August marks the beginning of the only three-week period in the summer when there is nothing going on in Brussels. The diplomats at the Permanent Representation already had some idle time in the last days of July. Time to put together the preliminary report on the third quarter of EU operations. The 20-page letter has now been sent to the federal ministries and the Chancellor’s Office. Depending on the policy field, it reports on the status of the individual dossiers and the prospects for how things will proceed under the Spanish Council presidency.