Germany
Finland
On 1st September Finnish Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi travelled to Germany on her first official visit during which she met German Chancellor Angela... Anti-Corruption
UN
On 2nd September the International Anti-Corruption Academy was inaugurated in Vienna by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. The IACA will train... Interim Government
Belgium
Outgoing Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt succeeded in reaching agreement on 19th December to form an interim government until 23rd March next... Energy
Parliament
75 watt lightbulbs have been banned from sale in the EU since 1st September. This ban that follows an initial ban of sales of 100 watt bulbs will... Ukraine
Studies/Reports
The German Institute for European Policy (IEP) published a study on 30th August on the influence of the European Neighbourhood Policy on political... Reshuffle
Romania
Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc undertook a government reshuffle on 2nd September, one of the most important since the country became democratic... Albania
Publications
A book on the political transition of Albania during the period following the collapse of communism (1991) to the present has just been published by... Elections/Latvia
Foundation
On 2nd October next the Latvians are being called to vote to renew the 100 members of the Saiema (Parliament) elected for four years by proportional... Division
Belgium
Belgium is more divided than ever over the failure of the attempt to form a government led by Elio di Rupo (PS) - this is the latest episode in the... Serbia
UK
The British Foreign Minister William Hague called on Serbia on 31st August for it to agree with the EU on a new version of the Kosovo resolution... Exhibition/Münster
Culture
The Pablo Picasso graphic museum in Münster, Germany is putting on a special exhibition entitled "Pablo Picasso - in the artist's workshop" until... Inflation
Eurostat
According to an estimate published on 31st August by Eurostat inflation in the euro area in August 2010 rose to 1.6% - which is down in comparison... Discrimination/Roma
Parliament
On 2nd September the President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek announced that the situation of the Roma in Europe would be the focus of debate... Develop
Commission
As part of the FLEX mechanism that is designed to help the most vulnerable countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) overcome the... Russia
Luxembourg
On 24th August Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker together with his Finance Minister, Luc Frieden travelled to Sotchi in Russia for a... Energy
Germany
German nuclear power stations should witness an average 12 year extension to their life span announced Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen on 6th... Citizens' Initiative
Studies/Reports
On 31st August the Bertelsmann Foundation published a study on the European Citizens' Initiative entitled "A Revolution in Disguise: The European... EU/World
Foundation
The Chairman of the Robert Schuman Foundation, Jean-Dominique Giuliani was the guest of Slovenian Foreign Minister, Samuel Zbogar on 29th August at... Georgia
Council
European Foreign Ministers decided on 26th July to extend the surveillance mission in Georgia (EUMM) by one year until September 2011. The EUMM... Coalition
Italy
The leader of the Chamber of Deputies, Gianfranco Fini announced on 5th September "the end" of the PDL (People of Freedom), the party he founded with... 20 years/Unification
Germany
On 31st August Germany celebrated the 20th anniversary of the signature of the unification treaty. On 31st August 1990 the representatives of the GDR... Germany
Ukraine
During his first official visit to Germany since his election Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich met German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Federal... Germany
Turkey
In an interview in the Bild Zeitung published on 27th July Guido Westerwelle, the German Foreign Minister said that Turkey was not ready to enter the... Kosovo
Council
French General Xavier Bout de Marnhac is the new director of the Police and Justice Mission in Kosovo (Eulex). The decision was taken on 27th July by... Spain
Unemployment
The Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE) announced on 30th July that the unemployment rate in the second semester had reached 20.09%... France
Growth
In a report published on 30th July the IMF announced its growth forecasts for France: it is reckoning on growth of 1.6% in 2011 and 1.8% in 2012. It... China
Commission
Algirdas Šemeta, European Commissioner responsible for taxation, customs union, audit and the fight against fraud inaugurated an international... Environment
Commission
The European Commission adopted a decision on 1st September which defines the necessary criteria to achieve a good environmental status in European... Referendum
