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OSCE - Summit 2010

(01/12/2010 to 02/12/2010) Astana, Kazakhstan

The summit of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) will take place in Astana, Kazakhstan Decembrer 1 - 2, 2010.

With 56 States drawn from Europe, Central Asia and America, the OSCE is the world's largest regional security organization, bringing comprehensive and co-operative security to a region that stretches from Vancouver to Vladivostok. It offers a forum for political negotiations and decision-making in the fields of early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation, and puts the political will of the participating States into practice through its unique network of field missions.

XX Iberoamerican Summit

(03/12/2010 to 04/12/2010) Mar del Plata, Argentina

The XX Iberoamerican Summit of Heads of State and Government will take place on 3 and 4 December in Mar del Plata, Argentina. As already announced at the last summit in Portugal, the theme for this year will be ‘Education for inclusion’.

The Iberoamerican Summits of Heads of State and Government are annual meetings of the Heads of State and Government of the twenty two countries that participate as full members: Andorra, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, the Dominican Republic, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela.

EU - European Development Days 2010

(06/12/2010 to 07/12/2010) Brussels, Belgium

This year, the 5th edition of the European Development Days (EDD) will take place in Brussels on 6 and 7 December. Organised by the European Commission and the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, EDD is the leading European forum where the questions and issues about international development cooperation are debated.

The scope and scale of EDD are growing every year, as links with new networks and new partners are made, and new platforms are created. The first four EDD events have established some important characteristics:

Participation and involvement

Policy-making “laboratory”

The key role of the European Union

EU - Russia Summit

(07/12/2010 to 07/12/2010) Justus Lipsius building, Brussels, Belgium

The EU and Russia will host their 26th bilateral summit meeting.

In a joint letter sent to European Heads of State and Government before the recent G20 Summit in Seoul, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy made the following statement about the EU-Russia summit:

'[The summit] will be an important opportunity to strengthen EU/Russian engagement. We will follow up on earlier discussions on the modernisation of Russia not least by taking stock on our Partnership for Modernisation. The summit should focus, in particular, on achieving decisive progress on Russia's accession to the WTO, and on some our outstanding bilateral issues, such as trade, investment and cooperation in the energy sector. We should see how we can enhance the efficiency of crisis-management co-operation on the basis of a comprehensive approach to security issues, including frozen conflicts. We should also register progress on the visa dialogue entering a fully operational phase through the elaboration of Common Steps. As always, the summit will be an opportunity to openly address questions related to human rights and the rule of law'.

EU - India Summit

(10/12/2010 to 10/12/2010) Brussels, Belgium

The EU and India will hold their 11th summit meeting in Brussels on 10 December 2010. The previous summit took place in Delhi in December 2009, and sought to further deepen relations between the two strategic partners in key areas of cooperation. It also aimed at enhancing dialogue and cooperation on issues of major global concern such as climate change, energy security and fight against terrorism, as well as prominent regional issues and bilateral trade.

Kosovo - Parliamentary Elections

(12/12/2010 to 12/12/2010)

Kosovar parliamentary elections will be held in Kosovo on 12 December 2010 following a vote of no confidence in the government on 2 November.

The election was initially called on 15 October 2010, after President Fatmir Sejdiu resigned in September 2010 over accusations of breaching the constitution by continuing to hold his party leadership while president. However, the next day the Democratic League of Kosovo announced it would leave ruling coalition on 18 October 2010, which would require early elections to be held within 45 days of that date.[2] After the government failed a vote of no confidence on 2 November 2010, elections were set for 12 December 2010.[3][4] The vote was a result of Hashim Thaci's governing party supporting a no-confidence vote to trigger a snap elections.

This was to be the first election since Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence ,and the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion on the legality of the declaration.

 

Bosnia - 15 years of Dayton Agreements

(14/12/2010 to 14/12/2010)

The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement, Dayton Accords, Paris Protocol or Dayton-Paris Agreement, is the peace agreement reached at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio in November 1995, and formally signed in Paris on December 14, 1995. These accords put an end to the three and a half year long war in Bosnia, one of the armed conflicts in the former Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia.

Italy - Government faces confidence votes

(14/12/2010 to 14/12/2010)

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government faces confidence votes in the lower and upper houses of parliament on December 14. His coalition is believed to hold a majority in the upper house and a minority in the lower house following the departure from the government of ministers loyal to his former ally Gianfranco Fini. Analysts say Italy will ultimately have to hold elections to end the row long before the government's mandate runs out in 2013 and possibly next year.

UE - Consejo Europeo

(16/12/2010 to 17/12/2010) Justus Lipsius Building, Brussels, Belgium

Meeting of the heads of State and Government of the 27 EU Member States, the President of the European Council and the President of the Commission.

Mercosur - Summit

(16/12/2010 to 17/12/2010) Foz do Iguazú, Brazil

Mercosur (English: Southern Common Market) is a union between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Founded in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto. Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people, and currency. The official languages are Portuguese and Spanish. It has been updated, amended, and changed many times since. It is now a full customs union. Mercosur and the Andean Community of Nations are customs unions that are components of a continuing process of South American integration connected to the Union of South American Nations.

Belarus - Presidential Elections

(19/12/2010 to 19/12/2010)

The Belarusian parliament has set presidential elections for December 19. Observers discuss possible reasons under the decision in favor of an unexpectedly earlier date than the beginning of 2011. One guess is Lukashenka's desire to give the opposition less time. Another one is expectation of a new Russian gas price hike in coming winter, which would hurt the attitude to the current Belarusian adminsitration.

Lukashenko hinted that he would take part in the elections, but has so far made no official statement on the matter.

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