On the occasion of the celebrations of the end of the First World War, Jean-Dominique Giuliani draws the lessons for Europe from the exceptional meeting of 70 heads of State and government in Paris.

In view of the next European elections, the Robert Schuman Foundation has published the Permanent Atlas of the European Union. Unique in its genre, written by the Foundation's experts, it offers a full, accessible panorama of the Union, the euro zone and each of its 28 Member States. It summaries the vital elements of the Union's history and its political and statistical realities, and offers readers more than 50 physical and geopolitical maps of Europe.

More than 70 heads of heads of State and government took part on 11th November in the commemoration of the centenary of the end of the First World War under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. In his speech French recalled the importance of French-German, the European Union and multi-lateralism to protect peace. He also condemned nationalism, the "betrayal" of patriotism. The day before Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel travelled to Rethondes together, where the Armistice was signed in 1918.

On 7th November the Commission adopted a strategy to protect European citizens against endocrine disruptors. It has three goals: reduce exposure to endocrine disruptors as much as possible, develop research in this area, strengthen dialogue between entities in the sector thanks to an annual forum on the issue. Endocrine disruptors are chemical substances that affect the functioning of the hormonal system and damage to human and animal health.

The European People's Party (EPP) which met in congress in Helsinki on 7th and 8th November elected German Manfred Weber to lead its list in the European elections in May 2019. During the same congress, the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk recalled the founding values of the Christian Democratic family at a time when these are being flouted by a certain number of people, including from within.

The 28 Economy and Finance Ministers exchanged views on 6th November regarding the draft directive, defended by France, to establish a tax on digital services. They did not reach consensus on most of the points addressed, notably regarding the directive's field of application, but they hope to come to agreement at the next Council on 4th December. However they did agree that the implementation of the directive would come to an end when a global solution - at OECD level - had been found. They also discussed the financial aspects of climate change in view of COP24. They insisted on the importance of increasing investments in terms of the climate and setting a price on carbon.

Defence Ministers from 9 signatory countries of the European Intervention Initiative (EII) (Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, UK) met for the first time in Paris on 7th November to discuss the concrete base of this project that was launched in June 2018 under France's impetus. Complementary to NATO and the EU the EII aims to create a European strategic culture via enhanced operational cooperation missions if necessary. On the occasion of this meeting ministers approved Finland's membership of this project.

On 8th November the Union's General Court annulled the regulation on energy efficiency labels on vacuum cleaners that had been in force since September 2014. It completed the directive on energy labelling. The Court deems that the tests of a vacuum cleaner's energy efficiency carried out with an empty receptacle do not reflect conditions as close as possible to actual conditions of use.

The Court of Auditors deemed in an opinion on 7th November that the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) put forward by the Commission post 2020 does not modify the present CAP enough. The Court deems that the direct payment system in support of farmers has not been improved, that there are no real incentives to improve results. It insists on the lack of sound external supervision. It also stressed that the proposal for the new CAP does not reflect the EU's environmental ambitions, because no goals are quantified specifically.

On 7th November the European Central Bank nominated Italian Andrea Enria for the chair of the Supervisory Board, the body responsible for the euro zone's banking supervision. A.Enria, the present chair of the European Banking Authority, will take over from French woman Danielle Nouy on 1st January if her appointment is approved by Parliament and the Council.

A Soyuz rocket that lifted off from the Space Centre in Guyana on 6th November successfully placed a weather satellite built by Airbus Defence and Space as part of an agreement between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian Agency Roscosmos dating back to 2004.

French Senators approved on first reading on 7th November the draft law allowing the government to take directive steps in preparation for the departure of the UK from the EU, in the event of a no-deal. The next step will be the assessment of the draft law by French MPs.

On 7th November Latvian President Raimonds Vējonis asked Jānis Bordāns, of the New Conservative Party, to form a new government. J. Bordāns has until 21st November to form a coalition with the 7 parties that won seats in Parliament during the legislative elections on 6th October, thereby taking over from outgoing Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis.

On 11th November Poland celebrated the 100 years of its independence after 123 years of occupation. Polish President Andrzej Duda hoped to highlight the nation's unity beyond differences of opinion, but many political leaders did not take part in the commemorations, which were marked by demonstrations.

Romanian European Affairs Minister, Victor Negrescu, resigned on 10th November, one month and a half before the start of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, 1st January. According to the media the Social Democratic Party in office accused him of not having succeed in defending the country when speaking with the European institutions. On 13th November the European Parliament is to vote on a resolution denouncing the reforms being made to the legal system and the fight to counter corruption undertaken by the government.

The British Secretary of State for Transport, Jo Johnson, resigned on 9th November due to a disagreement with the Prime Minister Theresa May regarding negotiations over the UK's exit of the EU. Denouncing Brexit as "a terrible mistake" which will leave the UK "trapped in a subordinate relationship to the Union", Mr Johnson called for a second referendum on Brexit.

Slovenian Prime Minister Marjan Šarec met his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez in Madrid on 8th November. The two leaders exchanged views regarding issues such as migration, the EU's multi-annual financial framework 2021-2027, the integration of the Western Balkans into the EU and negotiations over Brexit.

Since last year Ukraine has made progress in certain areas but several reforms remain pending and should be strengthened so that the EU-Ukraine association agreement really benefits Ukrainian citizens maintained the Commission in its report on the agreement's implementation published on 9th November. It stresses the slowness of the reforms being undertaken notably in the area of legal reform and the fight to counter corruption.

Growth in Europe is due to fall to 2.3% in 2018 and to 1.9% in 2019 according to an IMF report published on 8th November. The IMF explains that economic activity will continue to rise but at a slower pace than expected given a less favourable external environment. The IMF also stresses that growth and the monetary situation might be affected by a no-deal Brexit. These conclusions are similar to those published by the Commission on the same day.

The 13th European cinema festival that is taking place from 14th to 20th November in Segovia is paying tribute to a selection of films from the European continent and more particularly Romania this year, as guest country.