On 9 December, the Commission authorised the financing of the Important Project of Common European Interest (IIPEC) carried out by seven Member States to support research and innovation in the battery sector. Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden and Belgium will contribute €3.2 billion, which is due to mobilise an additional €5 billion in private investment.

On 4 December, Energy ministers discussed intelligent sectoral integration and its role in decarbonising the economy. They exchanged views on energy policy priorities and the follow-up of Member States' preliminary energy and climate plans, to be presented to the Commission by the end of the year. The Commission informed Ministers of progress in trilateral discussions with Russia and Ukraine on gas transit, as well as progress on tyre labelling. Finally, the incoming Croatian Presidency of the Council presented its programme.

The Justice and Home Affairs Ministers, meeting on 2 and 3 December, discussed the future of the migration and asylum policy and welcomed the Commission's intention to present a new pact on this subject. They also discussed the future of European security. The Justice Ministers adopted a position on two reform proposals on the digitisation of judicial cooperation and conclusions to improve the consideration of victims' rights. Finally, they discussed environmental crimes, in particular waste trafficking and the illegal production of hazardous products.

On 5 December, the Finnish Presidency of the Council presented its proposal for the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework to the Member States. The total rises to €1087 billion, or 1.07% of their gross national income. The focus is on the new priorities, namely climate action, which should account for 25% of its expenditure, research and innovation and migration management. In addition, it also provides for a significant part of the budget for cohesion policy and for agricultural support and development.

Finance ministers meeting on 5 December supported the draft revision of the Energy Taxation Directive, approved the work plan on climate action and discussed a future agenda for sustainable finance. They called for the strengthening of measures against money laundering and terrorist financing. They set objectives for the deepening of the Capital Markets Union and guidelines for the financial architecture for development. In a joint statement with the Commission, the Council recalled the need to provide a legal framework for stable cryptomonnages. Finally, Ministers reviewed the progress of the Banking Union and took decisions on the ongoing excessive deficit procedures of Hungary and Romania.

The Eurozone finance ministers meeting on 4 December assessed Greece's fourth surveillance report and decided to release a second tranche of debt relief measures worth €767 million. They assessed the post-programme monitoring reports of Cyprus and Spain and examined the draft national budgets for 2020. The Eurogroup discussed the reform of the European Stability Mechanism, the Banking Union and the budgetary instrument for convergence and competitiveness but postponed decisions until 2020.

Health ministers meeting on 9 December held a public debate on "welfare economics, investment in health". Emphasis was placed on mental health, ageing and the relationship between well-being and the digital society. They discussed ways to strengthen cooperation and coordination to improve access to medicines. Finally, they were informed of ongoing work on health regulation and technology. Finally, the incoming Croatian Presidency presented its work programme.

Foreign Ministers, meeting on 9 December, expressed their concern about the maritime and military agreements between Turkey and Libya. They discussed the situation in Ukraine, Iran, and Hong Kong. They said that 2020 will be crucial for the progress of EU-Africa relations. High Representative Josep Borell announced the launch of preparatory work for a sanctions regime against human rights violations. Ministers discussed the new European Action Plan for Human Rights and Democracy (2020-2024) and the Council's working methods.

The EU-Kyrgyzstan Cooperation Council meeting on 9 December discussed the positive progress of bilateral relations. Ministers discussed the Union's new strategy for Central Asia adopted in June 2019. The Council welcomes Kyrgyzstan's role in promoting cooperation in Central Asia, as well as its work to stabilise the Afghan situation.

According to a Court of Auditors report published on 5 December, farmers do not have access to the various tools of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) designed to strengthen their resilience. EU insurance support is little used, only a small number of farmers have benefited from it, with most of them relying on public support in the event of a crisis. Moreover, poor targeting by the Union for the application of exceptional measures and overcompensation linked to withdrawal operations are another source of this lack of effectiveness.

Police in 31 countries have apprehended 228 people and identified more than 3,800 "financial mules" as part of a major operation against money laundering, the European Police Agency Europol announced on 4 December. The operation led to the opening of more than 1,000 criminal investigations and prevented "a total loss of €12.9 million".

The extended and strengthened mandate of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) entered into force on 4 December, with the aim of providing the Agency with the operational capabilities and authority to effectively support the 115 000 Member States' staff on the ground. From 2021 onwards, Frontex should be equipped with its own border guard corps, ready to be deployed at any time, and will be able to cooperate more closely with countries without immediate proximity to the Union.

Wojciech Wiewiorowski of Poland was appointed European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) for a 5-year term of office by the Council on 5 December. He succeeds Giovanni Buttarelli, who died in August.

On 6 December, the European Banking Agency (EBA) presented an action plan to promote the development of sustainable finance by 2025. The objective is to improve the regulatory framework and provide banking supervisors with appropriate tools to better take into account environmental, social and governance criteria.

Participating in a symposium entitled "Beyond 1989: Hopes and Disillusions after the Revolutions", the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, called on Europeans to "take up the major strategic, military and nuclear issues that directly concern their security" while stressing the importance of the transatlantic link. He also stressed that European sovereignty "does not take anything away from our national sovereignty".

The European Court of Human Rights condemned Turkey on 3 December for seizing electronic data from lawyers protected by professional secrecy in connection with an investigation into Abdullah Öcalan, the historic leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Turkey must pay each of the three applicants €3,500 for non-material damage, since the Court considers that the country has violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights concerning the right to respect for private and family life and correspondence.

In order to finance all humanitarian aid for 2020, the United Nations (UN) launched an appeal on 4 December for an estimated €26 billion to help people affected by climate change but also by conflict: 168 million people in need, according to a report in the Global Humanitarian Overview. "A record in the modern era" according to UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Marck Lowcock.

According to an OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) study published on 5 December, the economies of OECD member countries reached a tax revenue plateau in 2018. No increase in the tax-to-GDP ratio has been observed since 2017, "the first since the financial crisis". The study found that the ratio averaged 34.3% in OECD member countries in 2018, virtually the same as in 2017, which was 34.2%. France (46.1%), Belgium (44.8%), Denmark (44.9%) and Sweden (43.9%) are the countries with the highest tax revenue-to-GDP ratios in 2018.

Until March 8, 2020, the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence is dedicating its exhibition to the pictorial world of Ra'anan Levy, a contemporary artist working between Paris and Florence.

From December 13 to February 9, 2020, the Hauser & Wirth Gallery in St. Moritz is devoting a solo exhibition to Alexander Calder. A major opportunity to rediscover the heritage of the American painter and sculptor in the Swiss Alps.

On December 14 and 15, the city of Deventer in the Netherlands will host the Charles Dickens Festival as it does every year. More than 900 characters of the British novelist will come alive again in the historic Bergkwartier: from Scrooge to Oliver Twist, from Mr. Pickwick to the Christmas Carol Singers, from orphans to drunks, and more.

The 2019 edition of the Salon des Beaux-Arts will be held from 12 to 15 December at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris. The Salon will feature more than 700 contemporary works by painters, sculptors, photographers, engravers, illustrators, draftsmen, naturalists, textile and ceramic artists.

The Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Bozar, will host a retrospective of the American artist Keith Haring, one of the symbols of New York counter-culture in the 1980s, until 20 April 2020.

"La Favorite" was awarded the prize for best European film at the European Film Awards in Berlin on December 7, and its director, Greek Yorgos Lanthimos, was awarded the prize for best director. The public prize went to "Cold War", by Pole Pawel Pawlikowski.