The referendum concerned the accession of the country to the area of Justice and Home Affairs of the EU. The government carefully planned the date of the referendum to be held prior to the meeting of the European Council. The reason behind it was to avoid the impact of the debate of the Brexit discussion on the voting preferences of the Danes. The results of the referendum show that 53% of Danish citizens voted against deeper integration in the field of Justice and Home Affairs. Reasons for rejecting the proposal were linked to fears of an influx of refugees and terrorism.
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During the meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs of NATO countries, the logo of the NATO summit, which is to be held in Warsaw in 2016, was officially unveiled. Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of the organization, also announced that the ministers of foreign affairs of the member countries agreed to invite Montenegro to join the Alliance. If the accession is concluded by the Warsaw summit in July, Montenegro will become 29th member of NATO.
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Montenegro was invited to join the group of NATO member states. Moscow has expressed strong opposition to the decision of the Alliance.
The United Nations’ world conference resulted in an international agreement, which aims to limit global warming to less than 2 °C. The agreement, coming into force in 2020, will eventually replace the Kyoto Protocol.
At the meeting of 28 representatives of the European Union and Turkey, the agreement, according to which Turkey will help to stem the wave of migrants coming to Europe, was signed. In return, the EU has committed itself to pay Turkey 3 billion euros over two years to cope with 2.2 million Syrian refugees in the country. In addition, the EU promised to open a new chapter in Turkey’s accession negotiations and the abolition of the visa requirement for Turkish nationals in the Schengen area until October 2016. That is in case Ankara fulfills all the requirements.
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Parliamentary and presidential elections took place in Burkino Faso on 29 November 2015. They were considered as the most democratic in the history of the state. It was won by former prime minister Roch Marc Kabore in the first round by more than 53% of the votes. Before, in 2014, the 27 years rule of President Blaise Compaoré was overthrown. Interim-President Michel Kafando subsequently planned elections in October. They were postponed earlier due to a failed coup d´état by Compaoré supporters. The elections are a crucial step towards the political transformation and stability in the country.
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The 16 + 1 (16 European countries + China) cooperation format was launched in 2012. This year's summit took place in the Chinese city of Suzhou. The main topics discussed were: China's "One Belt, one Road" initiative in the context of the development of transport and communication links between Europe and Asia, agriculture, tourism, and cooperation in the field of trade and investment. Poland was represented by President Andrzej Duda. The meeting adopted a cooperation plan for 2016 ("Notice of Suzhou") and the medium-term plan of cooperation for 2020.
These are the first elections since the military coup in 2013. They were held under the presidency of former army chief Abdel Fattah el Sisi (Abd Al-Fattah Sisi). The Muslim Brotherhood was declared illegal and the Upper House of Parliament was dissolved. However, critics say most candidates are supporters of President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi and the new parliament is likely to strengthen his control. The second round of the elections was held between the 30th of November and the 2nd of December. In some areas the second round was postponed due to administrative defects in the first round.
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The second round of presidential elections in Argentina was won by the centre-right opposition candidate Mauricio Macri. The victory implies an end of the era of the so-called "Kirchnerism" or Peronist governments of Nestor Kirchner (2003-2007) and his wife Cristina de Kirchner (2007-2015).
In Washington, agreements have been concluded between the US and Cuba with regards to cooperation in the conservation and management of protected marine areas as well as on cooperation in the sphere of environmental protection. These were the first bilateral agreements made since the restoration of diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba in December 2014.
