The second Diversity Forum will take place on 21st December next. Devoted to women's involvement and their success in the professional world it will address all types of themes (recruitment, mentoring, equal pay, promotion, access to the executive board etc ...) More than 2000 participants are expected to discuss how to improve diversity with the best experts in a series of workshops and with the support of 60 exhibitors. It is obligatory to enrol. You only have a few days left join up!

The Czechs are being called to ballot on 11th and 12th January next to elect the President of the Republic by direct universal suffrage for the very first time. Since Vaclav Klaus (Democratic-Civic Party, ODS) has been in office for the last ten years and has undertaken two successive mandates, he cannot stand again. If no candidate wins an absolute majority on 12th January next a second round of voting will take place on 25th and 26th January. Nine candidates are running: Jan Fischer (independent), former Prime Minister (2009-2010); Jiri Dienstbier (CSSD); Milos Zeman (SPOZ), former Prime Minister (1998-2002); Premysl Sobotka (ODS), Vice President of the Senate; Karel Schwarzenberg (TOP 09), former Foreign Minister ;Zuzana Roithova (KDU-CSL), MEP and former Minister; Tatana Fischerova (independent), actor; Vladimir Franz (independent), composer; Jana Bobosikova (SBB).

On 12th December 2012, the Riigikogu (Estonian Parliament) adopted the finance bill for 2013, 55 votes in support, 37 against - it is forecasting a public finance deficit of 0.7% of the GDP. Estonia's GDP is due to grow by 3% in 2013. Its spending will total 7.7 billion euros, ie 1.1% more in comparison with 2012 and its revenues will total 7.5 billion euros, ie an increase of 2.2%.

On 13th and 14th December 2012 the 27 Heads of States and government came to agreement on a roadmap for the completion of the Economic and Monetary Union on the base of greater integration and solidarity. The President of the European Council, Herman van Rompuy is invited to deliver his work by June 2013 on the coordination of national reforms, the social dimension of the EMU, the competitiveness and growth contracts and the deepening of the single market. They started work on the European Semester 2013 based on an annual assessment of growth undertaken by the Commission. They also decided to launch work on the development of the common security and defence policy (CSDP) and they will look into the issue again in December 2013.

In a communication on 14th December 2012 the Commission highlights that the lack of fiscal harmonisation on private cars is leading to a fragmentation of the single market but also to the risk of double taxation for private parties and businesses. In 2010 these taxes represented nearly 1.9% of the Member States' overall fiscal revenues. Moreover the Commission has announced the "basic rules that have to be respected" and the "best practices" that the Member States should apply, notably those regarding the reimbursement of a share of the registration tax for vehicles transferred permanently from one country to another.

On 12th December 2012 MEPs approved by 533 votes in support, 91 against and 32 abstentions, the Council's proposal to allow enhanced cooperation in the area of the tax on financial transactions between 11 Member States in the euro zone (Austria, Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain). These States represent nearly 90% of the euro zone's GDP.

On 13th December the 27 Economy and Finance Ministers approved two texts in view of establishing a Single Supervision Mechanism in the banking sector Europe-wide. The first provides the ECB with a supervisory role, and the second reforms the European Banking Authority.

On 13th December 2012 the European Union's Court of Justice annulled a vote by the European Parliament which had decided to split the plenary sessions of October 2012 and 2013 to limit the time spent by MEPs in Strasbourg. All of the European Parliament's Plenary Sessions must now take place in Strasbourg which remains, in line with the treaties, the HQ of the European Parliament.

The draft fiscal agreement between Germany and Switzerland was finally rejected on 12th December 2012 after the failure of the bid to achieve reconciliation in Germany between the government majority, which supports the text and the leftwing opposition, which is against it. The German government turned to the Conciliation Committee in an attempt to save the rejected text at the end of November 2012 via the Upper Chamber of the German Parliament (Bundesrat).

The Estonian Social Affairs Minister, Hanno Pevkur was appointed on 10th December 2012 by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves as Justice Minister in replacement of Kristen Michal, who resigned after an affair involving the illegal financing of a political party. Mr Pevkur is replaced in Social Affairs by Taavi Roivas, Chair of the European Affairs Committee at the Riigikogu (Parliament).

On 14th December 2012, the 2013 draft budget was adopted on second reading by the National Assembly. This draft anticipates 24 billion euros more in taxes, a burden shared by households and businesses, as well as 10 billion euros in savings on spending. It will be assessed by the Senate on 18th December.

