On 9th December the IMF published a study on youth unemployment in the euro zone. A lack of economic growth linked to the financial crisis is one of the reasons for the rise in youth unemployment. It is the main reason 70% of the time and is found in vulnerable euro zone countries (Cyprus, Spain, Greece, Ireland and Portugal). However growth is not enough to reduce unemployment amongst 15-24 year olds since the IMF admits that labour market reform is also necessary.

On 9th December the OECD published its results on unemployment in October 2014. The unemployment rate in that month lay at 7.2% ie 43.8 million people in the OECD zone. Within the euro zone the rate remained stable at 11.5% with the greatest reduction recorded in Ireland (0.2 percentage point decline to 10.9% and in Slovenia (0.2 percentage point decline to 8.8%). The sharpest increase was recorded in Italy with a 0.3 percentage point rise to 13.2%). On 8th December the OECD presented its composite indicators for the month of December. It observed that growth continued to slow. This slowing is concentrated in the euro zone whilst other countries are doing better. There has been slow growth notably in Italy and Germany. This confirms recent reductions in the Bundesbank's forecasts. However it would seem that the economic situation in France is stabilising with growth forecast at 0.1% in the final quarter.

On 8th December the euro zone invited France to take additional steps to reduce its government deficit, notably by introducing further structural reform. The 18 Finance Ministers of the euro zone looked into the Member States' draft budgets ten days after the European Commission's assessment. Like the European executive the euro zone notes that France may not fall in line with the budgetary rules in 2015. As a result "additional measures are necessary to bring about an improvement," indicated the Eurogroup in a press release which lauded the "commitments" made by Paris to remedy the weaknesses in its economy. Finally Ministers agreed to grant a two-month extension to Greece's adaptation programme. The new deadline is now set for the end of February 2015 after which time Greece will be able to ask for a further enhanced precautionary line of credit.

France's budgetary excesses have cost the country its credit rating which was taken down a notch by Fitch on 12th December. France has dropped from a previous "AA+" to "AA" with a stable outlook. Fitch also qualified the country's economic prospects as "weak" and said that this weighed on the consolidation of government finances and the stabilisation of the debt ratio. "The French economy is due to grow less than the average in the euro zone countries for the first time in four years," stressed Fitch.

President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and the members of the College of Commissioners were officially sworn in on 10th December in Luxembourg before the European Court of Justice. With this "solemn undertaking", the members of the Commission pledged to respect the Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, to carry out their responsibilities in complete independence and in the general interest of the Union. Commissioners also promised not to seek or take instructions from any authorities, to refrain from engaging in actions incompatible with their duties and performance of their tasks, and to respect their obligations during and after their term of office."

As of 13th December the EU introduced new labelling rules on foodstuffs which were adopted by the European Parliament and the Council in 2011. These rules are harmonised across all of Europe. They will aim to provide consumers with clearer, fuller and precise information on the composition of foodstuffs, especially allergy producing products.

On 12th December the European Commission approved the first three rural development programmes amongst 118 that aim to "improve the competitiveness of the Union's agricultural sector, protect the countryside and the climate and to strengthen economic and social networks in rural communities." The 118 multi-annual programmes that will be operational on both regional and national levels will receive the EU's support to a total of 95.6 billion € covering the period 2014-2020 via the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). This total will come in addition to national, regional and private funding. Six more programmes will be adopted by the end of the year (more than 20 billion € in 2014).

The new European executive is planning to put forward 23 major initiatives including 13 legislative proposals. Conversely 80 texts may be withdrawn, because they no longer match priorities, or have no chance of finding agreement. This document was discussed on 10th December by the College of Commissioners. Its adoption is planned for 16th December.

On 9th December the 28 European Finance Ministers approved the investment plan totalling 315 billion € which was put to them by the European Commission and the EIB. The European Council will be called on 18th and 19th December to approve this plan so that the Commission can present a legislative proposal in January 2015 with the aim of having it adopted in June 2015. Ministers came to a political agreement on the insertion of an "anti-abuse" clause in the "parent-subsidiary" directive (to prevent corporate tax avoidance) thereby obliging Member States to integrate this clause into their national legislation before 31st March 2015. Ministers adopted a directive extending the obligatory automatic exchange of information between national tax authorities to prevent tax evasion by individual savers. They came to agreement on the contribution to be made by banks to the single resolution fund, which will enable the funding of the resolution of euro zone banks without having to use public funds. Ministers assessed the progress made regarding the proposal that aims to introduce a financial transaction tax (FFT) in 11 Member States via the "enhanced cooperation" procedure. Finally they presented the warning mechanism report, the conclusions of which show that the macro-economic situation of 16 EU Member States requires in-depth analysis.

