Europe House in Paris is organising a conference "Should we be proud of being European?" on 14th May 2013. Pascale Joannin, General Manager of the Robert Schuman Foundation and Joachim Bitterlich, former advisor to Helmut Kohl and member of the Robert Schuman Foundation's Scientific Committee will be taking part in the panel of speakers. Speeches will be followed by a debate and a vote on the recommendations to improve education about Europe... Read more

The Bureau of European Policy Advisors (BEPA) of the European Commission (BEPA) together with the European Humanist Federation and the Grande Loge Féminine de France are organising a seminar on 15th May 2013 on "The rise of populism in Europe: in search of strong EU action." Magali Balent, Projects Director and Researcher at the Robert Schuman Foundation will be taking part in this conference and will offer an overview of the situation in Europe... Read more

The Franco-German Institute of Ludwigsburg together with the Asko Europa Foundation is organising the 10th annual seminar for Franco-German Dialogue on 16th and 17th May 2013. Entitled "Federal Europe? Solidarity, Subsidiarity, Democracy" there will be speeches by Thierry Chopin, Studies Director for the Robert Schuman Foundation and Magali Balent, Project Director for the Robert Schuman Foundation... Read more

Thierry Chopin, Studies Director for the Robert Schuman Foundation, an associate expert at CERI-Sciences Po and Michel Foucher, University Professor at the Ecole Normale Supérieure (Ulm), Training Director at the Institute des Hautes Etudes de Défense Nationale, both co-editors of the "Schuman Report on Europe - State of the Union 2013" will be presenting the book on 23rd May at Sciences Po CERI. The debate will be hosted by Christian Lequesne, Director fo CERI-Sciences Po. The Schuman Report on Europe, State of the Union, 2013" is available for the first time for e-books and tablets at the price of 10.99€... Read more

As part of the partnership between the Robert Schuman Foundation and Audiovisuel extérieur de la France (AEF) the Foundation is broadcasting the latest programme "Talking Europe" on its site, whose guest this week is Nelly Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission for the Digital Agenda. In her interview she calls on Europe to support the start-up network in order to revive the digital economy... Read more

Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), the party led by outgoing Prime Minister Boyko Borissov came out ahead in the early general elections which took place on 12th May in Bulgaria. The definitive results confirmed the status quo marked by the impossibility for both biggest political parties to form a coalition government with an absolute majority. According to the electoral commission the party led by Boyko Borissov won 30.50% of the vote and 97 seats (-20 in comparison with the last election on 5th July 2009) in the National Assembly, the only Chamber of the parliament. The Socialist Party (BSP) won 26.61% of the vote and 84 seats (+44). The Movement for Rights and Freedom (DPS), led by Lyutvi Mestan took third place with 11.29% of the vote and 36 seats (-1). Finally Ataka, the far right party led by Volen Siderov won 7.3% of the vote and 23 seats (+2). Turnout was low: 51.33% of the Bulgarians went to vote. Which coalition will now govern Bulgaria?.. Read more

The OECD published a study on 7th May 2013 that examines the Belgian economy in detail. Overall it is positive, and the study shows that Belgium "has withstood the crisis quite well" notably thanks to structural reform. Although the consolidation of spending is deemed to be on the right path the public debt is still a source of concern however. The reform of unemployment benefit and retirement pensions should impact the labour market positively, but the healthcare system is under threat because of the ageing population. The problem of transport was also criticised by the OECD which deems that the road and rail networks are of quality but are close to saturation mainly in and around the main towns... Read more

On 13th May 2013 the Bank of France published a first growth estimation based on the monthly economic survey industry and services in April. In its opinion the French GDP is due to experience slight growth of 0.1% in the second quarter of 2013... Read more

The troika, comprising the IMF, the European Commission and the ECB, announced on 9th May 2013 that is had finalised its 10th assessment of the economic situation in Ireland, which will lead to the release of 2.4 billion euros in loans. The "Irish programme is still on target, progressive recovery is continuing and there have be further improvements in market conditions for sovereign debt and the banks," says the troika, which is forecasting growth of 1% in 2013 and more than 2% in 2014. However the report maintains that work still has to be undertaken by the banks in terms of reducing "unsustainable" SME debt and by the government in addressing the "structural" nature of unemployment that remains high at 14%... Read more