Moldova
The constitutional referendum in Moldova that was supposed to put an end to an interminable political crisis was deemend invalid due to the... Defence
Bulgaria
Bulgarian Defence Minister Anio Anguelov announced on 1st September that the Bulgarian army would be reduced by 6,000 men by 2015 and that it would... ITER
Agreement
At an extraordinary meeting at Cadarache on 27th and 28th July the seven project partners of the Iter project (European Community of Atomic... Visas
Bosnia-Herzgovina
The President of the Parliament of Bosnia, Dusanka Majkic announced on 2nd September the extension of the mandate of the director of the central... Parties
Publications
The Austrian Institute for European Policy and Security (AIES) has published a book by Dr Stefan Zotti on the political parties on a European level... Diplomacy/EU
Publications
Marc Pierini has published a book entitled "Diplomatic Telegrammes. Journey to the Heart of Europe's External Policy" in which he presents recent... Supervision
Financial Crisis
The European Union succeeded in reaching an agreement of principle on 2nd September after months of negotiations over a project that aims to enhance... Iran
Council
European Foreign Ministers decided on 26th July to step up sanctions against Iran whose nuclear programme represents “a serious cause for... Visit/Brussels
Poland
The President of Poland, Bronislaw Komorowski travelled to Brussels on 1st September where he first met with the President of the Commission José... Roma
France
French Foreign and European Affairs Minister Bernard Kouchner spoke on the telephone on 31st August with Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi.... External Service
Council
On 26th July European Foreign Ministers launched Union’s new diplomatic service which should enable it to speak with one voice on the international... Eurostat
Population
According to data released by the European statistics office, Eurostat, published on 27th July the EU’s population has risen above the 500 million... Exhibition/Cluny
Culture
The Centre for National Monuments is presenting an exhibition "Cluny, the pinnacle of Romanesque Art" until 30th September celebrating the 11th... France
Financial Crisis
According to statistics published by INSEE on 2nd September the unemployment rate decreased to 9.3% in the second quarter in mainland France after... Germany
Financial Crisis
On 1st September the German government adopted an austerity plan to save 80 billion euros by 2014. In 2011 alone the amount of savings will total... Immigration
Italy
On 30th August on the occasion of the celebration of the second anniversary of the Italian-Libyan Treaty, Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi asked for... Afghanistan
UK
British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg travelled to Afghanistan to visit British troops on 21st August. He hailed the courage and professionalism... Elections
Moldova
Together the four main opposition parties won the early general elections in Moldova with 50.7% of the vote and 53 MPs ahead of the Communist Party... NATO
Denmark
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen went to Denmark on 31st August where he notably met with Queen Margarethe II of Denmark, Danish Prime... Appointment
NATO
The Chief of Staff of the French Army, Stéphane Abrial was appointed "Supreme Allied Commander for the Transformation" of NATO on 29th July. This... Spain
Financial Crisis
Unemployment increased in August after decreasing for 4 months indicated the Spanish Labour Minister on 2nd September. The additional number of... France
Andorra
The President of the Republic of France, Nicolas Sarkozy visited Andorra rapidly on 28th July; the heads of the French State are joint princes of... Unemployment
Germany
The Federal Employment Agency announced on 31st August that the gross unemployment rate remained unchanged stabilising at 7.6% and that the number of... Ireland
Financial Crisis
The nationalised Irish bank Anglo Irish announced on 31st August that it had made a record half-year loss of 8.2 billion euros, a situation which... Carbon Tax
Eurobarometer
An survey undertaken by Eurobarometer and published on 29th July shows that Europeans do not support the idea of a special tax on products that are... Serbia
IMF
During a meeting with Serb Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic on 30th August the IMF spoke of the need to adopt a law "rapidly" on fiscal responsibility.... France
Poland
After his visit to Brussels Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski travelled to Paris on 2nd September. After an interview with his French counterpart... Estonia
Financial Crisis
The Estonian government has raised its GDP growth forecasts for 2010. The country is again experiencing growth after years of recession. The Finance... Coalition?
