On 30th September next 36.8 million Ukrainians are being called to ballot to renew the 450 members of the Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Council), the only chamber in Parliament. Four polls were published on 14th September last. All forecast that the Regions Party will win. It is due to win between 29% and 34.7% of the vote. The Yulia Timoshenko Bloc is due to come second (22%-25.7%) followed by Our Ukraine-Self-defence (11.9%-15.2%), then the Communist Party (2.7%-5.9%), the Litvine Bloc (3%-5.6%) and the Socialist Party (1.6%-3%). It remains to be seen whether a coalition between Yushenko and Timoshenko is possible in order to prevent these elections producing the same results as those on 26th March 2006.

To understand everything about the EU and its policies the Robert Schuman Foundation invites subscribers to read the "Schuman Report 2007" published by Editions Lignes de Repères. It is available in bookshops. This book is the result of collective work offering exhaustive, unique information on the main issues at stake in Europe.

The Chairman of the Robert Schuman Foundation, Jean-Dominique Giuliani has published an article in the latest edition of the Revue Géoéconomie dedicated to relations between Russia and Europe. The article is entitled "Union européenne-Russie: je t'aime moi non plus," in which Mr Giuliani analyses Moscow-Brussels relations which suffered a "cold wave" when the EU-Russia Summit failed in Samara on 18th May last.

After several months of political crisis Polish Parliament decide to dissolve on 7th September with 377 votes in favour, 54 against and 20 abstentions. The dissolution of the Diet automatically leadds to that of the Senate. Voeers are being called on 21st October to renew the 460 members of the Diet and the 100 members of the Senate. Since its election in September 2005 the government led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski has found it increasingly difficult to stay in power. There has been a series of disagreements and a great amount of tension between the various components of the government team. Half way through the government's original mandate 30 million Polish voters will have to decide and choose a new Parliament for the next four years.

On 21st September Portuguese Foreign Minister, Luis Amado received his New Zealand counterpart, Winston Peters to look into EU/New Zealand relations. Major themes of the discussions were the international agenda, notably the Middle East, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq.

On the agenda of the plenary session of the European Parliament on 24th-27th September next MEPs will be voting amongst other matters on the security of Chinese toys, the 3rd Legislative Rail Package, immigration and renewable energy sources.

The Chairman of the PPE-DE group in the European Parliament, Joseph Daul opened the Summer Conference of the European Ideas Network - it was entitled "The World in 2025". The event took place in Warsaw with the participation of the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso and Lech Walesa.

In speech given in Brighton on 17th September José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission encouraged the UK to support the reform treaty. As the European Council of 18th and 19th October draws closer when the new text is due to be adopted he maintained that "Europe provides new opportunities and not a threat," for the British.

On 19th September the Commission presented concrete measures to accelerate the launch of Galileo. In a new document that modifies the regulations of programme funding the Commission is planning for total coverage of Galileo's deployment phase with the community budget being used to ensure the continuation of the project. The re-initiation of the programme entails a contribution of 2.4 billion euros over seven years (2007-2013) ie 400 million euros per year. The Commission is calling on Member States and the European Parliament to support its proposals from a political, financial and management point of view in order to guarantee a successful conclusion to the project within a time span which meets market requirements.

On 19th September the European Commission adopted a third package of legislative proposals to ensure a real and effective choice of supplier and benefits to every single EU citizen. The Commission's proposals put consumer choice, fairer prices, cleaner energy and security of supply at the centre of its approach. "An open and fair internal energy market is essential to ensure that the EU can rise to the challenges of climate change, increased import dependence and global competitiveness. This is about getting a better deal for consumers and business and making sure that third country companies respect our rules", explained European Commission President Barroso. France and Germany notably have already expressed their reticence with regard to these new measures.

On 19th September the European Commission adopted a Communication setting out the EU's animal health strategy for 2007-13. The Communication provides the framework for animal health measures over the next 6 years, taking into account extensive feedback from stakeholders and potential challenges in the future. The aim is to put greater focus on precautionary measures, disease surveillance, controls and research, in order to reduce the incidence of animal disease and minimise the impact of outbreaks when they occur. The Communication also stresses that all those with an interest in animal health with have clear responsibilities in ensuring that the goals of the new strategy are met, so that the EU's animal health policy is as robust, efficient and effective as possible in the years ahead. It also highlights the need for an integrated approach in animal health policy-making, inter-linking it with other Community policies.

On 19th September the Commission decided to close the fishery for bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean for 2007. On the basis of the catch returns received from the Member States to date, the EU 2007 quota for bluefin tuna of 16,779.5 tonnes has been exhausted. The Commission must therefore close the whole EU fishery. This closure concerns Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Portugal and Spain as the other two Member States involved, Italy and France, closed their own fisheries in July and August respectively.

