Europe and the CIS

A key player in the European Union, Catherine Ashton caps her turn as a diplomat by orchestrating an impossible seeming peace between Serbia and Kosovo.

Introducing Right Honourable Girlfriend, Jessica Lee MP's weekly tell-all blog for Telegraph Wonder Women contrasting the plotting and intrigue of Westminster with the odd tug of war, summer fete and other local constituency work.

we invite our users to read the complete article published June 19 2013

One thing is certain in the race to lead France's cultural and political center: A woman will be mayor of Paris for the first time in the city's 2,000-year history. The outcome of the conservative primary that begins May 31 is all but decided - Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, or NKM as she is often known, is widely considered the only candidate with a realistic chance. Her Socialist opponent in the March 2014 election will be Anne Hidalgo, the current mayor's designated heir.

Italian lawmakers begin voting on Thursday for a successor to President Giorgio Napolitano amid growing debate about electing a woman for the first time in this male-dominated society, and even seemingly strong popular support for the idea.

Even though Balkan countries are shy of the European average when it comes to women in politics, their presence in public life is growing.

Montenegro has the first female defence minister in its history, while Serbia got its first woman Central Bank governor. Kosovo has its first woman president. The new women prime ministers in Republika Srpska and Slovenia will additionally increase the number of females in the region's governments.

More female candidates are needed in local elections, along with better gender equality programmes in the FYR of Macedonia's local government, NGOs say. This is why the Macedonian Women's Lobby prompted 100 NGOs to sign a declaration demanding more female mayoral candidates for the March local elections. Currently, Macedonia does not have a female mayor.