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The Lisbon Treaty plans for "enhanced cooperation agreements". To understand how these work the Robert Schuman Foundation has published in its series of "Notes", a study by Pierre Fauchon and François Sicard on "L'Europe des cooperations volontaires, ou comment donner une nouvelle implusion à l'Europe." (Voluntary Cooperation and Europe or how to provide Europe with new impetus). This paper is available on the Foundation's site.
Czech ElectionsAlthough the Social Democratic Party (CSSD) came out ahead in the Czech general elections on 28th and 29th May winning 22.08% of the vote and 56 seats, the rightwing forces seem to be the real winners of the election. The Civic Democratic Party (ODS) won 20.22% of the vote (53 seats), Tradition, Responsibility, Prosperity 09 (TOP09), led by Karel Schwarzenberg, 16.7% (41 seats) and Public Affairs (VV)led by Radek John, 10.88% (24 seats). The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM) won 11.27% (26 seats). Two parties were excluded from the Chamber of Deputies: KDU-CSL, 4.39% and the Green Party (CZ), 2.44%. The Citizens' Rights Party (SPO) also has no seats winning only 4.33% of the vote. The leftwing (CSSD and the KSCM) won 82 seats together against 118 for the right (ODS, TOP09 and VV). Turnout rose to 62.60%.
Elections/NetherlandsJust a few days before the general elections that are to take place in the Netherlands on 9th June, the Labour Party (PvdA) led by Job Cohen and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) led by Mark Rutte are leading in terms of voting intentions. According to a poll by Peil, published on 26th May last the VVD is due to win 36 of the 150 seats in the General States Chamber, the PvdA, 29 seats, the CDA 25, PVV 17, the Socialist Party and the Green Left 11 each, D66 9 and the Christian Union 8. A coalition rallying the VVD, the PvdA and D66 (and possibly the Green Left) is the most frequently mentioned possibility by political analysts. The VVD may also join the CDA led by outgoing Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and the PVV led by Geert Wilders. The next Dutch government coalition may prove difficult to form.
On 26th May the European Commission proposed the creation of a national fund financed by the banks of Europe in preparation for any future financial crises. According to this proposal the European network of "funds to resolve banking failures" would be established as a preventive measure. The Commission wants to make it obligatory for States to put these funds together according to joint rules which the financial institutions would be made to contribute to. The resolution funds would not be designed for bank rescue but rather for the organisation of their stabilisation and restructuring.
OECDAfter the OECD meeting on 28th May in Paris the 31 OECD Member States committed to reducing their deficit without damaging growth. "It is appropriate to set down credible, transparent plans for budgetary balancing mid-term," they said in their final declaration. In addition to this according to "Economic Outlook" published on 26th May recovery by developed countries should be a bit more vigorous than forecast. OECD countries' GDP rates are due to grow by 2.7% in 2010 and by 2.8% in 2011. However the crisis experienced by the euro area shows that "the period of great financial instability that started in August 2007 is still not over." According to the organisation "fundamental weaknesses" in the euro area subsist. Europeans should therefore consolidate their "institutional structures" and enhance budgetary discipline and also "the monitoring of national policies" with sanctions if necessary.
GermanyEconomic recovery in Germany 'will gather significant pace in the spring', boosted by its industry and exports believes the Bundesbank in its report published on 26th May. In industry, the base of the German economy, production "will push the trend forwards" and the motor behind this will be exports. Companies will benefit from their presence in non-European countries which show high growth levels, such as China. "In addition to this German exports are benefiting from recent changes (seen) in the level of foreign currency structures," stresses the Bundesbank, referring to the recent depreciation of the euro notably in the face of the dollar. In the construction industry the Bundesbank is forecasting a rapid recovery in activities.
BelgiumAccording to data published on 28th May by the Belgian Economy Ministry inflation continued to rise in Belgium in May - to reach its highest level in over a year, 2.27% in comparison with the same month a year ago. This is the sixth consecutive month that consumer prices have risen in Belgium: the inflation rate lay at 0.26% in December, 0.62% in January, 0.7% in February, 1.66% in March and 1.8% in April.
