The European Commission published the General Report on the Activities of the European Union 2012 which presents the actions taken to address all the challenges of the past year. The General Report is published every year by the European Commission and it gives an account of the EU's major initiatives and achievements throughout the year.

The General Report on the Activities of the European Union 2012 can now be found on line. The European Commission published this report in 22 official languages and can be accessed online; the Commission also informed that there is also an e-book version available for tablets and smart phones.

This report describes a year full of significant events, both in Europe and beyond, according to the Commission. One of the highlights was the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union for its deep and abiding commitment to peace and the rule of law ever since its foundation. 2012 was also marked by a solid EU response to the economic and financial crisis with the establishment of the permanent European Stability Mechanism (with a firepower of €500 billion), a new Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union (the so-called Fiscal Compact) now in place and with the agreement on a Single Banking Supervisor laying the first building blocks of a banking union.

The Commission also stressed that 2012 was also marked by a renewed debate on the future of the Union, on the deepening of economic and monetary union and on how the EU might move towards a deeper political union. The General Report on the Activities of the European Union 2012 presents the actions taken to address all the challenges of the past year.