On 12th May 2013 the Portuguese government said that it had come to agreement with its creditors on a new austerity programme, which was being implemented to respect its budgetary goals after the Constitutional Court's rejection of several austerity measures. This agreement enables the conclusion of the 7th assessment of Portugal's accounts by the troika (EU. IMF, ECB) representing the country's creditors. It opens the way to the payment of an aid tranche of 2 billion euros as part of the bail-out of 78 billion euros which Lisbon has benefited from since May 2011... Read more

On 9th May 2013 the Slovenian government adopted a public finance consolidation plan presented by Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek. The core of the reform notably involves the banking sector and the stimulation of growth. The government decided to raise VAT (as of July 1st) and to introduce a land and property tax (as of January 2014). However it decided not to introduce a crisis tax that would be payable by all citizens in order to "avoid excessively negative effects on economic growth." Moreover the plan includes the 100% privatisation of state businesses, a reform which Parliament will have to vote on soon. Finally Alenka Bratusek re-iterated her commitment to the fight against the grey economy with enhanced legislation against the black market... Read more

On 7th May 2013 the President of the European Council, Herman van Rompuy travelled to Finland where he gave a speech on the future of Europe at the University of Helsinki. The President of the Council presented his "strategy that comprises four fundamental elements": maintaining financial stability, making European economies stronger by increasing structural reform, taking immediate measures for employment and growth and finally the introduction of banking union... Read more

On 8th May 2013 the European Commission presented twelve new ways to promote European citizens rights'. The Vice- President of the European Commission Viviane Reding explained that European citizenship was not yet complete and that "citizens were still facing obstacles in the exercise of their daily rights. " She added that yearly there were "more than one million requests for information on issues affecting their rights". New action aims to do away with these obstacles linked to work and shopping, to reduce administrative red-tape, to protect the most vulnerable and strengthen citizen participation in the democratic process... Read more

On 8th May 2013 the European Commission put forward a draft directive that aims to provide easier, cheaper and more transparent access to bank accounts. The directive should enable greater transparency as far as fees are concerned, the terminology of which will be standardised, so that consumers can compare different offers more easily. European citizens will be able to open a payment account together with minimal services in any Member State and the procedure to change bank account will be facilitated also... Read more

The European Commission adopted a strategy devoted to the green infrastructure on 6th May 2013. In reality this entails the promotion of urban projects that foster natural and ecological processes. Green infrastructures are an advantage for the environment, for society and also for the economy says Environment Commissioner, Janez Potocnik who believes that they will enable the provision of "solutions that are in harmony and not in conflict with nature." This strategy will be supported by a promotional campaign and should be integrated into the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy. The Commission has committed to supporting green infrastructure projects across the European Union... Read more

The European Commission presented its proposals for the European Council of 22nd May 2013 devoted to energy and tax evasion. In terms of energy it recalls that increasing energy dependence in Europe, the rising prices of energy and low investments in the sector are the main challenges facing the EU. In order to remedy this it notably proposes the launch and greater competitiveness of energy markets and greater investments in energy research and innovation. In terms of countering tax fraud the Commission is suggesting a certain number of national, European and global actions... Read more

On 8th May 2013 the European Commission presented a proposal that allows Member States to sign, in the interest of the EU, the treaty on arms trade (ATT). The ATT aims to make the legal arms trade more responsible by establishing stricter common international standards regarding the import, export and transfer of these arms. It plans an assessment of the transfer of arms as well as measures designed to prevent the trafficking of conventional imported or exported arms. This treaty was adopted on 2nd April last by the UN's General Assembly... Read more

On 9th May 2013 Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite officially received the Charlemagne Prize 2013 in Aachen. The jury wanted to pay tribute to "one of the particularly eminent personalities of the Baltic" who was strongly committed to "settling the present crisis" and to the promotion of the unity of the European Union. "Europeans must stand together and overcome their differences, learn from each other, listen to each other, negotiate and find common solutions," declared Ms Grybauskaite during the ceremony. "Europe on Track", a Spanish media project for young people, was also a prize winner during the youth prize ceremony 2013... Read more

On 6th May 2013 NATO's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told the European Parliament of his concerns about defence spending cuts in Europe. "If the countries of Europe do not commit firmly to investment in security and defence, all discussion over a European Security and Defence Policy may come to nothing" he declared adding that the European Council of December devoted to security and defence, "should show that Europe is both able to act and that it wants to act". In response to MEPs questions about EU/NATO complementarity he highlighted the recent agreement between Belgrade and Pristina, negotiated by the EU with NATO's guarantee in terms of security... Read more

On 6th May 2013 the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso and Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny met to discuss budgetary issues. These discussions should lead to the conclusion of the 2013 budget from which 11.2 billion euros are still missing. A first tranche might be achieved at the next "Economy and Finance" Council on 14th May. At the same time the settlement of the 2013 budget should open the way to further negotiations over the multi-annual financial framework (MFF) for the period 2014-2020. The trilogue started on 13th May and focused on the recommendations made by the European Council in February 2013 on four points: flexibility, the revision clause, own resources and the unique nature of the budget. MEPs are reminded that they would be impeding all MFF negotiations as long as an agreement on the 2013 budget was not found... Read more

On 19th May 2013 the European Parliament in Strasbourg will open its doors to the public. In the morning there will be a debate in the hemicycle with MEPs on the theme of the European Year of Citizens. The Robert Schuman Foundation will have a stand to distribute its publications; it will inform the public of its various activities. Visitors will be able to see the exhibition "De Gaulle-Adenauer, the craftsmen of Franco-German Friendship" organised by the Parliament on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the signature of the Elysée Treaty... Read more

On 13th May 2013 the Council adopted the "two pack" comprising two regulations that are designed to improve the governance of the euro zone. One plans for the communication and study of national budgets submitted by the Member States every 15th October and the other comprises the strengthened supervision of countries which are encountering major difficulties... Read more

On 13th May 2013 the Council approved a directive and a regulation governing the activities of credit ratings agencies. In some cases these rules notably plan for an obligation on the part of the institutions using these agencies to change every four years. Moreover if negligence or a wilful error is committed the slighted parties will be able to prosecute the agencies. Finally the ratings of sovereign debts will be reviewed every 6 months instead of once year as it stands at present... Read more

On 8th May 2013 the European Council announced that it had come to agreement with the European Council on the issue of mortgage loans. The text under discussion provides better protection to consumers in terms mortgage loans, sometimes deemed irresponsible, and which in some cases have contributed to the present crisis. To people involved act responsibly. The directive points to the main principles and plans for standards to creditors and intermediaries, notably regarding client solvency... Read more

On 8th May 2013 the European Court of Justice rejected a decision on housing introduced in 2009 by the Flemish region of Belgium that obliged anyone wanting to buy a property in Flanders to have a link with the community where he/she wanted to set up home. Given the number of complaints the Belgian Constitutional Court lodged a request for a preliminary ruling by the EU's Court of Justice in view of abolishing this law. The Court answered positively deeming that "it involved restrictions to fundamental freedoms the justification of which has to be established." According to the Flemish region these measures were supposed to help the poorest local inhabitants find housing but the Court of Justice declared that this decision went "beyond what was necessary to achieve the desired goal"... Read more

On 10th May 2013 German Chancellor Angela Merkel together with her Defence Minister Thomas de Maizière, travelled to the north of Afghanistan. She stressed the importance of the "political process" in Afghanistan which sometimes seems to "be moving forward slower than we would like it to." The NATO mission ISAF in Afghanistan will end in 2014. However as the German Chancellor repeated between 600 and 800 German soldiers would remain until 2017 to train, advise and support the Afghan police... Read more

During the 25th anniversary of the Franco-German Economic and Financial Council, the French and German Economy and Finance Ministers (Pierre Moscovici and Wolfgang Schäuble) together with the presidents of the central banks (Christian Noyer and Jens Weidman) met in Berlin on 7th May 2013. During this meeting they discussed Franco-German relations with students of both countries and the role played by the couple in European integration. Moreover the two ministers stressed the importance of joint initiatives, notably the single currency, the fight to counter tax fraud and money laundering... Read more

