisis that has affected Spain for the last year, with the presentation of a so-called preliminary "sustainable economy" law. This "draft law" for a sustainable economy integrates a series of structural reforms designed to help businesses to guide their activities towards sectors that are generators of long term growth and sustainable employment from an economic, social and environmental point of view," said the government after the council of ministers.

The Romanian Finance Minister published data from the execution budget for the first ten months of 2009 on 26th November. This data reveals a deficit estimated at 25.5 billion lei, ie 5.1% of the GDP. Fiscal revenue on income increased by 2.9% in comparison with the same period the previous year whilst that on profits dimished by 11.3%. Personal costs increased by 4.7% as a result of the salary increases decided upon in 2008.

On 26th November Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor called on Croatian Parliament to approve the draft 2010 budget qualifying it as balanced. The budget forecasts 0.5% GDP growth in 2010 and 3.5% in 2012. 87% of spending will be allocated to salaries, pensions and social allocations. Adaptation to European standards will also lead to major spending. Finally Ms Kosor said that next year there would be a major reform of the civil services.

The GDP in the third quarter in terms of seasonally corrected data was 0.5% higher than the previous quarter and rose by 1% over one year, said the Polish National Statistics Office on 30th November.

On 27th November the 8th meeting of the accession conference of Croatia to the EU took place. The EU decided to close three negotiation chapters relative to financial services, energy and the protection of health and consumers. It does however stress that it will continue to control closely progress achieved in the adoption of the community acquis in these areas reserving the right to return to them at another moment as negotiations continue.

On 23rd November the 27 Environment Ministers looked at the preparation for the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change that will take place from 7th to 18th December. The EU wants to come to an agreement on a new world regime to fight climate change together with a definite timetable. Ministers said that the EU wanted to play a leading role in negotiations and encourage, thanks to its own commitments, the other parties to review their promises upwards.

Onn 24th November MEPs rejected 31 votes in favour, 605 against, the four proposals put forward by the Council relative to the reform of the Police Cooperation Agency (Europol). They believe that the involvement of Parliament is necessary for the modification of the rules governing Europol. They asked the Council to put forward new proposals after the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty on 1st December. This extends from police cooperation to the codecision procedure which places Parliament on an equal footing with the Council.

MEPs of the Foreign Affairs Commission at the European Parliament approved a resolution on the European Commission's enlargement strategy on 23rd November. They welcome the work undertaken by the candidate or potential candidate countries in terms of the rule of law, freedom of expression, the treatment of ethnic minorities and the fight against corruption and organised crime - they did however indicate that problems continued to exist. They particularly criticised Turkey for its political interference in the media, its infringements of religious freedom and the lack of will to settle the Cypriot issue, Bosnia-Herzegovina was also criticised for its unstable political climate. They recommend that the Balkan countries settle their bilateral differences, to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia and to take the necessary steps to ensure the liberalisation of visas.

On 25th November MEPs asked the European Commission to look into new legislation that will enable the protection of passengers in the event of an airline's bankruptcy. They are asking for the establishment of a compensation fund as well as a mutual responsibility principle on the basis of which any airline flying in the same direction and having free seats be obliged to return home passengers who have been blocked in foreign airports.

On 25th November the European Parliament adopted modifications to its internal rules in view of adapting to the new measures introduced by the Lisbon Treaty. These modifications notably aim to include the arrival of 18 new MEPs, a new means of appointment of the President of the Commission, an increase in legislative powers on the part of the parliament as well as a new budgetary procedure, which places Parliament on an equal footing with the Council.

On 25th November MEPs adopted 529 votes in favour, 27 against a resolution that aims to protect European consumers against misleading marking of products. The resolution stipulates that the origin of the products on sale have to be recognisable by consumers via "a compulsory label of origin" and a demand is made for better information with regard to social and environmental standards applied by the manufacturers.

MEPS aksed the Council on 25th November not to lose sight of citizens' rights when it debates the Stockholm Programme that is to define European policy in terms of justice and security for the next five years. In a resolution adopted by 487 votes, 122 against and 49 abstentions they asked for greater solidarity and cooperation in terms of asylum, guarantees of access to justice, housing, education, migrant health, the fight against any type of discrimination, a balance between security and the protection of civil liberties and the protection of prisoners rights. MEPs approved financial aid for the construction of prisons in countries where the latter are overcrowded. They would like to see the creation of a specialised court for cybercrime.

