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European Affairs

This month, the European Council will be held on 14 and 15 December, and the formal agenda will, as usual, cover a wide range of topics. On Africa, we expect that the conclusions of the Council will inject some momentum into the EU Africa strategy by highlighting key priorities for action. On climate change, we will push to maintain the momentum generated at Lahti by strongly reaffirming what was agreed, at that summit, on the linkages between energy security and climate security, on the strengthening of the EU’s emissions trading scheme, and on establishing a new process for Heads of Government to review progress and set a forward-looking agenda.