BulgariaAccording to declarations on the part of Bulgarian Deputy Economy Minister, Vladislav Goranov on 26th May the Bulgarian government has reviewed its public deficits for 2010 upwards and now these might reach 4.8% of the GDP. The minister justified this new forecast because of the decrease in VAT revenues and a rise in unemploymment in the first quarter of 2010. To face this imbalance in public finance Bulgaria will not appeal to the IMF but use its tax reserves, 9.5% of the GDP according to the draft budget. The latter were accumulated as part of the austerity regime which the country has been submitted to since 1997.
DenmarkDenmark is to reduce the length of unemployment benefit payment from 4 to 2 years - which was until now one of the longest periods in the world said the government on 25th May. The Danish plan aims to bring the deficit below the 3% of the GDP by 2013 in comparison with 5.5% planned in 2010 with total savings of 24 billion crowns (3.2 billion euro) by 2013. In addition to the reform of unemployment benefits it also plans for a freezing of development aid for three years, a capping of family benefits, the abolition of tax rebates and a decrease of 5% on ministers' salaries. However social allocations (pensions, unemployment, student grants) will not be frozen. On 28th May the statistics office announced that the unemployment level in Denmark declined slightly to 4.1% in April in comparison with 4.2% in March, the first decrease since the summer of 2008 and the start of the economic crisis.
SpainAccording to figures announced by the Spanish government on 25th May the budgetary deficit of the Spanish State has declined over the last four months in comparison with last year rising to 5,661 billion euro, ie 0.54% of the GDP in comparison with 6,908 billion a year ago. On 28th May the government reviewed its economic forecasts for 2010 to 2013 whilst the country is struggling to emerge from recession and is fighting to control its debts. It is expecting to recorded GDP growth of 2.5% and 2.7% in 2012 and 2013, announced the Spanish Economy and Finance Minister, Elena Salgado. For the entire year of 2010 the government is expecting a contraction in activity of 0.3% of the GDP then growth of 1.3% in 2011. On the same day the indexing agency Fitch announced that it was reducing Spain's debt score to "AA+" against "AAA" due to poor growth perspectives caused by the country's heavy private debts.
FranceWith recovery the rebalancing of public finance is an imperative explained the French Budget Ministers François Baroin and Christine Lagarde, in a communication at the Council of Ministers on 26th May.
GreeceThe Greek government is continuing to put its public finances into order. The Finance Ministers announced on 28th May that they were establishing a reimbursement mechanism for the public healthcare system. 5.6 billion euros are going to be spent by the State to pay back public hospital debts to international pharmaceutical companies. The Finance Minister announced the establishment of a more transparent mechanism for the attribution of public healthcare markets, notably with regard to the provision of equipment.
ItalyThe Italian Council of Ministers approved an austerity plan on 25th May to a total of 24 billion euro for the years 2011-2012, thereby aiming to stabilise public finances and enhance the economy's competitiveness. The measures involve a reduction in costs in public policy and administration together with the fight against tax evasion. Civil servants' salaries will be frozen for three years whilst the employment of new staff will be put on hold for a further period. Ministers' expenses, party funding and ministers' salaries, those of local representatives and executive civil servants will be reduced by 10% and transfers over to local communities will be greatly reduced. Finally expenses on healthcare will be rationalised and retirement will be delayed.
RomaniaOn 27th May the Romanian government officially adopted an austerity plan agreed with the IMF; it plans for a reduction in salaries and retirement pensions in the public sector to limit the deficit. The Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc declared that the government would "bring the budgetary deficit down to 6.8% by reducing budgetary spending and not increasing taxes."
SwedenSweden's growth rate gathered rapid pace in the first quarter of 2010 with a rise of 1.4% in the GDP in comparison with the previous quarter according to official statistics published on 28th May. Year on year the Nordic country's GDP rose by 3% from April 2009 to March 2010, indicated the Central Statistics Bureau in a press release.
KosovoThe IMF granted a loan of 106 million euro to Kosovo which will open the way to subventions from other institutions for a total of several hundred million euro, declared Kosovar Prime Minister Hashim Thaci on 27th May.
