It is now time for the much-discussed Lisbon Treaty to begin to take effect. From Tuesday 1 December, Catherine Ashton will be the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. As such, she will be responsible for coordinating all parts of the European Union’s foreign policy and presenting the views of the EU to other countries, in international organisations and at international conferences.

Kerstin Lindblad works at the Division for Migration and Asylum Policy at the Ministry of Justice. Kerstin is Chair of the Visa Working Party.

The start of the UN Climate Conference (COP 15) in Copenhagen is not the only event taking place on 7 December – the last Energy Council meeting of the autumn is also taking place in Brussels. President-in-Office of the Council Maud Olofsson believes that the EU has an important role to play in the energy area in the future, and is delighted that three climate-smart directives are now being put in place.

A seminar on global healht is held on 4 December in Stockholm, by Karolinska Institutet’s Public and International Health network, the Swedish EU presidency and the Global Health Europe network. The opening speakers are Maria Larsson MP, Minister for Elderly Care and Public Health, and former MEP Anders Wijkman, the seminar’s moderator.

Now the UN Climate Change Conference is underway in Copenhagen. Over 10 days the world is gathering to work out how to save the climate. But what is it that is at stake? Why is the earth’s average temperature changing? How can you yourself help to curb climate change?

Late on Sunday evening the EU member states decided to designate Ljubljana as seat of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators – ACER. The agency will complement and coordinate the work of national regulatory authorities.

On December 10, the Swedish mission to the UN in New York is arranging, together with the missions of Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, France, the Netherlands and Norway, a panel discussion on "Opposing grave Human Rights Violations on the basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity".