Review and outlook

A Europe that acts to respond to today's challenges

The six months of the French Presidency were primarily marked by a series of international crises (conflict in Georgia, economic and financial crises) in which the European Union was able to play a decisive role thanks to its capacity to act in a reactive, voluntary and united manner. Moreover, the Presidency also stayed the course on the priorities it had set itself at the start: combating climate change (with the adoption of the "energy-climate package"), immigration policy (with the adoption of the European pact on immigration and asylum), the European security and defence policy (a new stimulus with a specific and operational programme). The six months were marked by major advances in all the EU's areas of activity, notably in the economic and financial domain, in the social sector, on the cultural front, and also at international level (with 8 summits between the EU and its main international partners, including the Paris summit launching the Union for the Mediterranean).