SerbiaEconomic recovery in Serbia is "not as steady as forecast" and growth is due to reach 1.5% this year against the initially planned 2%," said a press release by the IMF delegation after a visit to Belgrade on 27th May. "We are expecting the GDP to grow by 1.5% in 2010 and by 3% in 2011," indicated the IMF which accepted the payment of the fourth part of a loan granted to Serbia in 2009. The total amount of this instalment is 380 million euro.
On 27th May the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy met the President of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan. They both want to enhance relations between the EU and Armenia and plead in favour of the negotiation of an association agreement to include a zone of free trade. Mr Van Rompuy also wants to make progress with regard to issues of visa liberalisation.
On 28th May the Commission adopted changes that aim to simplify access to EU funds via the reduction of administrative formalities and savings made for the EU's beneficiaries. In addition to this new rules will offer greater opportunity to combine public and private funding so that results in terms of investments will be achieved. These changes will help to establish a new generation of EU programmes after 2013.
CarsOn 27th May the European Commission adopted new competition rules relative to agreements between car manufacturers and dealerships, garages and distributors of spare parts who are approved by the manufacturers. These new rules enhance competition on the repairs and maintenance markets by improving access to vital technical information for repairs and by facilitating the use of alternative spare parts. It enables the Commission to address abusive practices on the part of manufacturers in terms of warantees, which comprise demanding that the after-sales service be undertaken uniquely by approved garages. The new rules will also mean a reduction in costs with regard to the distribution of new car since over-restrictive rules will be abolished.
International FamiliesGermany, Belgium and Latvia joined an enhanced cooperation action on the request of 9 other Member States (Austria, Bulgaria, France, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovenia and Spain) to facilitate divorce procedures of international couples. The aim of this regulation is to lighten the burden that weighs on children and to protect the most vulnerable spouses in divorce procedures. It is the first time in the Union's history that the "enhanced cooperation" mechanism will be employed. In virtue of the European Treaties enhanced cooperation allows 9 Member States or more to take a major issue forward without the other Member States being able to impede this step. On this subject the Robert Schuman Foundatin has published a study by Pierre Fauchon and François Sicard on "Voluntary Cooperation and Europe" in its series of "Notes".
Visas/BalkansOn 27th May the European Commission adopted a proposal in support of the liberalisation of visas for citizens from Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Commission's proposal aims to simplify travel to EU countries (except for the UK and Ireland who do not take part in the joint policy with regard to visas) and associate countries in the Schengen area (Switzerland, Norway and Iceland)for Albanians and Bosnians who hold biometric passports by abolishing the obligation for a short term visa (for a stay of under three months).
Personal DataOn 26th May the European Commission adopted a negotiation mandate in view of reaching a framework agreement between the EU and the USA on the processing of personal data. The aim is to ensure "a high level of protection" of personal information such as data relative to air passengers and financial information which is transferred as part of transatlantic cooperation in terms of anti-terrorism and anti-criminality measures. The European Commissioner for Justice, Vivian Reding will be responsible for leading discussions after the Council's agreement.
The 27 European Ministers responsible for competitiveness adoped a draft regulation on 25th and 26th May on the marketing of building materials to simplify the CE brand and to increase credibility and to reduce costs for companies. They approved the conclusions with regard to electric vehicles in which they ask the European Commission to put forward measures that aim to foster their manufacture and marketing. They reviewed results in terms of the establishment of the "Services" Directive. In addition to this they agreed to simplify R&D and innovation programmes with the aim of "making them more effective" with regard to users, researchers and SMEs. The Ministers had an opportunity to exchange views on ITER. The Europe 2020 Strategy aims to bring public and private investment up to 3% in 2020 in the area of research and knowledge.
EU/ASEANMinisters and High Representatives of the EU countries and the Association of South East Asian Nations who met on 26th May want to enhance their political and economic cooperation. In a joint declaration adopted after the meeting they recalled the importance of economic relations between the two entities. The EU is the second most important trade partner with South East Asia and the leading direct investor. The meeting also made its possible to address political issues such as the role played by the EU in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the situation in the Middle East and in Iran. Finally in their declaration Ministers asked North Korea to respect the UN's resolutions.
