The dog took us for a walk in the arboretum early this morning. It was a damp, dank, misty day and the bare branches of the trees were dripping constantly onto the leaf mould below. The foret de soignes is always beautiful, with every season having its colours. Despite the gloomy weather, we were treated to a spectacular display of vivid greens and yellows from the mosses that somehow come into their own in this period. The tree in my picture had painted its toes a bright emerald green. The walk was a perfect antidote to a very intense and immensely satisfying week. The intense and animated debates with Barroso and Almunia, the adoption of the resolution and a clutch of high-quality opinions, the signing of the Protocol of Cooperation, the Danish cultural evening… Quite a week for the Committee!