For many 2009 will be a historic year with the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the outcome of the Copenhagen summit and the inauguration of the first black US president.
For many 2009 will be a historic year with the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the outcome of the Copenhagen summit and the inauguration of the first black US president. It was also a year when we celebrated some significant anniversaries, notably the events of 1989 which caused the Communist bloc in Central and Eastern Europe to unravel.
Here are 9 events we think 2009 will be remembered for, in reverse chronological order.
World leaders met in Copenhagen in December to try and come up with a plan to save the world from the perils of climate change.
After many trials and tribulations the Lisbon Treaty finally came into force on 1 December, changing the way the EU is run and giving Parliament many new powers.
After 2 years of wrangling over the telecoms package, the EP and EU ministers finally reached an agreement, which includes protection for internet users in line with MEPs' demands.
This year we marked the anniversary of the 1989 uprising and the massive changes that has wrought in Europe.
MEPs elected the first EP president from Eastern Europe, former Polish Prime Minister and Solidarity activist Jerzy Buzek.
EU citizens elected their 7th European Parliament in June.
The EP got onto social media in a big way - you can now follow your favourite EU institution on Facebook, Myspace, twitter and Flickr, to mention just a few.
North America's first black President, Barack Obama, took office on 20 January.
It was a cold start to the year as the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute hit 17 EU countries leaving homes and hospitals without heating and leading to the closure of schools and factories.