The 28 European Ministers responsible for Employment and the Education ministers from Italy, Luxembourg and Latvia (trio of the three presidencies) met on 11th December to discuss the means to invest in order to counter youth unemployment using initiatives such as the "youth guarantee". They came to agreement on the reform of the European Employment Services (EURES) in order to provide better employment seeking and recruitment services to citizens across Europe. Finally the ministers did not come to agreement on the draft directive setting a fixed quota of women on the boards of European companies.

The 28 European Ministers responsible for Development met on 12th December and assessed the progress made regarding development issues based on the summary report published by the UN Secretary General. Regarding the EU's participation in the next world conference on financing development planned for July and the UN Summit planned in September 2015 ministers committed to adopting an "ambitious" framework in order to take part in the eradication of poverty and the promotion of sustainable development with the international community. Finally Commissioner Christos Stylianides, the EU's coordinator on Ebola reviewed the economic and human situation in the African countries affected by the epidemic. They then debated the EU's contribution to the fight to counter Ebola stressing that the aid announced by the European Commission and the Council now totals well over 1.1 billion €.

On 12th December the 28 Education Ministers adopted conclusions on entrepreneurship in teaching and training and confirmed unequivocally the political agreement concluded on the EU's 2015 budget and the draft amended budget pending for 2014. Ministers adopted conclusions on youth access rights regarding their autonomy and participation in civil society. Finally they discussed an intersectoral approach to youth policies as a means to rising to socio-economic challenges more easily in this area.

The EU and Ukraine held the first Association Council meeting on 15th December as part of the new association agreement promulgated on 1st November 2014. The EU and Ukraine maintained their common goal to build a "democratic, stable, prosperous country". Both parties also agreed to continue working together on political association and economic integration.

The European Union's diplomatic service confirmed on 12th December that negotiations on the Iranian nuclear programme will resume on 17th December in Geneva. The countries comprising the 5+1 (China, US, France, UK, Russia and Germany) and Iran will meet for one day "to continue diplomatic work in view of finding a satisfactory, long term solution" said the EEAS in a press release. Because no agreement was found in Vienna on 24th November, the 5+1 and Iran decided to continue with the provisional agreement concluded in November 2013 and to extend discussions until 1st July 2015.

The 28 European Foreign Ministers met in Brussels on 15th December and focused discussions on the situation in Iraq in order to set out an EU regional strategy in response to the threat posed by the Islamic State and to support the Iraqi government. Ministers also exchanged views on the crisis in Syria with UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura. The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini said that she would travel to Baghdad and Erbil next week. Moreover they agreed on a revised approach regarding Bosnia-Herzegovina without modifying the conditions for EU membership including the implementation of the Sejdic-Finci decision. Ministers will be voting on the entry into force of the stabilisation and association agreement with the EU once the leaders of Bosnia-Herzegovina and its parliament have accepted and adopted a "written, irrevocable commitment" to undertake reforms for EU membership.

The German Council of Ministers adopted a draft bill on 11th December obliging 108 German companies which are both floated on the stock exchange and which also follow co-management rules to have a 30% quota of women on their boards by 2016. Co-management, whose field of application is defined by the law, provides that staff representatives are greatly involved in the company's decision-making. In real terms "we are talking about 170 more women" explained Justice Minister Heiko Maas during a press conference.

Andreas Schockenhoff, Vice-President of the parliamentary group CDU/CSU and Chairman of the Germany/France Friendship group since 1994, passed away on 14th December 2014 said the CDU spokesperson in a press release. Elected for the first time to the Bundestag in 1990 he was the coordinator for German/Russian affairs since 2006 during which time he became known for his extremely critical stances against Russia in Eastern Europe. The Foundation, with whom he worked regularly, presents his family and friends its most sincere condolences.

