It is now certain that the United Kingdom will leave the Union on 31 January next. This event is a fundamental democratic test," said Jean-Dominique Giuliani. Is the return to the nation the solution, rather than the Union, which preserves identities by allowing national States to assume their prerogatives through close cooperation?

The Conservatives led by Boris Johnson won a majority in the House of Commons following the parliamentary elections on December 12. With 365 seats against 203 for Jeremy Corbyn's Labour, Boris Johnson obtained the majority necessary to take the United Kingdom out of the European Union at the end of January 2020. The Scottish National Party (SNP) led by Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon won 48 of the 59 seats in Scotland and has already called for a new referendum on self-determination.

The Heads of State and Government meeting on 12 and 13 December approved the objective of climate neutrality in 2050. However, Poland did not commit itself to this objective. They discussed the main points of the negotiations for the 2021-2027 budget. They stressed that the priority for the Conference on the Future of Europe should be the implementation of the strategic programme. They discussed relations with Africa, Turkey and Russia, for which they decided to extend the economic sanctions for a further 6 months. They called for the ratification and implementation of the United Kingdom's withdrawal agreement as soon as possible, and confirmed their willingness to establish a close future relationship. Finally, at the euro zone summit, they reviewed the progress made, particularly in revising the treaty on the European Stability Mechanism and strengthening the Banking Union.

On 11 December, the Commission presented its European Green Deal, a project that covers all areas of the economy, in particular transport, energy, agriculture, construction and sectors, such as steel, cement, new technologies, textiles and chemicals. A law setting the objective of carbon neutrality will be presented by March 2020, as well as an industrial strategy on green and digital transitions and an action plan on the circular economy. An investment plan for a sustainable Europe, which will include a fair transition mechanism, and a green financing strategy will be presented in 2020.

Parliament and Council negotiators reached a pre-agreement on 12 December to reform working conditions for truck drivers, a highly sensitive issue marked by opposition between East and West. "We have reached a preliminary agreement," said the Finnish representation, which is presiding over the Council for six months. However, this compromise still needs to be formally approved by the Council and Parliament.

Ministers meeting on 10 December discussed the framework for negotiating the 2021-2027 budget and the objective of carbon neutrality by 2050 in preparation for the European Council. They discussed the situation of the rule of law in Hungary and Poland. They exchanged views on the legislative priorities of the new Commission and agreed on the need for a comprehensive approach to combat hybrid threats.

The EU-Tajikistan Cooperation Council met on 10 December to review bilateral relations, and topics such as governance and human rights. The Union supports Tajikistan's role in promoting regional cooperation in Central Asia and in stabilising the situation in Afghanistan.

On 12 December, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the French, Swedish and Belgian public prosecutors' offices met the necessary requirements, i.e. sufficient independence from the executive, to issue a European arrest warrant. This mandate is based on the principle of mutual recognition of judicial decisions between Member States of the Union and has replaced extradition procedures since 2004. The Court was questioned by the Dutch and Luxembourg courts.

For its first meeting on 12th December the Council of Governors the President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, left the key interest rates unchanged. She declared that she wanted to maintain a balanced monetary policy. She indicated that the ECB will launch the strategic review of the monetary policy's tools in January.

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz submitted a "final proposal" on 10 December to introduce a European Financial Transaction Tax (FTT). The proposal, sent to nine other countries (France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia), concerns a tax of 0.2% on the purchase of shares of companies with a market capitalisation exceeding €1 billion. Germany says it expects a rapid adoption of the FTT, which has been under discussion for several years.

On 11 December, King Felipe VI of Spain officially instructed outgoing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to form a government, even though he does not have sufficient majority support to be invested by deputies following the November 10 elections. The Socialist Party (PSOE), which has already concluded an agreement with the left-wing Podemos party, is also negotiating with the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC).

Former Finnish Transport Minister, Sanna Marin, 34, became the country's youngest ever Prime Minister on 10th December. She formed a government of 19 ministers of whom are 12 women.

On 16 December, the mayors of Budapest, Warsaw, Bratislava and Prague signed a "Free Cities Alliance" in Budapest in resistance to the populist leaders of their country. The pact calls for "the protection of what is good about European membership " such as "freedom, human dignity, democracy, equality, the rule of law, social justice, tolerance and cultural diversity".

The 2020 Charlemagne Prize was awarded on 15 December to Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. The jury of the prize, which annually awards the "most valuable contribution to understanding in Europe", considered Klaus Iohannis to be "an outstanding defender of freedom and democracy, of the protection of minorities and cultural diversity". The award will be presented in spring 2020.

Boris Johnson was reappointed Prime Minister by Queen Elizabeth II on 13 December after the Conservative Party won the parliamentary elections on 12 December. Boris Johnson confirmed the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union on 31 January 2020.

On 10 December, at the 11th meeting of the Accession Conference, the Union opened a new chapter in the negotiations with Serbia, namely the free movement of capital. 18 chapters out of 35 have been opened in the procedure launched in January 2014, of which 2 have been provisionally closed.

On 11 December, the Swiss Federal Assembly re-elected the seven members of the Federal Council for a new four-year term (2020-2023). Simonetta Sommarug of the Socialist Party, elected by 186 votes out of 200, succeeds Ueli Maurer (Union démocratique du centre) as President of the Confederation for the year 2020.

In an assessment on the prevention of corruption of parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors, published on 16 December, the Council of Europe's Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) found Poland's level of compliance with the recommendations to be "generally unsatisfactory". Seven of the 16 recommendations were implemented and only one of the six was implemented under the "ad hoc" procedure for specific judicial reforms. Poland is due to provide a progress report on the implementation of outstanding recommendations by 31 December 2020.

The European Court of Human Rights demanded on 10 December the immediate release of businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala, imprisoned in Turkey following the massive purges that resulted from the July 2016 coup attempt. The Court notes several violations of the European Convention on Human Rights and considers that the Turkish State is trying to silence human rights defenders. O. Kavala is being prosecuted for attempting to overthrow the government. He is still in prison.

The 25th UN Climate Conference (COP25) concluded its work on 15 December in Madrid, with disappointing results despite some progress. No agreement was reached on the more contentious issues of human-induced loss and damage, as well as the financing of adaptation to climate change. 73 States nevertheless declared their intention to submit an improved climate action plan and 177 companies committed themselves to setting important targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

On 12 December, at the Trade Policy Review Body meeting, the WTO showed that trade restrictions applied by its members remain at historically high levels. Between mid-October 2018 and mid-October 2019, the amount of trade covered by import restrictions was estimated at $747 billion. This is the highest amount recorded since October 2012, and represents a 27% increase over the amount recorded in the previous annual report.

The unemployment rate in OECD Member States remained stable in October with 5.2% unemployed, according to OECD figures published on 10 December. In the euro zone, which has the highest rate (7.5%), there has been a slight decrease of 0.1%. Rates are also stabilizing in the various population groups, among women (5.2%) and men (5.1%), among 15-24 year-olds (11.4%) and those over 25 years of age (4.4%).

Human rights in the world, freedom of expression and gender equality are the values that Europeans want Parliament to defend as a priority, according to a Eurobarometer survey published on 10 December. Respondents also believe that the climate, the fight against poverty and social exclusion, as well as the fight against terrorism and organised crime should be Parliament's priorities in its legislative work.

The city of Zwolle in the Netherlands is organising an ice sculpture festival until 1 March, where the greatest international artists are invited to sculpt on the theme of "Journey through time".