Netherlands
Discussions over the formation of a minority rightwing coalition between the Liberals of the VVD which won the general elections in June by a narrow... Near East
Council
The head of European diplomacy Catherine Ashton called on 2nd September for "all parties involved" to abstain from any type of "provocation that... Bulgaria
Financial Crisis
Bulgaria's Finance Minister Simeon Djankov announced on 1st September that the budgetary deficit consolidated over the first half of 2010 due to the... UK
Retirement
On 29th July the British government announced a project to abolish the automatic age of retirement of 65 within one year's time. This project aims to... France
Unemployment
The Employment, Solidarity and the Civil Service Ministry has just published the latest unemployment figures for June 2010. The number of category A... Treaty ratified
Italia
Italian deputies have voted at the unanimity on july, 31th the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, just one week after the positive vote from the... EU/Presidency
Belgium
On 2nd September Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme together with Deputy Prime Ministers Steven Vanackere, Laurette Onkelinx, Joëlle Milquet and... France/Germany
Germany
On 31st August the French and German Transport Ministers, Dominique Bussereau and Peter Ramsauer confirmed their goal of creating strong... Unemployment
Eurostat
According to Eurostat unemployment in the euro area rose to 10% of the working population in July 2010, which was stable in comparison with June but... ECB
Financial Crisis
On 2nd September the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Jean-Claude Trichet announced that the ECB had raised its growth forecast for 2010... Referendum/Moldova
Foundation
The referendum organised in Moldova on 5th September was invalidated because of the low turnout. In effect only 29.05% of the electorate turned out... Commission
Loans
The European Commission paid the second part of its loan to Latvia to a total of 1.2 billion euros on 27th July together with the first payment of... China
Council
The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Common Security Catherine Ashton started a visit of China on 30th August - this was the first... Iceland
Membership
On 27th July the first intergovernmental conference on Iceland’s membership of the EU was held in Brussels. Although Iceland abides by nearly ¾ of... Switzerland
Financial Crisis
The Swiss economy grew by 1% in the first quarter in comparison with the previous one, ie twice that of the first government assessment that was... Exhibition/Vienna
Culture
The Austria Kunstforum in Vienna is presenting one of the biggest exhibitions ever devoted to Frida Kahlo until 5th December. This exhibition is... EBRD
Luxembourg
On 30th August Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker was host to Thomas Mirow, Chair of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development... Growth
Eurostat
According to the first estimates published by Eurostat on 2nd September the GDP in the euro area and the EU increased by 1% in comparison with the... Roma
OSCE
On 30th August the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) spoke of its concern with regard to the present policy in France with... Brussels
Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court in Brussels delivered a decision on 29th July that suspends the Flemish decision imposing Dutch speaking inspectors on... Diplomacy
Hungary
During an Ambassadors conference on 31st August Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban indicated that the Hungarian government aimed to increase... Council
General Affairs and External Relations
On 27th July the 27 Foreign Ministers called on the Commission to issue an opinion on the request for EU membership on the part of Iceland. They... Regulation
Studies/Reports
The Bruegel Institute published a paper on 31st August on financial integration on a world scale. This study shows the difficulty of bringing about... France
Nuclear
After a meeting at the Elysée on 27th July with the Nuclear Policy Council which aimed to look into the report written by former EDF chair,... Competition
Commission
Enrolment for the young translators competition "Juvenes Translatores" organised by the EU was launched on 1st September and will last until 20th... Exhibition/Sofia
Culture
An exceptional exhibition of a total 74 sculptures in bronze by French Impressionist Edgar Degas who was marked by the movement's ideas was... UK
Turkey
Visiting Turkey on 27th July British Prime Minister David Cameron said that he would fight for Turkey to be able to join the European Union. He... Climate
Germany
On 31st August the French, British, German Envrionment and Energy Ministers, Jean-Louis Borloo, Norbert Röttgen and Chris Huhne met in Berlin to...