Europe - Fondation Robert Schuman

Home

Europe Live Wednesday 22^nd May 2013

Presidential Election in Germany

5^th March 2012

Following the resignation on 17th February of German President Christian Wulff, a new president is to be elected within the next thirty days according to the German fundamental law. All of the parties in the Parliament except for Die Linke (which is presenting Beate Klarsfeld as its candidate) agreed on appointing Joachim Gauck to stand as president. The German President is elected by the German Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung) which comprises 1,240 members; the 620 members of the Bundestag, the lower chamber of parliament, and an equal number of representatives from the 16 Länder, MPs from the regional parliaments and people from civil society. The election takes place with a secret, absolute majority ballot in one or two rounds. If no candidate wins the majority (ie 621 votes) a third round is organised during which the person who rallies the greatest number of votes rallied to his name is elected.

Read

Europe Live

Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council
Council
On 16th and 17th May 2013 the Culture, Education and Sports Ministers of the 27 Member States appointed Aarhus and Paphos as the European Capitals of... Adoption by the Bundestag of the Basel III rules
Germany
German MPs in the Bundestag adopted the new international rules governing the capitalisation of banks - the so-called Basel III - on 16th May 2103.... A further decrease in inflation
Eurostat
On 16th May 2013 Eurostat published inflation figures for April. The EU and the euro zone recorded a further decline in their annual rates, from 1.4%... Report on the quality of bathing waters in the EU
Studies/Reports
Holidaymakers this summer will be able to dive more often, without having to worry, into the waters of the 22,000 bathing areas controlled by the EU.... 20th German-Russian Forum
Germany
On 15th May 2013 the German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle hosted his Russian counterpart Serguey Lavrov in Berlin on the occasion of the 20th... Let's turn energy transition into the couple's driving force
Germany
The French and German Environment Ministers, Delphine Batho and Peter Altmaier published an article in Le Monde on 15th May 2013. In this text they... First session of parliament after the general elections
Bulgaria
Bulgarian President Rossen Plevneliev convened Parliament on 21st May 2013 at 10am for the first session after the early elections that witnessed the... Intergovernmental consultations between Poland and the Czech Republic
Poland
Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas and a certain number of his ministers travelled to Warsaw in Poland on 13th May 2013 as part of the intergovernmental... The Senate supports the creation of a European consumer law
France
In the wake of the scandal of horsemeat lasagne the Senate adopted a draft European resolution on 15th May 2013 which is designed to lead to a... Meeting of the Visegrad Group and Ms Ashton on the Eastern Partnership
Poland
The heads of diplomacy in the Visegrad Group comprising Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, together with the High Representative of... Switzerland must define its legislation on assisted suicide
ECHR
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) deemed on 14th May 2013 that Swiss legislation did not give enough detail about the circumstances in which... Europe: Defeat or Challenge
Publications
In the face of globalisation, ageing populations and the exhaustion of public financing Gilles le Bail illustrates in his new book "Europe, defeat or... Dynamo at the Grand Palais
Culture
The exhibition Dynamo will be at the Grand Palais, Paris until 22nd July 2013 and is presenting 150 artists covering a period of 100 years. Dynamo... Celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Richard Wagner
Culture
Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig on 22nd May 1813. Sometimes we forget that Leipzig is not just the town of Back and Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. Even... Warsaw and Rome support "synergy" between budgetary discipline and growth
Poland
In Warsaw on 16th May 2013 the Italian and Polish heads of government, Enrico Letta and Donald Tusk spoke in support of "synergy" between the... Finnish President in Lithuania
Lithuania
On May 14th 2013 Finnis President Sauli Nijinstö travelled to Lithuania for a two day visit on the invitation of his Lithuanian counterpart, Dalia... Given the crisis the Italian government adopts a series of measures
Financial Crisis
The Italian government led by Enrico Letta adopted a series of measures on 17th May 2013. "The first is to suspend the payment of the SCT (the Single... Hungary emerges from recession
Financial Crisis
The Hungarian economy recorded growth of 0.7% of the GDP in the first quarter of 2013 in comparison with the previous quarter thereby emerging from... Agreement between the government and the civil service unions
Financial Crisis
The Slovenian government led by Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek came to an agreement with the civil servants' unions on a new basis for civil... German growth up slightly in the first quarter
Financial Crisis
According to estimates published by the German Statistics Office Destatis on 15th May 2013 the German GDP grew slightly by 0.1% in the first quarter... "Talking Europe" hosts Antonio Vitorino
Front page!
As part of the partnership between the Robert Schuman Foundation and the Audiovisuel extérieur de la France (AEF), the Foundation is broadcasting... Award of the Pierre Pflimlin Prize
Front page!
The Robert Schuman Foundation is involved in the Pierre Pflimlin Prize awarded to young researchers who are working on the Franco-German... Anish Kapoor in Berlin
Culture
The Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum in Berlin is devoting an exhibition to Anish Kapoor until 24th November 2013. The artist is one of the most reputed in... The Prado Museum reveals "Captive Beauty"
Culture
The Prado Museum in Madrid is holding an exhibition from 21st May to 10th November 2013 called "Captive Beautry. From Fra Angelico to Fortuny". This... Franco-German Journalism Prize 2013
France
The Franco-German Journalism Prize Winner (PFAJ) which is celebrating its 30 anniversary in 2013 were selected in Paris on 15th May. Amongst them are... Presentation of the "Schuman Report 2013"
Front page!
On 27th May 2013 the two co-managers of the "Schuman Report on Europe-State of the Union 2013", Thierry Chopin, Studies Director for the Robert... Euro zone GDP
Eurostat
In a press release on 15th May 2013 the European statistics office, Eurostat, presented its first GDP estimate. In the first quarter, in comparison... The IMF approves the payment of the first aid tranche to Cyprus
IMF
On 15th May 2013 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that it had approved the financial assistance plan to Cyprus and paid a first loan... Arctic Council Meeting
Sweden
The Arctic Council, an intergovernmental organisation that brings together the countries bordering the Arctic (Canada, Denmark, US, Finland, Norway,... Draft bill on the referendum on the UK's place in the EU
UK
On 14th May 2013 the Conservative Party led by Prime Minister David Cameron introduced a draft bill guaranteeing a referendum on the UK's place in...

Newsletter

RSS Publications RSS feed

The Foundation on

Youtube

Dailymotion