2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007

Hungary - Presidency of the EU

(01/01/2011 to 01/01/2011) Brussels, Belgium

Hungary assumes the presidency of the European Council until june 30, 2011.

Estonia - Introduction of the Euro

(01/01/2011 to 01/01/2011)

The EU Finance Ministers, meeting within the Ecofin Council on 13 July, gave their final go‑ahead for Estonia to change over to the European currency on 1 January 2011. The Council also set the conversion rate against the euro at 15,6466 Estonian kroonid.

Estonia thus becomes the seventeenth Member State to use the euro. The last country to join the euro area before Estonia was Slovakia in 2009.

In order to adopt the European currency, a Member State has to fulfil several conditions; it must satisfy the convergence criteria concerning price stability, public deficit and public debt, exchange‑rate stability and long-term interest rates. The Heads of State and Government of the Union, meeting within the European Council on 17 June, had already welcomed the fact that Estonia complied with all these criteria.

Also on 1 January 2011, Estonian euro banknotes and coins will be introduced.

Sudan - Southern Sudanese independence referendum

(09/01/2011 to 09/01/2011)

Southern Sudan will hold an a referendum on whether or not it should remain as a part of Sudan on 9 January 2011. This is part of the 2005 Naivasha Agreement between the Khartoum central government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M). A simultaneous referendum will be held in Abyei on whether to become part of Southern Sudan.

EU - Ecofin Council

(18/01/2011 to 18/01/2011) Brussels, Belgium

The Economic and Financial Affairs Council is commonly known as the Ecofin Council, or simply 'Ecofin' and is composed of the Economics and Finance Ministers of the Member States, as well as Budget Ministers when budgetary issues are discussed. It meets once a month.

The Ecofin Council covers EU policy in a number of areas including: economic policy coordination, economic surveillance, monitoring of Member States' budgetary policy and public finances, the euro (legal, practical and international aspects), financial markets and capital movements and economic relations with third countries. It decides mainly by qualified majority, in consultation or codecision with the European Parliament, with the exception of fiscal matters which are decided by unanimity.

The Ecofin Council also prepares and adopts every year, together with the European Parliament, the budget of the European Union which is about 100 billion euros.

 

Portugal - Presidential Elections

(23/01/2011 to 23/01/2011)

The 2011 Portuguese presidential election will be held on January 23, 2011.

According to the Portuguese Constitution, to be elected, a candidate needs a majority (50% + 1). If no candidate gets this majority there will take place a second round between the two most voted candidates.

Aníbal Cavaco Silva; President since 2006, eligible for a second term supported by the Social Democratic Party, the People´s Party and the Hope for Portugal Movement.

Manuel Alegre; supported by the Socialist Party, the Left Bloc and the Democratic Party of the Atlantic.

Fernando Nobre; independent.

José Pinto Coelho; supported by the National Renovator Party.

Defensor de Moura; member of the Socialist Party running as an independent.

Francisco Lopes; supported by Communist Party and by the Ecologist Party "The Greens".

Central African Republic - Presidential and Parliamentary Elections

(23/01/2011 to 23/01/2011)

A presidential and parliamentary election is scheduled in the Central African Republic on 23 January 2011 after having been postponed numerous times. President François Bozizé is standing for re-election to a second term. The organization of the election has been plagued by difficulties, and the opposition, feeling that the proper conditions for an election do not exist, has continually demanded its postponement.

1st Round: 23 January 2011. 2nd Round: 20 March 2011

African Union Summit

(24/01/2011 to 31/01/2011) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The African Union (abbreviated AU in English, and UA in its other official languages) is a union consisting of 53 African states. The only African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

2011 Theme of the Summit: "Towards Greater Unity and Integration through Shared Values".

World Economic Forum - Annual Meeting 2011

(26/01/2011 to 30/01/2011) Davos-Klosters, Switzerland

 

The Annual Meeting 2011 will be particularly important as the Forum rethinks how to best achieve its mission. Improving the state of the world is increasingly important in a world still recovering from the recent financial crisis. The Meeting’s programme will concentrate on the important question of how to achieve this.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a Geneva-based non-profit foundation best known for its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, which brings together top business leaders, international political leaders, selected intellectuals and journalists to discuss the most pressing issues facing the world, including health and the environment. Beside meetings, the WEF produces a series of research reports and engages its members in sector specific initiatives. WEF also organizes the "Annual Meeting of the New Champions" in China and a series of regional meetings throughout the year.

Niger - Presidential and Parliamentary Elections

(31/01/2011 to 31/01/2011)

The Republic of Niger will hold a presidential and parliamentary elections on 31 January 2011. The first round was to be held on January 3 and the second round on January 31, but those dates were postponed to 31 January 2011 (together with the parliamentary elections) and 12 March 2011. The election follows a military coup in February 2010 ousting President Mamadou Tandja and the subsequent dissolution of the National Assembly in February 2010.

More from the international agenda