European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek met Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao on 27th May during his five day visit to China. He said that Europe needed a strong China to build multilateral governance and to face the challenges of climate change, energy and the financial crisis. He invited the Chinese government to ratify the International Pact relative to civilian and political rights, which was signed 10 years ago.
Minister President of Hessen, Roland Koch (CDU) announced his resignation on 25th May in Wiesbaden. On 31st August he will no longer govern the Land. He is also giving up his other political positions. Roland Koch had been in power in Hessen since 1999.
USAOn 27th May German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble spoke with his American counterpart Timothy Geithner in Berlin. The two ministers stressed their will to strength regulations surrounding the world financial markets. Wolfgang Schäuble indicated that regulations which can be applied the world over are necessary. Timothy Geithner insisted on the fact that the American government wants to establish a strict world framework for the markets.
Middle EastChancellor Angela Merkel wants to see an enhancement in economic relations between the EU and the Gulf States. On visiting Doha in Qatar on 27th May as part of a four day visit to the region she pleaded in favour of a rapid conclusion of negotiations with regard to a free-trade agreement that the EU has been undertaking with the Gulf States for nearly 20 years. "Contact must not be lost" with the Gulf States who record dynamic growth levels she said. Apart from economic issues the Chancellor addressed political issues regarding the peace process in the Near East and the Iranian nuclear question with her counterparts. She highlighted the interest shown by the latter with regard to Iran. "We must do everything so that Iran does not gain access to the nuclear arm," she stressed.
According to an annual survey published on 26th May by the consultancy Mercer Vienna holds the first place in the ranking of towns according to the quality of life experienced there, ahead of Zurich and Geneva. Vancouver (Canada) and Auckland (New Zealand) came equal fourth, thereby completing the ranking of the top 5 which includes 221 big cities on all continents and is based on expatriates' opinions. European cities dominate the first 25 places in the ranking: seven of the ten leading towns/cities are in Austria, Switzerland and Germany. Baghdad (Iraq) comes last.
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said after a meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme on 26th May that he had confidence in the future presidency of the EU that would be taken over by the Belgian government as from July 1st next.
Negotiations on the reunification of Cyprus started again in Nicosia on 26th May bringing together the Cypriot President Demetris Christofias and the new leader of the northern part of the island, Dervis Eroglu for the first time. The UN emissary Alexander Downer read a message to the two leaders from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon asking them to come to agreement this year.
On 27th May Spanish MPs approved 169 votes in favour, 168 against and 1 abstention the government's austerity plan which includes a decrease in civil servants' salaries from June on and a freezing in retirement pensions in 2011 in order to accelerate the reduction of the country's major public deficits. The government which promised that it would never interfere with social advantages was forced to announce these measures under pressure from the market and its European partners. In this way it hopes to save 15 billion euro in 2010 and 2011 to speed up reductions in public deficits which reached 11.2% of the GDP in 2009 and which Madrid would like to bring down to 3% by 2013.
UnemploymentThe Spanish government announced on 28th May that it had reviewed its forecasts with regard to average unemployment levels for 2010 upwards to 19.4% instead of a previous 19%. In a document on its new macro-economic goals for the next three years the government said that it was now expecting an unemployment rate of 18.9% in 2011 (instead of 18.4% previously), 17.5% in 2012 and 16.2% in 2013.
On 24th May Finnish MP Juha Rehula took office as Social Affairs and Healthcare Minister. Finnish President Tarja Halonen appointed her after the resignation of Liisa Hyssälä, elected to manage Social Security.
RussiaRussian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin travelled to Finland on 27th May. He took part in an EU-Russia innovation forum in the Finnish town of Lappeenranta and spoke with his Finnish counterpart Matti Vanhanen. Both Prime Ministers signed an agreement in which Russia extended the rent to Finland of the Russian part of the Saimaa Canal by 50 years. They also signed other agreements in the areas of nanotechnologies, car manufacture and ship building.
The UEFA's executive committee took the decision that France will host the Euro 2016. France's candidature just won over the project put forward by Turkey during the vote which took place at the Geneva HQ of the European Football Federation on 28th May. Italy, also a candidate, was eliminated in the first round of voting. The 2016 tournament will be the first to see 24 teams competing against one another.
