On 15th December the European Commission gave the greenlight for the merger between the French cement company Lafarge and its Swiss competitor Holcim, which gave birth to the world's leader in the sector announced Margrethe Vestager, the Commissioner responsible for the project. "Competition is also important in the cement sector. The acquisition of Lafarge by Holcim is subject to certain conditions. "It is good news for growth," indicated Ms Vestager.

On 16th December the European Commission adopted its work programme for 2015, defining actions that it intends to take over the next twelve months. The work programme includes 23 new initiatives in line with the political guidelines of the Juncker Commission put forward to the European Parliament. It plans to amend or withdraw 80 existing proposals for either political or technical reasons. Amongst the action to be taken over the coming year Jean-Claude Juncker emphasised six main priorities which are the introduction of an investment plan for Europe (315 billion €), the adoption of ambitious measures on the single digital market, the introduction of the first measures in view of creating an Energy Union, the drafting of a fairer approach to taxation to counter fraud and the enhancement of transparency, the adoption of a European migration programme and the deepening of Monetary Union. As stressed by the President of the Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and his Vice-President Frans Timmermans to the European Parliament, this work programme is guided by the principle of "political discontinuity" which means the Commission's commitment to legislate better, notably by reducing red tape and by doing away with the regulatory burden that weighs on investment in Europe.

On 18th December the European Commission adopted new rules to facilitate information on road traffic for users. They plan to improve access to and the updating of road traffic information (Real Time Traffic Information). This includes information about expected delays, estimated journey times, information on accidents, road-works and road closures, weather warnings and other pertinent information.

On 16th December during plenary MEPs re-elected European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly to her post 569 votes in support, 66 against and 43 abstentions. She was the only candidate running for the post. Elected on 3rd July 2013 she undertakes investigations into any cases of poor administration in the EU's institutions and organisations.

On 16th December the European Parliament approved the appointment of the members of the Single Resolution Board, an independent body responsible for managing the resolution of failing banks in the euro zone, 522 votes in support, 105 against and 67 abstentions. The candidates selected are Elke König (DE) as Chair, Timo Löyttyniemi (FIN) as Vice Chair as well as Mauro Grande (IT), Antonio Carrascosa (ES), Joanne Kellermann (NL) and Dominique Laboureix (FR).The Council approved this proposal on 19th December. These appointments which will become effective as of 1st January 2015 comprise a first term of three years - renewable once for the Chair. The other members' mandates extend for a five non-renewable term. The single resolution mechanism will come into force as of 1st January 2016.

On 18th December the European Parliament ratified the association agreement between the European Union and Georgia which includes a free trade agreement, 490 votes in support, 76 against and 57 abstentions. This agreement is the "result of our determination to promote a democratic, stable, prosperous country in a region that is strategically important to us," declared European Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos, on behalf of the Commission. However he insisted on the road that remained if Georgia was to complete the rule of law and democracy. "Although much work remains to be done, experience shows that Georgians prefer to solve their problems, not to avoid them. I think that Europe should now show its real solidarity with Georgia and its people", he added.

On 16th December the 28 European Affairs Ministers adopted conclusions on the overall enlargement, stabilisation and association process. They condemned the arrests of journalists in Turkey which is against one of the EU's "fundamental values" ie freedom of the press. They also adopted conclusions on the respect of the rule of law, the establishment of political dialogue between Member States to "promote and protect the rule of law within the EU". These conclusions complete the infringement procedure that provides for the suspension of voting rights in the event of any serious and continuous infringement of the EU's values (article 7 of the Lisbon Treaty). Finally they discussed the Commission's 2015 work programme. They approved the conclusions on the multi-annual programming and the legislative programme in view of enhancing inter-institutional cooperation and of ensuring a quicker more effective legislative process.

On 15th December the 28 European Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers came to an agreement on fishing opportunities in 2015. This agreement matches a first "successful test" for the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reformed in 2013 in order to counter the over use of fishing resources. They also adopted several conclusions on the initiatives submitted by the Italian presidency in support of "young farmers"; ie a loan access plan supported by the EIB for young people who want to start or who have recently started a business, zero-rate mortgage loans and exchange of experience between young European farmers via an exchange programme. Given the recent downturn in the conditions on the dairy market ministers focused on the main challenges encountered in this sector, particularly the importance of price volatility and the tools to be implemented to attenuate this, the role of the European Milk Market Observatory 'EMMO' and the impact of the end of milk quotas next year were also discussed. Finally they adopted an overall policy approach on organic farming prepared by the Italian Presidency and "took note" of the progress achieved in the second half of the 2014 regarding a certain number of legislative proposals (plant health, fruit at school,...)