On 6th and 7th May 2013 the ministers of 35 countries met on the occasion of the "fourth session of the Petersberg dialogue" in Berlin in preparation of the next climate conference at the UN in Warsaw at the end of 2013. The aim was to come to a new international agreement by 2015, whose entry into force would be planned for 2020, when the Kyoto Protocol comes to an end. German Environment Minister Peter Altmaier and his Polish counterpart, Marcin Korolec said that a new foundation had been laid in order to come to consensus over the next climate conference. German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned the International Community that any delay in the fight to counter global warming was dangerous: "Waiting is not an option," she explained as the meeting started... Read more

On the invitation of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel more than 100 women executives met at the Chancellery on 6th May 2013 to discuss improvements that have to be made to increase the number of women amongst the leading executives in businesses. The women mentioned the difficult task of reconciling private and professional life and the necessary framework that policy should provide. Angela Merkel highlighted the fact that women executives were still too rare in Germany... Read more

On the occasion of the launch of the International Car Show on 10th May 2013 in Barcelona, the head of the Spanish government Mariano Rajoy recalled that the automotive sector was one of the government's priorities. He also announced that additional investments of one billion euros would be made in the automotive sector, with previous support to this industry boosting the upkeep of domestic demand in the country. In just over one year 5 billion euros have been invested in the Spanish automotive sector... Read more

On 6th May 2013 on the occasion of the first anniversary of the presidential election the members of the government met in a seminar with French president François Hollande, during which he presented the results of this first year and the government's outlook. He announced that Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault would present an investment plan over the next few weeks regarding new technologies in particular. Discussions notably focused on the two years reprieve given by the European Commission to France to fulfil its budgetary commitments, the expected return of growth in 2014, the reminder of the commitment to turn the unemployment trend around by the end of 2013. The president set three priorities for the year to come: "the battle for employment", "youth", and "the preparation for the future"... Read more

On 6th May 2013 the President of the Italian Council, Enrico Letta travelled to Spain for a meeting with his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy. During a press conference the two men supported European integration, saying that "they were doing everything possible to give Economic and Monetary Union the stability it required." They agreed on national reforms that had to be "supported by reform relative to growth mechanisms provided by the European Union." Moreover they requested European countries to move faster on banking, fiscal and political union. It would be "unforgiveable" not to adopt real measures on banking union and especially on youth employment during the next European Council in June, concluded Enrico Letta... Read more

Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski made a State visit to France on 7th and 8th May 2013. On 7th May he met his French counterpart, François Hollande in Paris. The two men discussed the revival of the Franco-Polish partnership and the strengthening of bilateral cooperation, notably in the economic and military sectors. During their meeting the future of European integration, notably as part of the Common Security and Defence Policy, was the focus of long discussion... Read more

The 26th Hispano-Portuguese Summit took place on 13th May 2013 in Madrid. The economic situation and the work undertaken by both countries to consolidate their public accounts was the focus of the summit. The European project for banking union and the EU's work for growth and employment were also discussed. On an international note the Union for the Mediterranean, the situation in the Middle East and relations with Latin America were on the agenda. In addition to the bilateral meeting between the Head of the Spanish government Mariano Rajoy and his Portuguese counterpart Pedro Passos Coelho, thematic meetings involving ministers from both countries were organised... Read more

On 8th May 2013 Queen Elizabeth II read the traditional "Queen's Speech" to Parliament at Westminster. In this speech she announced the British government's programme for the year to come, which was prepared beforehand by Prime Minister David Cameron's cabinet. Amongst the main themes presented the government notably emphasised a reform on immigration, stepping up the fight to counter crime, the capping of social benefits "to get people back to work" and a revised calculation of retirement pensions. Priority is being placed on the economy, particularly the reduction of the deficit and the upkeep of low interest rates. For the first time in 17 years the Queen delivered the speech in the company of her son Charles, a gesture that was interpreted as symbolic of a transition in the royal family... Read more