MEPs gave voice on 25th November to their expectations in view of the conference on climate in Copenhagen that will start on 7th December. They are calling on Heads of State and Government to show political will to come to an ambitious and legally binding agreement that establishes clear objectives to reduce emissions both for the industrialised as well as developing countries, together with financial commitments and sanctions. This agreement is due to take effect as from 1st January 2013. MEPs called on the USA, China, Brazil and India to join in the EU's work to launch a "New Sustainable Deal" based on growth, social cohesion, green technologies, renewable energies and energy efficiency.

The day after the international day for the eradication of violence against women MEPs called for the acknowledgement of sexual violence as a crime the authors of which will automatically be prosecuted. Parliamentarians ask for greater punishment with regard to rape committed within marriage, genital mutilation and so-called "crimes of honour" rejecting any kind of justification based on cultural or religious traditions. The resolution pleads for a clearer legal base and more coherent community policy to fight against violence committed against women, qualified as an infringement of human rights.

On 26th November MEPs adopted a resolution relative to piracy in Somalia. They invited the Council to plan for a new ESDP operation to run parallel to Atalanta in order to contribute to the training of transition government security forces. They are particularly concerned that any weakness shown with regard to Somali pirates' demands will encourage more acts of piracy in the area. They stressed that this problem could only really be eradicated if it were tackled from the base: poverty and the failure of the rule of law.

The President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso announced on 27th November the composition of his new team that will take office once the approval of the European Parliament has been given. In addition to the Briton Catherine Ashton, High Representative, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Greece, Sweden, Ireland, Bulgaria and Cyprus have put forward candidates. In addition to the High Representative two women will be Vice Presidents, Neelie Kroes for Digitial Economy and Viviane Reding for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship. Eleven outgoing commissioners will see their term in office renewed. The economic portfolios, the most coveted posts, will go to the German, Belgian, Spanish, Finnish, French and Italian Commissioners whilst Romania gets Agriculture and the new post of Commissioner for Climate Action has been given to a Dane. Sweden has taken the area of Internal Affairs which was a priority of its presidency.

The European Commission published an update of the blacklisted airlines in the EU on 27th November. This list now extends to all air transporters from Djibouti, Congo and from São Tomé e Principe whilst the prohibition was lifted on three companies who have demonstrated that they have made significant progress with regard to security. Another company is allowed to resume activities if improvements are now made.

On 25th November the European Commission published the results of its enquiry "She Figures" devoted to the theme of equality between men and women in science. In Europe women only represent 30% of researchers and 18% of chair holding professors, although their number is rising. Women's under- representation in scientific disciplines is a major challenge for the Commission to rise to. Important input may come from the Helsinki group "Women and Science", which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and which promotes cooperation between Member States and the Commission to remedy these inequalities.

On 26th November the European Commission launched a consultation on enhanced financial protection for European holiday makers. The Commission would like to extend cover that is already guaranteed in terms of package deals (right to information, responsibility for the correct undertaking of services and protection in the event of bankruptcy) to so-called "dynamic" packages, which are assembled by the consumer himself via the internet. In the EU 23% of consumers on average reserve this type of package.

Swedish Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt and his Spanish counterpart Diego Lopez Garrido whose country will take over the presidency of the council of the European Union as from January 1st 2010, travelled to Ankara on 26th November to meet their Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu in view of discussing Turkey's EU membership process. The European representatives recalled that Turkey had to respect the protocol signed in 2005 in virtue of which the present Customs Union between Turkey and the EU extends to the ten new Member States which joined in 2004 and this includes Cyprus. The Union has already frozen 8 of the 35 negotiation chapters in retaliation to Turkey's non-cooperation in this matter.

The EU-China Summit which took place on 30th November was the occasion of a confrontation between the European and Chinese positions on the Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change. Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt remarked that although the EU is prepared to assume its responsibilities, an ambitious agreement could only be found if China proved its leadership and showed its political will in this area. Although China finally presented definite figures in terms of CO2 reductions it continues to stand as a developing country which requires the support of the international community. Other themes addressed during the summit were the economic crisis, trade relations and international stability.

The Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Krassimir Kostov, responsible for relations with the EU resigned on 27th November after the revelation of his collaboration with the former Communist espionage service said the government. Prime Minister Boïko Borissov accepted his resignation that "was motivated by personal reasons linked to the revelation of his membership of the former Darjavna Sigurnost( State Security).

Spanish Prime Minister José Luiz Rodriguez Zapatero met his Greek counterpart George Papandreou on 25th November as one of a series of meetings with heads of government of the 27 designed to pinpoint priorities and objectives of the Spanish Presidency of the Union in the first semester of 2010. He said that he would work to promote the European immigration policy. Both leaders also discussed biletaral relations between their two countries and said they wanted to cooperate in terms of developing renewable energies.

French Prime Minister François Fillon met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on 26th and 27th November at Matignon then during the 14th bilateral seminar in Rambouillet. Several economic agreements were signed in the areas of gas, oil, trade, high technologies, environment and humanitarian cooperation.

Latvian President Valdis Zatlers spoke with his Polish counterpart Lech Kaczynski during a visit to Warsaw on 26th November, then with the President of the Polish Senate, Bogdan Boruseicz. The two meetings led to discussions on the state of bilateral relations between the two countries as well as economic cooperation, the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty and the definition of a new strategic plan for NATO.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite travelled to Kiev on 25th November where she met Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko. They discussed bilateral relations and notably cooperation in areas such as the economy, transport, energy, culture and education. These discussions should lead to the signature of various agreements with regard to Ukraine's energy supplies, the provision of long stay visas and to the acknowlegement of higher education diplomas. They also addressed the issue of relations between Ukraine and the European Union, notably as part of Europe's Eastern Partnership.

On 27th November the German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Guido Westerwelle met his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko. Their discussions focused mainly the development of bilateral relations as well as on European and international issues.

During the 12th EU-China Summit Eurostat has published data relative to the trade in goods between China and the EU. The value of European exports towards China had declined by 1st September 2009 in comparison with the same semester the previous year, dropping from 39 billion to 37 billion euros; likewise imports had dropped from 112 billion to 103 billion euros. As a result the EU's trade deficit with China decreased from 73 billion to 65 billion euros. Germany, the Netherlands and the UK are China's main trade partners.

Consumer prices increased in the euro area for the first time in seven months in November according to a first estimate by Eurostat published on 30th November. The 16 countries in the euro area experienced inflation of 0.6% in November in comparison with the same month a year ago and after a decline of 0.1% in October.

Bruegel has published a report entitled "No Green Growth without Innovation" by Philippe Aghion, Reinhilde Veugelers and David Hemous. The theory put forward by the authors is that political decision makers should do more to encourage innovation and investment in "green" research and development instead of focusing simply on the establishment of carbon prices. The authors have made recommendations to increase and make green growth attractive in the private sector.

The Center for European Reform has published a study by Nick Mabey entitled "Making Choices over China: EU-China cooperation on energy and climate". The EU needs China to become a low carbon economy. Even with a strong Chinese leadership at the highest level this mission is not an easy one given the size of the country, its diversity and its need to develop. The establishment of a real agreement on climate change as part of the UN is important but it is vital for the EU to develop close bilateral relations with China.

The Swedish Institute for European Studies has published a study by Hiski Haukkala entitled "From Zero-Sum to Win-Win? The Russian Challenge to the EU's Eastern Neighbourhood Policies?" Just as the EU's eastern neighbourhood comprises a zone of tension with Russia which considers these countries as an integral part of its sphere of influence the author shows the importance of the EU in this region. The European policy must not be taken as a threat by Russia, the era of confrontation between two major powers being over.

Under the patronage and in the presence of Jolanta Balciuniene, Ambassador for Lithuania in France, the Salle de l'Archipel in Paris is giving a poetry evening on 6th December at 6pm devoted to texts by Oscar Milosz, recited by Julien Vialon together with Skaidra Jancaite (soprano) and Marie Saint Bonnet (harpe) who will interpret musical excerpts by Ciurlionis and Debussy - this event will conclude the Lithuanian cultural season.

Christmas is just around the corner and markets are opening all over Europe. In France the most famous of these is Strasbourg which has been setting up its stalls around the famous Cathedral since 1570. It rivals the market in Belfast that is organised in the gardens of the townhall, but above all it competes with the German and Austrian markets, since the German speaking countries have the strongest traditionsin this domain.