On 9th December the members of the International Olympic Committee unanimously approved its acknowledgement of Kosovo. Indeed the latter meets all of the technical conditions required to be acknowledged by the IOC as stipulated in the Olympic Charter. It notably matches the definition of the term "country' which features in Rule 30 line 1: "an independent state acknowledged as a country by 108 of the 193 Member States of the UN"; with this it has become the 205th country represented in the Olympic Games.

Both chambers of the American Congress unanimously adopted an "Act of Support to the Freedom of Ukraine" on 11th December, which was validated by the Senate on 12th December. This bill allows further sanctions to be taken against Russia and provides for an increase in US military aid to Ukraine notably by enabling the delivery of lethal weapons. US parliamentarians also said they wanted to put pressure on American President Barack Obama, who, for the time being, has refused to deliver such weapons to Ukraine and deems sanctions against Russia "counter-productive" if they are not coordinated with the EU. But he is the only one in power to be able to promulgate this bill and to make it effective. US Secretary of State John Kerry is to meet his Russian counterpart, Serguey Lavrov on 15th December in Rome to discuss the Ukrainian issue and notably this bill adopted by the American Congress.

The 20th UN conference on the climate "COP20" ended on 14th December in Lima, Peru. The 196 parties at the Convention aimed to come to a consensus on the fight to counter global warming and find an agreement that would be approved at the end of 2015 during the Paris Summit (COP21). Each country will have to deliver a report on its national contribution regarding greenhouse gas emissions before October 1st 2015. For its part the EU has already said, in its energy/climate package 2030, that it wants to achieve a reduction of at least 40% of its emissions in comparison with 1990.

On 11th December the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published an annual report for the year 2012 which suggests that more than 97% of foodstuffs in the EU contain pesticide residues within the legal limits. The report is based on the analysis of nearly 79,000 food samples taken by 27 EU Member States, Norway and Iceland. The foods with levels of pesticide residues over the maximum were broccoli (2.8%), followed by cauliflower (2.1%) whilst those with the lowest levels were unshelled peas and olive oil (0.1%). No MRL (maximum residue levels) exceedances were detected in either orange juice or in animal products (butter and chicken eggs).

On the 250th anniversary of the death of Jean-Philippe Rameau the National Library of France and the Paris National Opera are running an exhibition that covers the life of the French composer. From 1733 to his death in 1764 Rameau composed around 20 works for the Court or the Opera of Paris exploring all genres of that time (lyrical tragedy, opera-ballet, ballet, heroic pastoral). From the creation of Hippolytus and Aricia in 1733 to the last performance at the Palais Garnier, in 2012, the exhibition reveals how shows were put together in the 18th century, from behind the scenes, to rediscoveries at the beginning of the 20th century of works that Rameau made for the stage. The exhibition can be visited from 16th December 2014 to 8th March 2015.

The Kunsthalle Museum in Munich is running an exhibition until 12th April 2015 called "Body and Soul. Munich Rococo from Asam to Günther". It covers the 18th century Munich Rococo movement which became the golden age of Bavarian art. The collection presents many artists who lived in Munich from 1720 to 1770 and whose work had a profound influence on the Rococo movement like the Asam brothers, Johann Baptist Straub, Franz Anton Bustelli and Ignaz Günther.

The 2015 Museum Prize awarded by the Council of Europe was given on 8th December to the Museum of the Civilisations of Europe and the Mediterranean (MUCEM) in Marseilles. The Museum was chosen from three candidates which had been pre-selected by the Committee for Culture at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The museum displayed "a new and innovative concept, in a breathtaking site with outstanding architecture, which perfectly fulfils all the criteria of the Council of Europe Museum Prize," said PACE's rapporteur on the prize Vesna Marjanovic (Serbia, SOC).

"Ida" by Polish film director Pavel Pavlikovski was desingated best European film of the year at the 27th prize giving ceremony organised on 13th December in Riga. French actress Marion Cotillard was designated best actress of the year for her role in "Deux jours, une nuit". The prize for best actor was awarded to Briton Timothy Spall for his role in "Mr Turner". French director Agnès Varda was awarded a prize compensating all of her work. British film-maker Steve McQueen won a prize for his contribution to "the cinema worldwide".