The new Hungarian Parliament elected during the general elections in April invested Prime Minister Viktor Orban on 29th may in Budapest, 261 votes in favour, 107 against and 0 abstentions. After the vote, which also led to the adoption of the government programme, Mr Orban took oath: "We must conclude a new contract with society focusing on five national subjects: the economy, public security, the healthcare system, social security and democracy," he declared.
Civil ProtectionHungary, which has been facing major flooding in four regions since 15th May, asked on 25th May for the activiation of the European Civil Protection Mechanism. The country does not have enough sandbags after having installed 3.6 million along the banks of some 930km of its rivers. Germany, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Austria and Croatia offered a total of 2.12 million bags on 26th May which is 2 million bags more than originally asked for by Hungary.
NationalityMPs approved, almost unanimously, a controversial text on 26th May: from now on native Hungarians living in Central Europe will be able to obtain Hungarian nationality. To do this they will have to be able to speak the language and to prove who their Hungarian ancestors were.
The President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano was host to his American counterpart Barack Obama on 25th May. They exchanged views on strategic issues such as Iran, Afghanistan, the Balkans, the peace process in the Middle East, the fight against terrorism and the world's economic recovery. Both men believe it is necessary to enhance transatlantic relations by means of developing a strategic concept for NATO. The American President said he wanted "a strong, integrated Europe that is able to foster common interests in the world arena." He thanked Italy for its contribution to promoting international peace and stability, notably in Afghanistan (where the Italian military contingent will soon rise to 4,000 men, who are mainly involved in the training of the local police force).
The first trial of Somali pirates started in Rotterdam in the Netherlands on 25th May. The five accused aged 25 to 45 were arrested on 2nd January 2009 by the Danish Marine in the Gulf of Aden whilst they were making an armed attack aboard a rapid boat against a Turkish cargo ship that was bearing a Dutch Caribbean flag. They were then delivered to the Dutch authorities in Bahrain. 215 attacks were undertaken by Somali pirates against merchant ships in 2009 ie more than half of the world total according to figures released by the International Maritime Bureau.
On 26th May the Polish and Americans revealed the positioning of the first American ground to air Patriot missile battery in Poland just 60km from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. The Polish Defence Minister said that it was a decision that intended to enhance the country's security and strategic cooperation with the USA. Although the US Embassy in Poland has said that these missiles were not armed for the time being it remains that this measure was severely criticised by Moscow which considers that it affects the region's stability.
The Czech general elections which took place on 28th and 29th May completely changed the political landscape leading to the resignation of four party heads and the debut of two new parties in a future centre-right coalition led by Petr Necas. With 56 seats the Social Democrats (22.08%) - although they came first - are now relegated to the opposition. The ODS, which came second with 20,22%, can form a majority of 118 seats out of the 200 in the lower chamber with TOP09 (16.7%) and Public Affairs (10.88%). The Communists (KSCM) won 11.27%. "I shall resign," announced Jiri Paroubek, head of the CSSD. Three other party leaders who did not rise above the eligibility threshold of 5% announced that they would also be resigning: Cyril Svoboda (KDU-CSL) whose party will not be sitting in the Chamber of Deputies for the first time since the fall of Communism in 1989 (4.39%); Milos Zeman, Citizens' Rights Party (4.33%) and Ondrej Liska, the Greens leader (2.44%).
On 25th May Queen Elizabeth II delivered her traditional Throne Speech in which she presented the government programme which confirms the compromises that the Conservatives and Lib-Dems had to make in order to govern together. This programme comprises two priorities: recovery of economic growth and a reduction in the budgetary deficit.
ResignationThe British government coalition led by Conservative David Cameron is facing its first crisis since its entry into office just three weeks ago; it was started by the resignation of a Liberal-Democrat Minister who has been come under suspicion because his expenses. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, number two in the Finance Ministry delivered his resignation on 29th May the day after revelations published in the Daily Telegraph indicating that he had wrongly received more than £40,000 (47,100 euro) in expenses between 2001 and 2009.
Slovakian MPs adopted a law on dual nationality on 26th May which will deprive native Hungarians of Slovakian nationality if they decide to adopt that of Hungary as authorised by the law adopted on the same day in Budapest. The law adopted by 90 MPs out of a total of 114 present in Parliament also deprives native Hungarians who have Hungarian citizenship of the being able to occupy some positions in Slovakia. The law was adopted in response to the one adopted in Budapest which allows the 3.5 million native Hungarians living in the neighbouring countries, mainly Romania and Slovakia to adopt Hungarian citizenship.
The unemployment rate in Sweden rose sharply in April thereby compromising the hope of rapid recovery of the employment market before the general elections in September and provoking a decline in the Swedish crown against the euro and the dollar. According to figures published on 25th May by the Statistics Bureau (SCB), the unemployment rate rose from 9.1% of the population in March to 9.8% in April. Analysts were forecasting a slight reduction down to 9%. In all Sweden had 4,465 million unemployed last month in comparison with 4,449 million in March.
Four Western Balkan countries met in Sarajevo on 29th May for a conference before the EU-Balkans meeting on 2nd June during which they intend to indicate that enlargement of the Union must not suffer because of the economic and financial crisis in Europe. In a joint declaration the Serb, Croat and Montenegrin Presidents, Boris Tadic, Ivo Josipovic and Filip Vujanovic together with the president in office of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Haris Silajdzic invited Europeans to "acknowledge the importance of speeding up" the enlargement of the European Union.
On 28th May the representatives of the States that support the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) unanimously adopted a guideline document that plans for the acceleration of progress in nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and the creation of a zone free of nuclear arms in the Middle East. The text includes a 22 point action plan. The representatives, who met within the UN Conference on disarmament, believe that the review of the treaty should include the creation of a subsidiary body to manage nuclear disarmament that also includes a working programme negotiated between the various parties. The Conference believe that its members should discuss the means to enable the legal, unequivocal guarantee of security for the countries that do not have the nuclear arm. According to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton this agreement "shows that the multilateral non-proliferationand disarmament regime is alive and supported by all."
On 27th May the Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton chaired the ceremony of the transfer of command of the EU's Military Staff between General David Leakey and his successor, General Ton Van Osch. The High Representative thanked General David Leakey for the work accomplished over the last three years and indicated that his successor had all the necessary qualities for fulfil his mission successfully.
TerrorismGIGN and Raid (France) EKO Cobra (Austria), GSG9 (Germany), GIS (Italy), Red Panter (Slovenia): 32 European elite brigades took part on 27th May in a spectacular, unique exercise to free the hostages of two planes at the airport of Châteauroux. This exercise was organised under the guidance of the EU as part of the Atlas network. Created in 2003 Atlas brings together 35 counter-terrorist and intervention units from the 27 EU Member States (together with Switzerland and Norway). Some countries like France, Italy and Ireland have two intervention units. Four airplanes, three transport helicopters, five assault vehicles were made available for this exercise.
According to figures published by Eurostat on 28th May the price of electricity for households in the EU dropped by 1.5% between the second quarter of 2008 and the second quarter of 2009 and the price of gas likewise by 16%. Between the second quarter of 2007 and the second quarter of 2008 electricity prices for households rose by 6.8% in the EU and that of gas by 21%.
IndustryAccording to Eurostat figures published on 25th May the new industrial orders index in the euro area increased by 5.2% in March 2010 in comparison with February 2010. In February the index increased by 1.9%. In the EU new orders rose by 5.9% in March 2010, after a rise of 1.1% in February. Excluding naval construction as well as railway and aviation equipment, the variations of which tend to be more volatile, new industrial orders rose by 4.5%. Year on year new industrial orders increased by 19.8% in the euro area and by 20.70% in the EU.
InflationInflation rose again slightly in May in the euro area to 1.6% over one year after 1.5% in April according an estimate published on 31st May by Eurostat.
RussiaAccording to figures published by Eurostat on 28th May trade in goods between the EU and Russia increased until 2008 before declining in 2009. EU exports to Russia rose from 23 billion euro in 2000 to 105 billion in 2008, they then fell to 66 billion in 2009. Imports increased from 64 billion euro in 2000 to 178 billion in 2008, then these declined to 115 billion in 2009. As a result the EU's external trade deficit with Russia increased rising from 41 billion in 2000 to 73 billion in 2008 before falling to 50 billion in 2009. In 2009 Russia was the EU's third most important trade partner after the USA and China, representing 6% of EU exports and 10% of its imports.
