For 2015, the Commission recommends focusing attention on a number of key reforms. The areas chosen are relevant for all Member States although the exact measures to be taken will vary from country to country. Within the euro area, particular attention should be paid to better co-ordination of some of these reforms to enhance positive synergies and to avoid negative spill overs. The areas for reform are the following:

Opposition challenger Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic was elected Croatia's first female president  narrowly winning a tight run-off vote with a pledge to kickstart the EU country's ailing economy. The president's post in Croatia is a ceremonial position. Grabar-Kitarovic is Croatia's fourth president since its independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.

Dozens of foreign leaders including Muslim and Jewish statesmen gathered in an unprecedented march to pay tribute to victims of Islamist militant attacks.

The message they convey :

• Standing up
• Unity against extremism
• A cry for freedom and tolerance
• Free speech
• Bringing people together of all religions

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry summed it up  best as follows:

A major challenge to Europe is the increasing travel of European citizens, mostly young men to and from Syria seeking to join forces opposing the Asad regime. Many of them end up in the ranks of violent extremist groups such as al-Nusrah Front or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). These “foreign fighters” spark increasing concerns, and actions to address them, by European countries worried about the growing number of their citizens travelling to the battlefield and possibly returning radicalized.

While professing unwavering faith in a transcendent deity, radical Islam is a militant, politically activist ideology, whose ultimate goal is to create a worldwide community, or caliphate, of Muslim believers. Determined to achieve this new world order by any means necessary, including violence and mass murder, radical Islam is characterised by its contempt for the beliefs, practices, and symbols of other religious traditions. This intolerant creed is cited by Islamists as the philosophical justification for their terrorism.

Asia will once again be the engine of global GDP growth in 2015, but the picture within the region is beginning to show signs of shifting. In aggregate, we forecast that the region’s economy will expand by 4.5%, the same pace than 2014. However, as China’s economic growth rate continues to slow, other countries will begin to compete for the title of regional star performer.

On 1 December 2009, with the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, the Charter of Fundamental Rights became legally binding on the EU institutions and national governments, just like the EU Treaties themselves.

Chapter II of the Charter pertains to Freedoms and Article 11 in particular relates to Freedom of Expression and Information.

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.

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.