On 6th May France will have a new President of which Europe expects a great deal since the subject will be one of the first issues he or she will have to address. Nicolas Sarkozy (UMP) and Ségolène Royal (PS) who won the first round will be facing each other in the second. The voters who chose François Bayrou on 22nd April have been the subject of much attention on the part of both candidates. The undecided are undoubtedly waiting for the televised debate on 2nd May before making their choice ...

On 26th and 27th April in Strasbourg the European Co-ordination Forum for the Disability Action Plan 2006-2015 rallied leaders from all Member States and international NGO's interested in disability. This comes just months after the action plan was officially launched. The 46 Member States of the Council of Europe are to draft a specific policy to improve the integration into society of the 100 million disabled in Europe.

On 23rd April, the current President of the EU Council, Federal Foreign Minister Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, and the EU Commissioner for External Relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, joined Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for a regular meeting of the EU Troika with Russia. They discussed an updating of the partnership and co-operation agreement. In the last few years, relations between the EU and Russia in all areas – politics, the economy, education and culture – have grown more intense, and should now be given a broader and better treaty basis. Another important item of the Troika meeting was the extension of the existing Cooperation and Partnership Agreement between the EU and Russia to Bulgaria and Romania, which acceded to the EU on 1st January 2007.

On 23rd April the Council of the European Union issued mandates to the European Commission for the negotiation of free-trade agreements with the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), India and South Korea. In addition to this, mandates for the negotiation of Association Agreements with Central America and the Andes Community were adopted. "Facilitation of market access to non-EU countries plays a key role in enabling European companies to utilise their opportunities on the world's markets in fair competition. The free-trade agreements with the emerging Asian economies which are now to be negotiated form an important element of this," declared German Economy and Technology Minister, Michael Glos.

On 26th April the European social partners (ETUC, BUSINESSEUROPE, CEEP and UEAPME) signed a framework agreement on harassment and violence at work. It is the 6th agreement signed by social partners since the launch of European Social Dialogue twenty years ago. The agreement aims to prevent and, where necessary, manage problems of bullying, sexual harassment and physical violence at the workplace. Data suggests that one in 20 workers (5%) reports being exposed to bullying and/or harassment each year. "This is further proof of the success of social dialogue in producing concrete results for workers and employers in Europe," said Vladimir Spidla, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities.

On 24th April Parliament after a report by Jean-Paul Gauzès (PPE/DE-FR) a legal framework for payment services in the EU (card transactions, bank transfers, direct debits), that should simplify the latter and also make them cheaper opens the way for the creation of a single euro payment area by 2010. An agreement was made with the Council and the directive will therefore be adopted.

On 26th April the Commission and the Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA), Jean-Jacques Dordain presented a political framework for the development of a strong, sustainable space sector aiming for the most effective use of resources thanks to combined work enabling Member States to meet global challenges. This communication will be transferred for approval to the European Space Council which brings together Competion Ministers and national ESA representatives on 22nd May. "Thanks to this communication on the European Space Policy we intend to provide Europe with the world supremacy which it is aspiring to in key areas of industry and research, which will be sources of growth and employment in the future," declared Günter Verheugen, Commission Vice-President for Enterprise and Industry.

On 27th April Ambassadors of 15 UN Security Council Member States undertook an information mission to Kosovo where Albanian leaders, President Fatmir Sejdiu and Prime Minister Agim Ceku hoped to convince them that their province is ready for monitored independence as recommended in the plan drawn up by mediator Marti Ahtisaari. The delegation arrived in Pristina after talks on 26th April in Belgrade with the Serb President and Prime Minister, Boris Tadic and Vojislav Kostunica.

On 26th April President Vladimir Putin said once again that he was against the deployment of the US anti-missile shield in the Czech Republic and Poland and announced a moratorium on the application of the 1990 treaty on conventional forces in Europe,"until all countries had ratified it at least and had started to apply it strictly." This announcement came during a meeting in Oslo with NATO country Foreign Ministers and Russian Minister Sergueï Lavrov.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel invited industrialised countries to honour their promises with regard to Africa when she met with British Prime Minister and former UN Secretary General Koffi Annan on 24th April in Berlin. She maintained that it was the only way to gain the long term confidence of the neighbouring continent. In her opinion the G8 Summit that will bring together the seven most industrialised countries as well as Russia in Heiligendamm will provide new impetus to aid for Africa. Tony Blair stressed that Europe would suffer notably from masse immigration if it did not help to solve Africa's problems. Kofi Annan, who is heading a new international forum on Africa, maintains that the continent has made major steps forward over the last few years.