On 21st September the European Commission established a group of researchers and companies who will be responsible for drawing up a technological strategy for nuclear energy. The "technologicial platform for sustainable nuclear energy" aims to "prepare for the future and maintain the European lead in this area," explains the Commission. Indeed the world consumption of energy is due to double between 2000 and 2050. Europe has the largest nuclear sector in the world, since one third of its electricity is produced by nuclear power stations.

The anti-terrorist co-ordinator for the EU is Gilles de Kerchove, an executive civil servant who until now has been responsible for European policies with regard to legal and police co-operation. Mr de Kerchove who is 50 years old is Belgian and will succeed Dutchman Gijs de Vries who resigned in March. According to a press release from Javier Solana, Gilles de Kerchove "will watch over the establishment of the anti-terrorist strategy in the Union," "he will co-ordinate work" undertaken by the 27 and will have "an overall view of the tools at the Union's disposal."

The Council approved a text which defines the security features and biometric identifiers that Member States have to use in a uniform format of residence permit for third country citizens. In addition to this the Council said it agreed on the scope of application of this draft framework decision and on the data protection regime for the transfer of data to third countries. Finally it adopted a regulation relative to public passenger transport services by rail and by road, approving all the amendments approved by Parliament on second reading.

The European Central Bank (ECB) can count on Germany to defend it against any attack to its independence, said Chancellor Angela Merkel on 20th September whilst France continues assiduously to criticise the organisation. "Nothing allows us to doubt the evidence of the ECB's independence as stated in the Maastricht Treaty," she said in a dinner organised by the Bundesbank which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The ECB's independence is a legacy of the 'Buba' and the ceremony was an opportunity to confirm the intangible nature of this status once again."The entire government and I are extremely attached to the ECB's independence, and we shall defend it against any attempts to challenge this," she warned. In her opinion this status is vital for the central bank's credibility in its fight against inflation.

On 21st September Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The two men talked about European and international issues. With regard to Europe they noted with "satisfaction the progress achieved by the Intergovernmental Conference" responsible for writing the new European treaty. They spoke again of their hope to see the rapid conclusion of work by the IGC." They also spoke of the Darfur crisis, the situation in Kosovo and in the Middle East.

Poland has refused to allow observers from the OSCE to attend the next general elections on 21st October next. "The Polish government has informed the OSCE secretariat that it would not appreciate the arrival of foreign observers to monitor the elections on 21st October."

On 20th September the OECD published a report in which the organisation expresses its support for the European Commission's project to deregulate network industries in Europe and more particularly in the area of energy. According to the OECD energy markets have to become transnational and more open to competition in order to reduce prices and to strengthen the security of supply. It is therefore a priority to create integrated markets across the EU or its regions as the nordic countries have done.

According to a study by INSEE published on 17th September Lorraine is the most important region with regard to providing cross-border workers in the former EU15. 87,000 inhabitants from Lorrain travel to work in Europe daily, 60,000 of these travel to Luxembourg and 27,000 go to Germany. INSEE says that there has been an increase in the flow of labour because there has also been an increase in paid work in Luxembourg between 1999 and 2005 whilst in Lorraine itself there has only been a 1% rise in employment offers.

According to a study published on 20th September by CapGemini for the European Commission the quantitative and qualitative development of on-line public services is continuing to improve in the EU. The share of accessible public services via the internet rose from 50% to 58% between 2006 and 2007. The study shows that on-line public services have become "more sophisticated in comparison with 2006." The most advanced country in this area is Austria which meets criteria 100% with regard to 20 services monitored. The study welcomes the progress made by Portugal, Malta, Estonia and Slovenia. The bad pupil is Bulgaria with 15% on-line public services.

The French Institute for International Relations (IFRI) has published its 26th Annual World Report on the RAMSES economic system and strategies. The chapter on "Europe" notably includes an article by Thierry Chopin, research director for the Robert Schuman Foundation, on the reform treaty and an article by Michel Foucher, member of the Foundation's Scientific Committee on the European Union's borders.

N°43 of the review Géoéconomie, published in partnership with the Robert Schuman Foundation is dedicated to relations between Russia and Europe. The Chairman of the Foundation, Jean-Dominique Giuliani wrote an article for this edition entitled "Union européenne-Russie: je t'aime moi non plus," in which he analyses Moscow-Brussels relations which suffered a "cold wave" when the EU-Russia Summit failed in Samara on 18th May last.

Isabelle Lasserre, a top-ranking reporter for the Figaro has publisehd an essay on "French incapacity" that analyses French diplomacy between 1989 and 2007 with Editions Flammarion.

Michel Foucher, geographer and diplomat, member of the Robert Schuman Foundation's Scientific Committee has published an essay on the "obsession with borders" with the publishing house, Perrin.