The Justice and Development Party (AKP) led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the early general elections that took place in Turkey on 22nd July. This was an historic victory for a Turkish party after five years of rule and an unprecedented event in Turkey. This result should enable the government to continue to rule alone as wished the Prime Minister. However the Grand National Assembly will primarily have the task of electing the successor to Ahmet Necdet Sezer as President of the Republic. However the AKP has not won 2/3 of the seats in Parliament vital for the election of the Head of State and it will therefore have to form an alliance with other MPs to succeed in electing its candidate.

During the Agriculture Council on 16th July the 27 European Agriculture Ministers debated the Commission's proposals with regard to the reform of the wine sector but did not come to an agreement on the best means to employ the budget of 1.3 billion euros allocated to the sector. France, which is the leading producer in Europe, vainly tried to oppose "a sterile type of agriculture based on the American model." As far as the sugar industry is concerned which is being restructured more producers are being encourage to volontarily give up their right to produce. Finally ministers discussed the means taken to contain outbreaks of avian flu which were detected recently in a turkey farm in the Czech Republic as well as monitoring wild birds in France and Germany.

The Portuguese Presidency of the EU welcomed the decision of the Superior Justice Council to commute the previously announced death penalties with regard to the Bulgarian medical staff over to life sentences. It hopes that all procedural measures will be taken rapidly in order to enable their transfer and return to Bulgaria.

With the 2008 budget in view Parliament and Council organised a budgetary conciliation meeting. After talks MEPs said they were against the reductions undertaken by the Council in the area of competitiveness for growth and employment and the reductions with regard to payments for cohesion. Parliament's strategy is based on the concept of a "budget for results" which was supported by rapporteur, Kyösti Virrankoski (ADLE, FI): "We need to establish clearly what we can get from this budget: the allocation of financial resources must follow political priorities, and not the contrary."

On 18th July the Commission published a communication relative to the lack of water and drought - the aim of which is to stimulate debate on the way the EU might solve the problem of water shortages in an environment affected by global warming. The Communication presents an initial set of policy options and raises issues to be taken into account to ensure the availability of water for all human, economic and social activities.

In a fourth round of voting on 20th July the Albanian Parliament elected a new Head of State - Bamir Topi, Vice President of the Democratic Party. Out of the 90 MPs present, 84 voted in favour of Mr Topi whereas the other candidate Neritan Ceka, President of the Democratic Alliance Party only won five votes. Fifty year old Bamir Topi is a former minister, MP and chairman of the parliamentary group of the Democratic Party, he is also a professor of biology; he will take office for a five year mandate succeeding Alfred Moisiu whose term in office ends on 24th July. He promised to work to bring Albania closer to European structures: "I shall be the president of all Albanians, a president of stability, economic development and I shall work towards Albania's integration within the EU and NATO."

A Eurobarometer survey undertaken between 10th April and 15th May last shows that German opinion has developed somewhat. In comparison to last year, feelings towards Europe have become a lot more positive: 65% of Germans are happy to be part of the European Union. The blue flag with the golden stars is considered to be a positive symbol by 91% of the population. The figures achieved in Germany are in part higher than the European average. "The success of the German presidency of the European Union has helped in bringing Europe closer to its citizens," says Gerhard Sabathil, Head of the Representation of the European Commission in Germany. 74% of Germans have heard of the German presidency of the EU, 76% believe that it was important. 78% of those interviewed hope that there will be a European Constitution (result obtained six weeks before the European Council in Brussels). 84% of the Germans are in favour of the CFSP.

On 18th July Bulgarian Parliament approved a ministerial reshuffle put forward by Prime Minister Serguei Stanichev and the two parties in his coalition in the wake of the resignations of his Economy and Justice Ministers after an affair of public fund embezzlement and attempts to hinder legal procedures. Fifty-eight year old Petar Dimitrov, a socialist and chairman of the Parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee has taken over the Economy and Energy Ministry in place of Roumen Ovtcharov. The new Justice Minister, 47 year-old Miglena Tatcheva, was deputy minister for Justice in the government led by Simeon of Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha (2001-2005). She succeeds Georgui Petkanov. The reshuffle was approved by 157 votes in favour, 57 against and 3 abstentions.

More than half of Danes, 52.7 percent, want to vote in a referendum on the future European Union treaty, a poll conducted by the Catinet Research institute showed on 16th July. A total of 33.9 percent said they are opposed to the idea, while 13.4 percent are undecided, according to the poll conducted July 9th-14th and which questioned 1,025 Danes. Danish Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen has still not taken a stance on a possible referendum. He will probably make an announcement at the end of the work by the Intergovernmental Conference which is responsible for writing the treaty.