On 26th April in Denmark European and Asian Environment Ministers stressed the need to increase the share of renewable, clean energy to reduce CO2 emissions and to halt global warming. As part of the third Ministerial meeting in the Asem Forum they acknowledged the need to "promote sustainable energies and the development of new technologies." Denmark is the world leader in this area.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel whose country is ensuring the EU presidency called on 28th April for Russia and Estonia to "restrain" themselves and "avoid all escalation" after the conflict caused by the moving of a Soviet monument in Tallin. The displacement of a monument dedicated to Soviet soldiers who died in the 2nd World War in the night of 26th to 27th April led to confrontation between the police and young Estonians of Russian origin. One Russian died and about one hundred were injured.

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern will be standing for a third term in office as head of government during the general elections that have been set for 24th May next. Irish President Mary McAleese "dissolved the 29th Dail (the lower house in Parliament) on 29th April."

On 26th April Regional policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner and Employment, social affairs and equal opportunities Commissioner Vladimír Špidla congratulated the Lithuanian authorities for reaching agreement with the European Commission on the national plan and priorities for Cohesion policy 2007-2013 under the Convergence objective. In their National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) the Lithuanian authorities describe how they are going to use EU funding of 6,775 million euros that they will receive over seven years to deliver growth and jobs to their regions.

On May 1st Social Affairs Minister, Piet Hein Donner would like to open up the Netherlands' employment market to the ten countries which joined the EU in 2004. "The Dutch employment market is developing particularly well. The number of job offers has never been so high and unemployment is dropping. A delay on opening up the employment market would be detrimental to Dutch business and therefore to the Dutch employment market," he explained in a letter to MPs.

The threat made by the Polish government to strip Bronislaw Geremek of is mandate as MEP after his refusal to fall in line with the new "lustration" law on the decommunisation of the country was the source of a number of protests in Europe on 25th April. The law that was established by the Kaczynski government obliges 700,000 public leaders to declare once more whether or not they collaborated with the Communist political police in the past. Bronislaw Geremek, former Polish Foreign Minister has refused to sign the declaration in protest against this law which he qualifies as a "legal outrage." Hence he stands alongside Tadeusz Mazowiecki, the first democratic Head of Government of Poland after 1989. He called on the Polish authorities not to decide anything with regard to his case before the decision of the Constitutional Court with which a case has been lodged both by the social democrat opposition and the ombudsman. The Court has to make its decision about whether the law is constitutional or not during a session planned for 9th-11th May. "I hope that the public authorities will see reason," he said. President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, the ADLE Chairman at the EP, Graham Watson (UK)and French Foreign Minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, amongst others, have all publicy provided him with their support.

According to a CVVM poll published on 24th April about two thirds (68 %) of Czech citizens do not agree with planned deployment of U.S. anti-missile radar in Czech Republic in comparison with 61% in February. Many believe that this question should be decided in a referendum and not by ratification by Parliament. The US made an official request in January to the Czech Republic and Poland to serve as European bases for their anti-missile shield to counter any possible attacks from Iran.

Although he was suspended from office on 17th April by the majority of the Lower House of Parliament which is accusing Mr Basescu of abusing his constitutional powers the president of Romania has refused to resign. Because of this refusal the Romainian authorities are obliged to organise an impeachment referendum. 17.5 million voters will be called to answer the question on 19th May: "Do you agree with the impeachment of Traian Basescu?". The suspended president is still extremely popular according to the polls. Nicolas Vacaroiu, President of the Senate is Head of State by interim until the referendum.

The candidature of Foreign Minister, Abdullah Gül, of the ruling AKP party has stirred up supporters of Turkish secularity. For the second time over a million people demonstrated on 29th April against the possible election of a candidate whose wife wears the veil and who is the former spokesperson of the Islamist government led by Necmettin Erbakan, forced to resign in 1997. In spite of warnings, notably on the part of the army, the only candidate running who did not win the required majority of 2/3 in the first round which took place on 27th April (he won 357 votes in Parliament out of the 367 required)is upholding his bid. The opposition has taken the issue to the Constitutional Court demanding an invalidation of the vote.

According to Eurostat estimates published on 24th April the euro area industrial new orders index decreased by 0.7% in February 2007 compared with January 2007. The index fell by 0.1% in January and grew by 1.5% in December 2006. EU27 new orders remained stable in February 2007, after a decrease of 1.4% in January and an increase of 2.5% in December 2006. In February 2007 compared with February 2006, industrial new orders increased by 4.7% in the euro area and by 6.3% in the EU27.

According to a report published on 23rd April by the Center for the Study of Democracy, corruption in Bulgaria is equivalent to the amount contributed per year by the EU. In 2006 around one billion euros was handed out in bribes, public market attributions and fraudulent exchanges of land belonging to town councils. The report does say however that corruption within the administration is declining.