On 18th December the 28 Environment Ministers came to an agreement on the regulation setting the new European rules for the monitoring, reporting and verification of CO2 emissions from ships. They came to agreement on a draft directive that aims to reduce the consumption of lightweight plastic bags, thereby finalising the agreement achieved previously between the other EU institutions. They adopted a general approach to a draft directive on limiting the emissions of certain pollutants into the air by medium combustion plants. They stressed the importance of continuing work on the "circular economy" package and the limiting of waste in particular. They maintained that the transition towards a circular economy was "vital for growth and employment" recalling the "need" to continue all elements of work on "the clean air package". Finally they confirmed a political agreement on the ratification of the Doha amendment package which will enable the technical implementation ie the launch of the second series of commitments of the Kyoto Protocol.

A political agreement was found between the three European institutions regarding a cap on the fees banks can apply on card payments, which could be beneficial to consumers. Negotiators from the Commission, European Parliament and the Council who represent the States came to agreement on 18th December on a compromise that will enable the implementation of a single cap in the EU on the fees paid by a trader's bank to the bank that issues the credit card payment. The fee will be capped at 0.3% of the value of the transaction on credit card payments, and after a transitory period of five years, this fee will decrease to 0.2% or 5 euro cents on payments made with debit cards.

On the occasion of its 10th anniversary the European Defence Agency (EDA) has published a book in partnership with the European College for Security and Defence (ECSD) which reviews the agency's history since its creation in 2004, its main successes as well as independent points of view of government leaders, military staff and some key industrialists. It is the result of "several of months of archive research", of interviews with key actors from the Agency and external contributors and high level experts in European defence", stressed Claude-France Arnould, the Director of the EDA when the book was presented on 17th December.

On 15th December German Chancellor Angela Merkel received Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in Berlin. The latter promised his support on energy supply issues in the EU/Russia conflict. Ms Merkel announced that Germany was to provide greater support to Bulgaria, which is experiencing a difficult economic situation at present. They also discussed Bulgaria's request to enter Schengen which will be studied during the European Council in March. Finally the German Chancellor recalled that immigration was a major issue and that Islamophobia had no place in the EU after the demonstrations organised by the anti-Islamic movements of PEGIDA.

The CBI, the British business owners syndicate, stressed during an event in Brussels on 18th December that brought together seven prime Ministers - David Cameron, Matteo Renzi, Mariano Rajoy, Ewa Kopacz, Laimdota Straujuma, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, and Alexander Stubb that there is a consensus in the business world about supporting negotiations in the transatlantic partnership agreement. The organisation recalled that this project would be beneficial to SMEs, reduce the administrative burden and be a source of growth and employment.

Euro area annual inflation was 0.3% in November 2014, down from 0.4% in October. A year earlier the rate was 0.9%. European Union annual inflation was 0.4% in November 2014, down from 0.5% in October. A year earlier the rate was 1.0%. In November 2014, negative annual rates were observed in Bulgaria (-1.9%), Greece (-1.2%), Spain (-0.5%) and Poland (-0.3%). The highest annual rates were recorded in Romania and Austria (both 1.5%) and Finland (1.1%). These figures were published by Eurostat on 17th December.

The New Year's concerts (Philharmonic Orchestra) traditionally take place on 30th and 31st December as well as on January 1st in the Goldener Saal (Golden Hall) of the Musikverein in Vienna. The concert on January 1st usually starts at 11.15pm and is broadcast across the world to an estimated audience of 50 million people in 72 countries.

Come and experience a musical New Year in Berlin; several classical music galas are on offer. The festivities start on 30th December and will continue until the first days in the New Year.

The Confluence Museum opened its doors on 20th December in Lyon. The museum's collections that have been put together since the 17th century comprise a wealth of curiosities from academics and passionate amateurs and have been added to over time. More than two million objects are part of the permanent and temporary exhibitions, the latter being renewed over the cultural seasons at the pace of 4 to 6 exhibitions per year.