On 20th July French President Nicolas Sarkozy received British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to discuss, amongst other matters, Franco-British co-operation in terms of defence, environment, the fight against terrorism as well as the situation in Darfur. Bernard Kouchner, Foreign and European Affairs Minister received David Miliband, his British counterpart on 18th July. Darfur, Kosovo, the Middle East, non-proliferation, global warming were all subjects on the agenda.

The populist party Samobroona (Self-Defence) led by former Deputy Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister, Andrzej Lepper, who was dismissed by Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski on 8th July last and the League of Polish Families (LPR, nationalist) announced on 16th July that they were creating a new party (LIS) and would remain in the ruling coalition. The new party may have up to 75 seats in the Diet (Sejm).

On 17th July the British authorities decided to expulse four Russian diplomats and to freeze negotiations with Moscow with regard to lightening the visa regime in response to Russia's refusal to extradite Andreï Lougovoï, the main suspect in the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian agent who had turned against the Kremlin. In reaction to this announcement a Foreign Office spokesperson said that "no retaliation on the part of Russia would be justified." The Russian government reacted on 19th July with the expulsion of four British diplomats and the suspension of visa deliveries to British officials. The Russian President called on the UK to be "sensible" and to overcome what he called a "mini-crisis."

The Justice and Development Party (AKP), an Islamist movement, won 46% of the vote in the general elections that took place on 22nd July in Turkey. The Prime Minister's party therefore won 340 of the 550 seats in the Grand National Assembly (Parliament), clearly more than the absolute majority. The main opposition party, the People's Republican Party (CHP, Social-Democrat), won 20.8% of the vote (112 MPs). The National Action Party (MHP, nationalist) which adopts hard stances with regard to the EU came third with 14.2% of the vote (71 MPs). Finally 28 independent MPs, including 24 pro-Kurds will also have a seat in Parliament.

On 19th July Deputy Secretary General Maud de Boer-Buquicchio insisted on the Council of Europe's commitment to childrens' rights. "We intend to join forces with other regions around the world to make the latter a fit place for children to live in," she said. "The way a society cares for its children is the ultimate test of its degree of civilisation, humanity and its will for self-preservation."

On 19th July there was a meeting of the Quartet (USA, Russia, EU and UN) for the Middle East with its new representative, Tony Blair, in attendance. His mission will be to rally support for the Palestinians and to help build "institutions and an economy for a viable State in Gaza and on the West Bank." On 17th July UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, welcomed the renewed commitment on the part of George Bush in the Middle East and his proposal to hold an international meeting in the autumn. The Quartet provided its support to the government of the Palestinian Authority led by Salam Fayyad, in that it has promised to respect the principles established by the Quartet (acknowledgement of Israel, renunciation of terrorism and the respect of its previous promises). It welcomed the fact that bilateral talks have resumed between the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, as well as the upcoming visit to Israel by members of the Arab League.

Agriculture negotiations chairperson Ambassador Crawford Falconer and non-agricultural market access (NAMA) chairperson Ambassador Don Stephenson circulated their revised draft "modalities" on 17th July 2007. The draft compromise on aid reductions and customs rights aims to "save" the Doha Round. The drafts are based on WTO member governments' latest positions in the negotiations and are an assessment of what might be agreed for the formulas for cutting tariffs and trade-distorting agricultural subsidies, and related provisions. They believe that these new projects "comprise a fair and sensible base on which to work to reach ambitious, balanced agreements focussed on development." The European Commission welcomed these new documents which it believes are "a useful step forwards," although it still remains reticent on certain points.

According to figures published by Eurostat on 18th July in the construction sector, seasonally adjusted production increased by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.1% in the EU in May 2007, compared to the previous month. In April, production decreased by 1.2% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU. Compared with May 2006, output in May 2007 gained 1.8% and 1.9% in the euro area and in the EU. In April the annual growth was 3.3% in the euro area and 4.8% in the EU.

According to a report published by the European Commission on 18th July women continue on average to earn 15% less than men in the EU. This report puts solutions forward to enable the EU to tackle this gap which has barely changed over the last ten years. The wage gap between men and women represents the difference between gross hourly pay across the entire economy. It reflects discrimination and inequality which typifies the labour market of which women are the victims in the main. To combat this problem the communication suggests that existing legislation should be applied better, the wage gap should be fought as part of the labour policies employed by the Member States, wage equality should be promoted amongst employers, good practice across the community should be encouraged and finally social partners should be included.