On 10 January, and in parallel with the Summit for Heads of State and Government, the Spain-France Dialogue Forum will be held, jointly organised by Veolia Environnement and the CIDOB Foundation. The event will represent an important meeting between the civil societies of the two countries, in which current affairs issues with respect to bilateral relations will be debated, in addition to the large-scale shared projects in the areas of Europe and the Mediterranean. Following the success of the last Forum, held in Girona in 2006, the Dialogue Forum will focus on some of the issues it has been working on during 2007, including cross-border interconnections, research and university teaching and the possible creation of a shared cultural channel. The proposals drafted by the Dialogue Forum will be presented to the heads of state and government.

During the past eight years, one in three Latin American countries has suffered at least one serious political crisis. While their economies have grown at a sustained rate, no reduction in poverty is taking place. Even the very suitability of democratic forms of government is beginning to be questioned. Within this context, on 12 January, the seminar War and Peace in the 21st Century will deal with Democracy in Latin America, and will be attended by leading figures such as Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Ricardo Lagos, Javier Solana and José María Maravall. The participants will be attempting to find formulas for strengthening democracy in the region and to combat populist temptations.

In March 2008, Russia will hold presidential elections to choose the person who will replace Vladimir Putin as President of the Federation. Thus, Putin is nearing the end of his second presidential term of office. Beyond the speculation over his political future, it is clear that the Russian Federation has been greatly transformed under his two mandates. One of the areas in which the greatest changes have taken place is in that of foreign policy. One month before the elections, the CIDOB Foundation is to hold a session that will make an assessment of these significant changes.

The conference will be chaired by the renowned South African specialist on the subject of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, Margot Light, Professor Emeritus at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Professor Light will be analysing the changes that have taken place in Russia's foreign policy over the past four years, placing them in the wider perspective of the construction of Russia's new foreign policy following the dismantling of the Soviet Union.

The conference will be held in English (no translation available).