Eurosta estimates that 24.423 million men and women in the EU-28 , of whom 18.394 million were in the euro area (EA-18), were unemployed in November 2014.

The euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 11.5 % in November 2014. The EU-28 unemployment rate was 10.0 % in November 2014.

Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (4.9 %) and Germany (5.0 %), and the highest in Greece (25.7 % ) and Spain (23.9 %).

Charlie Hebdo’s attack  is an attack on the media and freedom of expression. The world community cannot allow extremists to silence the free flow of opinions and ideas.

No journalists should face violence for what they publish and any attack on journalists is an attack on freedom of expression.

Journalists should have the right to publish offensive material without fear of violent retribution. They should have the right to publish it, and others should have the freedom to criticise it. Let’s defend those rights.

The Latvian Presidency will focus on three overarching priorities: Competitive Europe, Digital Europe and Engaged Europe.

The destabilizing potential of Greek elections for the euro area should be taken seriously. They will have a significant impact on this year's elections in Spain and Portugal, and could also lead to the reshuffling of political decks in Italy, France and Germany.

Crude oil now trades at below $50 , another psychological threshold for the market. Experts now predict oil could go as low as $40 or even $ 30 a barrel. While that's great for U.S. consumers, there comes a point when sustained low prices begin to really hurt energy company stocks and jobs in the U.S. and other countries around the world. Lower prices are also pinching the oil industry, including the previously red –hot Texan economy and high-cost U.S. shale and Canadian oil sands producers. Several thousand layoffs in the energy sector have already been announced.

Russia relies on oil and gas for half its tax revenue and needs the price of a barrel to be at $100 to balance its books. Instead, the price is closer to $60. The value of the rouble has plummeted pretty much in tandem, leading to a sense of panic in the markets.

 Russia's Main Economic Problems?

Downside risks are clouding the Euro area outlook. The Euro area economy is expected to expand 1.1% in 2015

Expected GDP Growth by Country

National elections in Greece will probably be held on Jan. 25, 2015, that’s just weeks before Greece’s € 240 billion bailout expires.. The trigger for the elections was the failure at the third and final attempt of Samaras’s bid to push through his nominee for president, Stavros Dimas. Dimas attracted the support of 168 lawmakers in the 300-seat chamber, short of the 180 votes required

Russia's Central Bank is running down its stash of foreign cash to try to stop its currency from plunging and contain the crisis threatening its economy. So far this year the Central Bank has burned through more than $110 billion in foreign currency supplies. That's more than a quarter of what it has in reserves right now. Russia's total international reserves, which also include gold and other liquid foreign assets, had fallen to $398.9 billion by December 19, 2014.

Improving fundamentals, successful reform programmes and, last but not least, lower oil prices will make emerging Asia once again the fastest growing region in the world in 2015, according to forecasts by international economic institutions such as World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Studies show that the region will enjoy average GDP growth of nearly 7% in the coming year, which is by far stronger then the forecast for the entire Asian continent at 4.5%.