On the occasion of the world tobacco free day on 31st May Eurobarometer published a study on the subject. According to the survey a wide majority of Union citizens support stricter anti-tobacco measures. Three Europeans in four say they are in favour of the presence of illustrated warnings with regard to health on tobacco product packaging and the prohibition of smoking in restaurants. The study reveals however that one third of Europeans still smoke in spite of the fact the tobacco kills one smoker in two. Tobacco is the leading cause of avoidable death in the EU, 650,000 premature deaths per year.
Italian buying power decreased in 2009 because of the crisis and fell to a lower level than in 2000 said the National Statistics Institute (Istat) as it presented its annual report on the country. "Income available to families in real terms, after slowly increasing over the years 2000, has decreased over the last two years: the annual income available per inhabitant is now 360 euro lower than in 2000," indicated the General Director of Istat, Enrico Giovannini.
ProtectionismAccording to a report by the European Commission nearly 280 measures aiming to restrict trade were established by the EU's main trade partners during the economic crisis over the last 18 months. Contrary to commitments made during the G20 nearly no measures were abolished although signs of recovery had been observed in most countries. The European Commission is inviting its trade partners to lift these restrictions in order to provide salutory impetus to economic recovery.
TelecomsAccording to the annual report by the European Commission on the Single European Electronic Communications Market published on 25th May consumers, businesses and the EU economy as a whole are denied the full economic benefits of a truly single and competitive EU-wide telecoms market because of inconsistent application of EU telecoms rules. Most Member States' markets have become more competitive, but remain national in dimension. Moreover, the level of competitiveness varies strongly between Member States. Although Europe's telecoms sector weathered the financial storm in 2009 (0% growth compared to a 4.2% EU-wide economic decline), consistent enforcement of existing rules and investment in innovative services hold the key to future growth.
France/GermanyThe Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI) have published a study on the shape the future cooperation between France and Germany will take. This study entitled "France-Germany: five visions for Europe" is available in French and German.
The French painter Henri Rousseau, the so-called "Douanier", was a pioneer of modern art and was not so "naïve" - the centenary of his death is being celebrated with a retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao until 12th September. The work on show comes from the retrospective organised at the beginning of the year by the Bayeler Foundation in Basel with some rather less well known pictures from the Museums of Pittsburg and Philadelphia in the USA.
Museum/RomeThe Italian capital has been home since 28th May to a new modern art museum. The National Museum of 21st Century Art, named Maxxi, was designed by Anglo-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid. Covering 21,200 m2 the new museum offers four exhibitions on its launch, notably dedicated to Italian artist Gino de Dominicis and the other to the work by architect Luigi Moretti.
Festival/DresdenThe classical music festival in Dresden is offering audiences 40 concerts until 6th June. This year the festival devotes a wide-ranging retrospective to Russian music.
Exhibition/VilniusAn exhibition entitled "George Maciunas: father of Soho" will start on 1st June in Vilnius - a town that is trying to become the 21st century capital of the artistic movement Fluxus. The exhibition will be open until September 1st. George Maciunas, a Lithuanian-American architect and visionary founder of Fluxus had the original idea to set up cooperative buildings in New York in which people could work and create freely. Rare documents, structural plans and letters exchanged with civil servants lay out the difficult procedure undertaken by Maciunas to legalise the Soho area that transformed the town centre entirely.
EurovisionGermany won the 2010 Eurovision with Lena on 29th May. For this, the 55th edition, the competition took place in Oslo (Norway). 39 countries were running. This German victory is the second since the competition started.
Transport, Telecommunications, Energy Council
EU-Russian Summit
Informal Agriculture Ministers Meeting
Justics and Internal Affairs Council
EU-Balkans Meeting
EU-Pakistan Summit
Referendum in Slovenia on the border with Croatia
Eurogroup Meeting
Employment, Social Policy, Healthcare and Consumer Council
General elections - The Netherlands
