Year in review - Lisbon log jam
European Commission
Euranet concludes our look back at the big stories and newsmakers of the year. The last four months of 2009 focused mostly on climate change and, most importantly, the delays in ratifying the Lisbon Treaty.
In September, German Chancellor Angela Merkel secured another term for herself and her centre right Christian Democrats. This time the pro-business Free Democratic Party joined her coalition.
Her former partners, the Social Democrats had a disastrous showing - their worst in over 60 years - and moved into opposition.
Also in September, the EU's most high profile figure Jose Manuel Barroso was elected for a second term as the head of the European Commission. There had been a few nail-biting months for Mr Barroso, who'd been under ferocious attack from his political opponents and who looked at one stage as if he'd been rejected.
But in the end, the European Parliament voted him in with 382 MEPs in favour and 219 against. 117 abstained.
Lisbon Delays
In October Ireland was being asked to vote on the Lisbon Treaty for the second time in 16 months. This time the Irish voted yes and it looked like the final obstacle had been overcome.
That was until Czech President Vaclav Klaus caused an eleventh hour upset. He asked for an amendment to the treaty to stop land claims by Germans who were forced to leave Czechoslovakia during World War II.
After my political manouvering, Mr Klaus ratified the treaty and it came into effect on 1st December.
In November Herman Van Rompuy - Belgium's Prime Minister - was elected as the first EU President.
The leader who's managed to hold his country's Flemish and French populations together is now charged with refereeing the leaders of the EU's 27 member states.
In the end big hitter Tony Blair was deemed too controversial to take the title.
Also in November, Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic failed to show up for his war crimes trial in the Hague. He did eventually put in an appearance, after the court appointed a defence lawyer on his behalf. He had wanted to represent himself in court.
He denies all 11 war crimes charges from the 1992-95 Bosnian war, including genocide at Srebrenica.
Berlin 20 years on
In Germany, the world came together for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall .
World leaders including former Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicholas Sarkozy joined German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Brandenburg Gate for the celebrations.
Thousands of people turned out to witness 1000 eight foot dominoes being toppled along an the route of the former wall - signifying the fall of each of the Eastern European communist governments.
Climate talks begin
Then in December, there were grim warnings of apocalyptic dangers for mankind as crunch talks on climate change got underway at the Copenhagen Summit .
Around 15,000 delegates from about 190 nations were in the city for an landmark agreement that was expected to replace the Kyoto Protocol.
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