On 12th December 2012 the new Lithuanian government was sworn in after parliament had approved its 2012-2016 programme, 83 votes in support, 39 against and 9 abstentions. The latter seems "to take on board the economic and financial situation, and it will be implemented with success," commented Prime Minister A. Butkevicius. After the general elections on 14th and 28th October last the 16th Lithuanian government comprises the Social Democratic Party (LSDP), the Labour Party (DP), the Order and Justice Party (TT) and the Electoral Action for Lithuanian Poles (LLRA). It includes 2 women out 15 members.

On 10th December 2012 the Maltese Parliament voted against the 2013 budget put forward by the government. The latter, which now finds itself in the minority, requested the dissolution of parliament which will occur on 7th January. Legislative elections will now take place on 9th March 2013. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi presented his resignation to President George Abela on 11th December 2012.

On 12th December 2012 during a ceremony that was broadcast live by public television, Czech President Vaclav Klaus appointed Karolina Peake, Chair of the LIDEM party (centre-right), as Defence Minister, Zbynek Stanjura (ODS) as Transport Minister and Petr Mlsna (no party allegiance) as a Minister without a portfolio, to be head of the goverment's Legislative Council, a post which had remained empty after the departure of Karolina Peake.

On 17th December Romanian President Traian Basescu asked outgoing Prime Minister Victor Ponta to form a new government thereby quelling fears of a new political crisis. The centre-left coalition led by Mr Ponta, the Social Liberal Union (USL), won nearly 60% of the vote in the general elections that took place on 9th December.

In a press release on 11th December 2012 the British Serious Fraud Office said that three people ad been arrested in connection with the investigation into the Libor affair. Three British men aged 33, 41 and 47 "were arrested and taken to a police station in London to be questioned about the Libor manipulation affair". These initial arrests mark a new phase in the authorities' action in the affair which irrupted at the end of June 2012 when Barclays Bank revealed that it was going to pay £290 million to put an end to the investigations undertaken by the British and American regulators into the manipulation of British Libor and European Euribor interbank rates over the period 2005-2009.

On 13th December 2012 the Ukrainian parliament approved the re-appointment of resigning Prime Minister Mykola Azarov during a tumultuous session. 252 MPs supported his candidature out of the 226 required. This vote was due to take place the day before but had been postponed after violent clashes in the hemicycle between opposition MPs and those of the ruling party, the Party of Regions. The three opposition parties, the Batkivchtchina Alliance, close to Yulia Tymoshenko, the Udar Party led by boxer Vitaly Klitschko and the Nationalist Movement Svoboda, which have more than 170 MPs, announced that they had not voted for Mr Azarov. In a resolution adopted on 13th December 2012 the European Parliament regrets that the "general elections [...] did not meet international standards". The country has to "show its commitment to real democracy before any agreement can be signed."

On 12th December 2012 Zdravko Tolimir, former deputy commander of the Serb Army of Bosnia (VRS), was sentenced by the first chamber of the ICTY to life in prison. He was found guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed in 1995, after the fall of the enclaves of Srebrenica and of Zepa in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

According to figures published by Eurostat on 14th December 2012 employment in the euro zone and in the EU contracted by 0.2% in the third quarter of 2012. The building industry is the most heavily affected sector.

In an article published on 10th December 2012 Synopia, which comprises a group of eminent experts in European affairs, who are assessing new governance ideas are putting forward a series of four measures that would be applicable immediately without any modifications being required to the treaties to reform the EU's institutional practices. It suggests, on the basis of a Franco-German initiative, that the Eurogroup, together with a full time President and spokesperson for the euro zone, be the place for in depth discussion of economic policy and for it to have greater political authority; that the euro zone summits be the place in which the major guidelines of national policy be discussed; that the Commission strengthen its statistical tools, simplify those accumulated over the last few years and that it be the independent body necessary for a better coordination of national policy;and finally that the national parliaments have greater involvement in the European decisions taken by their governments, also in the work of the Eurogroup President and specifically that they meet as the euro zone.

The European Voisinages collection, with the support of the Robert Schuman Foundation, has published a book by Emmanuelle Armandon entitled "Crimea between Russia and Ukraine, a conflict that did not take place." Via the study of the secessionist movement that emerged in the region at the beginning of the 1990's, the author analyses the Crimean imbroglio and the threat that the "Crimean issue" means for the stability of the new Ukrainian State and its relations with Russia.

The Philharmonic Orchestra of Vienna's New Year's Concert 2013, the most popular annual classical music concert, will be conducted for the second time by Franz Welser-Möst, the General Musical Director of the State Opera of Vienna and Musical Director of the Orchestra of Cleveland. As every year enrolment to attend the concert for New Year 2014 via a lottery system will be open from 2nd to 23rd January 2013.