The EU-Russia Permanent Partnership Council (Foreign Affairs) will meet in Saint Petersburg on 28 October 2008.

This meeting, on the sidelines of which a Northern Dimension ministerial meeting was also held,  made it possible to fully review EU-Russia cooperation with a view to the upcoming EU-Russia Summit in Nice.

The presidents of the national parliamentary committees for defence are meeting to discuss European defence policy.

The 59th international session of the European Youth Parliament brings together hundreds of young people from all over Europe to discuss important European issues.

The Heads of State and Government representing the European Union and Asia met in Beijing for the 7th ASEM Summit on 24 and 25 October. Their discussions focused on the means to tackle the international financial crisis.

The international donors’ conference for the reconstruction of Georgia is held on Wednesday 22 October in Brussels, in accordance with the conclusions of the Extraordinary European Council of 1 September and the conclusions of the GAERC of 15 and 16 September last.

Today in the European Parliament a political declaration was signed which aims at encouraging cooperation among the EU institutions and Member States on communication about Europe.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm will hold a seminar on polar research on 22 October

In the follow up to the EU-Central Asia Forum on security issues on 18 September 2008, the Ministerial Conference in Dushanbe, held under the aegis of all the co-organisers (French Presidency, Germany, European Commission, Finland, UNDP, OSCE and UNODC), brought together Central Asian countries, Afghanistan, Russia, the United States, United Kingdom, China, Japan, India, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey, and the regional and international organisations concerned.

The forum, organised by the Ministries of Foreign and European Affairs and Defence will help to examine cooperation between the United Nations and the EU on peacekeeping operations.

Conclusions of the European Union

The European Union considers that the coup d’état that occurred in Mauritania on 6 August 2008 is a serious violation of the essential elements contained in Article 9 of the Cotonou Agreement. It has engaged in political dialogue with the ruling authorities, which has led to the opening of consultations under Article 96 of the Agreement in order to carry out an analysis of the situation and investigate possible solutions for a rapid return to constitutional order.

The summit on 17 October focused on strengthening economic partnership between the EU and Canada.

200 European experts from civil society and public authorities met in Paris for the European Day against trafficking in human beings