At a meeting on 10th and 11th May 2013 the G7 Finance Ministers and the governors of central banks (Germany, Canada, US, France, UK, Italy and Japan) committed to "encouraging" economic recovery, in spite of differences in pace in terms of reducing deficits. Whilst the recovery of the world economy is fragmented the US has called on Europe to change its direction in terms of austerity. However British Finance Minister, George Osborne, the craftsman of a severe austerity programme, guaranteed that there were finally "more points of agreement on budgetary policy than is commonly admitted." The Finance Ministers and central bank governors are "absolutely determined to make progress," in the fight against tax evasion, raised to priority status by the British G8 Presidency. This is due to be the focus of the G8 summit of Heads of State and government in June... Read more

The European rocket, Vega was launched in the night of 6th to 7th May 2013 from the Guianese space centre of Kourou. It placed two observation satellites in orbit over the earth, one European, another Vietnamese, and also a first Estonian satellite. The European satellite Proba-V, built for the European Space Agency, will provide information that will enable the mapping of vegetal cover and its variations across the world for the next two and a half years... Read more

On 8th May 2013 during an informal meeting of the heads of delegations of the WTO (World Trade Organisation), the three facilitators in the selection process of the new Director General recommended Brazilian Robert Azevedo. His formal appointment will come on 14th May during the plenary meeting of the Council with the 159 WTO Member States. Mr Azevedo is due to replace the present Director General Frenchman Pascal Lamy on 1st September. The Brazilian is the first WTO leader to come from one of the emerging countries. He will mainly focus on reviving the Doha Round on the liberalisation of trade that was started in 2001 and which has been in stalemate for the last few years... Read more

According to a survey published by IPSOS/CGI/Publicis on 7th May 2013 there is a deep running feeling of concern and apathy in Europe regarding the economic crisis. Many Europeans fear for the future: 51% think that in the future their children will not live as well as they have and 40% fear a downturn in their living conditions which will prevent them from ageing with dignity". Many also mistrust, and even reject their national governments which are not offering any "constructive solutions to the crisis". In Spain for example some of those interviewed are quick to speak of a "distant war that has already been lost" and 66% of those interviewed believe that the crisis "will not give rise to revival or adequate reform.".. Read more

According to a study by the European Audiovisual Observatory published on 7th May 2013 European films have experienced increased attendance, which was up by 12% in 2012 in comparison with the previous year totalling a record market share of over 33%. However the overall attendance of cinemas in Europe, all nationalities counted together, declined slightly by -2.2% to 933.3 million but with varying differences between countries : 12.1% less tickets were sold last year in Portugal whilst 19.7% more were sold in Finland. In spite of this the gross revenue of cinemas reached record levels for the second year running totalling 6.47 billion euro in the EU - a result that came because of an increase in ticket prices and thanks to the emergence of films in 3D... Read more

On 18th May 2013 the 9th European Museum Night will take place. This pan-European event provides the public with a chance to visit museums free of charge from 7pm to 1am and discover exceptional exhibitions and events: thematic evenings, concerts, film shows, paper-chases, choreographic shows, visits by lamplight. More than 3,400 establishments are taking part in this event that was started in 2005. It is the only event in Europe that takes place in 40 countries at the same time; the latter are signatories of the cultural convention of the Council of Europe. The event is placed under the triple patronage of the Council of Europe, UNESCO, ICOM (International Council of Museums)... Read more

The Glyndebourne Festival is due to start on 18th May 2013 with Ariane in Naxos. On the programme notably feature Falstaff, Billy Budd and Figaro's Wedding. The festival will go on to 25th August... Read more

The 66th Cannes Festival, chaired by American film-maker Steven Spielberg, will be taking place from 15th to 26th May 2013. In all, more than fifty films will be presented and many famous directors will be running in the official competition this year, notably the Coen brothers, Roman Polanski, Steven Soderbergh, François Ozon, Asghar Farhadi and Abdellatfi Kechiche. As part of the 100th anniversary of Bollywood, India will be the guest of honour at this year's festival and the film "Bombay Talkies" will be presented during the gala session... Read more

For the fourth year running Rive Gauch Musique has established itself at the Adyar Theatre. The latest concert in the 2012-2013 season will take place on 23rd May. The musical programme is devoted to the Petrovitch Njegosh Foundation which supports breast cancer research which affects more and more young women in Montenegro... Read more