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The French-Quebecer is originally from Marseille, but has been living in Montreal for the past six years. In October 2012 she set up a magazine called Città - Italian for 'city' - which aims to share little pieces of Montreal with the world, while bringing the world to Montreal. The first issue is devoted to Berlin, Rome, Warsaw and Milan

The long-hidden secret of the world's most invisble fresco, the EU Fresco, was the key to the existence of the European Union when it was painted in 1951. But Europe's most famous octogenerian painter did it again, causing the end of the world - starting with the EU - by painting over the fresco in December*

By Pierre-Yves Leveaux (live from the European Summit), translated by Danica Jorden

Following the 17-18 October and 22-23 November Summits on the European Union’s budget, 2012’s last meeting of the European Council opened today in Brussels. Not bad for an event that was supposed to be quarterly.

When travelling to eastern Europe prepare to step out of your comfort zone, unless luxury hotels for sleazy businessmen and escort girls are your cup of tea. Only by mixing with the ordinary can we grasp the not-so-ordinary reality. Romania and Moldova are no exception. One Belgian traveller tells the story of his journey by night train

I woke up on 1 December to see the first downy white flakes of snow floating past my window in Göttingen. A few hours, some steaming mulled wine and ten frozen fingers later, and it was time to make the traditional christmas biscuits

By Aris Kokkinos (live from the European Summit), translated by Danica Jorden

Even if the European Union paid any attention to the Mayan calendar, it seems the 13th year of the 21st century is as frightening as the online apocalypse. In 2013, the legislative framework for the banking union will be put in place, but 2014 is the year European leaders have chosen for its launch -- in the hope that the present financial morass will have cleared up between now and then, and that German electors will have confirmed Angela Merkel to lead the EU.

As a little girl living in Norway, the director with Turkish origins released a small balloon letter into the air, into which was breathed muslim women’s need for change. ’Many female members of my family won’t talk about it,' she says. 'They don’t want me to either, out of fear that I’ll become a ‘broken glass’’. 'A Balloon For Allah' scooped the best film prizes at festivals in the UK and Indonesia

Is it the best day of the year, or materialist mayhem? Have you already decked the hall with boughs of holly, or are you secretly waiting for it all to be over? A selection of favourite Christmas poems picked by Babelians is by turns joyful, world-weary and quietly optimistic

The cold-war relic and ‘listening’ intelligence station was manned 24/7 from the 1960s until the fall of the Berlin wall. The secret gem on a hill of the German capital offered adventure and great views of the city. Nowadays organised tours are officially on weekends at 2pm but in practice, organisers are stalking the complex for people who jump the gate or find holes in the fence, only to charge them or force them off the premises. There are also official plans to host clean energy projects as well as artists. There may be no citizens here, but Teufelsberg's story is a prime attempt at gentrification, though the emergent spontaneous sense of spirit seems to have tamed and dissolved with recent developments. As legal as it all may be, it doesn’t feel right, says Serbian photographer Luka Knezevic-Strika

12/12/12 is a morbid day in the run-up to the end of the world on 21 December; it is also the day when 'The Hobbit – an Unexpected Journey 'hits cinemas. Peter Jackson’s latest film based on the prequel of 'The Lord of the Rings', also by J.R.R. Tolkien, has apocalyptic threads running all the way through it

By Jan Nils Schubert.

Calling your grandmother in Italy, texting your girlfriend in Romania or watching news on your Belgian mobile phone while on vacation in Sweden...Thanks to the newly launched ‘One Single Tariff’ act, all this might be soon possible without costing the earth. As part of the European Citizens Initiative, two young French citizens are on a mission to tackle the challenge of roaming charges.

The district is famed for its media coverage of violence and failed integration. Yet it is also a recent example of Berlin's gentrification. Of its 315, 000, 41% are migrants; more than one in five are unemployed. A city magazine recently declared my street to be one of the trendiest places in Berlin. But what do the inhabitants see in this place?

The austere zeitgeist of an Ireland in the midst of a grim financial fiasco has even further skewed our view of Germany and all things German, and has opened a door to reflection on my own experiences of spending nigh on seven years in that country. Third in a series from cafebabel Dublin

In her mind at least, Francesca has never left her 'erasmus' city, Paris. Back in Rome, the Italian languages and literature student has written this appeal to the erasmus generation; in its 25 years of existence the student exchange programme has moulded almost two million students across Europe, and is now threatened with closure

After years spent in the obscurity of small Parisian venues, the French singer can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. When opportunity came knocking a year ago, she grabbed it with both hands. Her vibrant EP, released in October, serves as a prelude to a near-completed album due for release in 2013

On 8 December Italy's prime minister Mario Monti announced his resignation after his government lost the backing of the party of his predecessor Silvio Berlusconi. Berlusconi for his part has declared that he will seek office again. Will Monti will also join the race, or could Silvio's return be good for the country in its current political paralysis?

Christmas markets, singing angels, hectic shopping and chocolate Santas. Traditional jews don’t have any of that christ-plus-hype. They celebrate Hannukah instead and down oil rather than sweets. In 2012, Hannukah is held between 8-16 December