On 3rd February next Serb voters will return to the ballot box to appoint their President. The second round will see a confrontation between Tomislav Nikolic (Radical Party SRS) who came out ahead in the first round with 39.4% of the vote beating the outgoing president Boris Tadic (Democratic Party DS) who won 35.4% of the vote. For the time being the polls declare Boris Tadic and Tomislav Nikolic running equal on 3rd February. The closeness of the two men in the polls makes it impossible to define a winner even though the outgoing Head of State Boris Tadic does however have a slight advantage over his rival according to some observers of the political scene.

On 25th January Dragutin Mate, the Slovenian Home Minister and his 26 European counterparts discussed the interim report by the High-Level Advisory Group on future of European Policies in the area of home affairs after 2010 (Future Group). They also discussed pratical co-operation with regard to asylum. The area of freedom, security and justice is still a challenge for the European Union and the 27 ministers considered the possible means to achieve harmonisation.

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who is also president of the Council of the European Union received Ban-ki-Moon, UN Secretary General on 25th January. They spoke of the fight against global warming, intercultural dialogue, the situation in the Balkans and the peace missions in which the European Union is taking part.

A report on new technologies was unanimously adopted by the Industry Committee on 24th January. The idea behind the "Ambient Assisted Living" programme is to develop information and communication technologies so that the elderly have easy access to public services and yet preserve their private life and dignity. Indeed the number of the over 65's will increase by 40% between 2010 and 2030 and the Union would like to follow this demographic development closely. This programme will be co-funded by the 7th Framework Programme to a total of 150 million euros over the period 2008-2013.

After a visit on 23rd January Iranian negotiator on nuclear issues, Saeed Jalili MEPs were left with a great sense of dissatisfaction. Visiting on the invitation of the Foreign Affairs Committee he did not give sufficiently convincing answers to a number of questions asked by MEPs with regard to the Iranian civil nuclear programme and its possible transformation into military nuclear activities. The human rights situation in Iran was also discussed.

On 24th January the Chairman of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet was at the European Parliament for a meeting between national representatives and members of the Economic and Monetary Committee. His visit was of extreme importance just as the stock market is undergoing extreme disruption and the American Central Bank announced the reduction of its interest rates. "It is too early to make any final conclusions," he explained, since the equilibrium of the market is too complex to come to conclusions about cause and effect. However he said that "the disruption is a sharp warning of perturbations in a specific sector that can spread to other markets in many other countries." He recalled that the ECB's duty is "to anchor solidly inflationary expectations to avoid additional volatility in already highly volatile markets."

The announcement last spring of the merger between Google, the leader of written advertisements on-line and Doubleclick, the leader in graphic ads is the cause of great concern amongst the defenders of free competition. The European Commission is inquiring at present into the possible abuse of Google's dominant position which resulted after this merger along with issues about the protection of personal data. The Civil Liberties Committee at the Parliament looked into the protection of data on the Internet on 21st January.

On 23rd January the European Commission published its 2008 report on equality between men and women. According to the study's conclusions women continue to play a key role in the growth of employment in Europe but are still underprivileged in comparison with men on the labour market. In spite of high levels of qualification women are still under employed and above all they are less well paid than men. This report on equality between women and men will be presented to the Heads of State and Government of the European Union during a European Council on 8th and 9th March next.

On 23rd January the European Commission presented its 3rd legislative package "Energy and Climate" the aim of which is to bring the share of renewables up to 20% in the European Union's energy consumption and to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% by 2020. Each Member State has to achieve its individual objective that aims to bring the use of biofuels up to 10% in transport. The Commission hopes for the adoption of its proposals on first reading in the European Parliament by the end of the year to achieve a position of strength in the face of the USA and China in international negotiations on the post-Kyoto protocol. With regard to this issue the Robert Schuman Foundation has just published a 'Note' entitled "Reviving energy production in Europe: an environmental, industrial and political challenge," availabe from the Foundation's site.

On 24th January the European Commission published a study on Comenius, the European Union programme for schools involves 8,000 schools. It emerges that participating in a school partnership under the European Union's programme brings clear advantages to the pupils, teachers and schools involved. Such school partnerships have been found to help pupils to learn better, they improve schools' teaching and learning environments, motivate pupils and teachers to learn foreign languages, and improve intercultural awareness and competences.

The European Commission has examined the updated stability programmes of Finland, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. All four have reached, maintained or exceeded the objective they set themselves to have sound public finances. Luxembourg and the Netherlands have presented budgetary strategies that are in line with the sound principles established in the Stability and Growth Pact. The Commission also assessed the Convergence Programmes of Hungary, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Sweden has a healthy budgetary situation. In the UK the pace of budgetary stabilisation is insufficient and has to be accelerated. As for Hungary, if its excessive deficit is to be correctd by 2009 the government will really have to apply all planned budgetary measures and structural reform.

On 25th January the European Commission presented measures to improve toy safety in Europe. The Commission wants to strengthen European Union-rules, especially those relating to the use of chemical substances in toys. The proposal tabled aims to enhance the safety of toys replacing and modernizing the 20 year-old Toys Directive that dates back to 3rd May 1988. The revision has a threefold objective: first and foremost there will be new and higher safety requirements to cope with recently identified hazards, secondly it will strengthen manufacturers' and importers' responsibility for the marketing of toys and finally it enhances the market surveillance obligations of Member States.

On 21st January the 27 Agriculture Ministers came to a unanimous political agreement on simplified rules with regard to cross-appliance in the CAP. They also held a debate on the CAP Health Check in the wake of the reform 2003/2004. The aim is to help towards improved competitiveness of European agriculture and to see agriculture as a common commodity. They finally took a joint stance with regard to the project to create the European Innovation and Technology Institute.

On 24th January Javier Solana, the European Union's High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), met Hashim Thaci, the Kosovar Prime Minister. He recalled the European Union's position which considers the province's status quo impossible to maintain and which hopes for a solution that will foster stability in the Balkans. They also talked of the state of play regarding the preparations for the deployment of an European Union Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) mission in the area of rule of law and a contribution to an international civilian office in Kosovo.

On 28th January the European Union formally approved the immediate dispatch of a military force to the east of Chad and to the north east of Central Africa which are affected by the Sudanese Darfur conflict and by insecurity that has resulted after acts of rebellion.

According to the economic report 2008 published by the German Economy Ministry growth has continued over the last three years, although this is due to slow in 2008 to 1.7%. Unemployment fell rapidly in 2008 and the number of employed people is due to rise by 280,000 to over 40 million but there will still be around 3.45 million unemployed. Income and salaries are due to rise by 2.7% ie more than the rate of inflation that is set to lie under the 2% mark by the end of 2008. For the first time since 1989 the budgets of the Federal State, the Länder and the town councils are generally balanced. The federal budget is due to balance in 2011 at the latest. This robut state of economic health comes as a result of the major structural reforms undertaken in Germany.

Just six months before the start of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Touteleurope.fr is inviting internet users to express what they are expecting and to put forward their suggests in response to an on-line survey.

France published a document on 25th January entitled, "Vers une nouvelle politique agricole commune" (Towards a new Common Agricultural Policy); the aim of this is to guide debate within the agricultural profession on the future of the CAP after 2013, the "status quo of which France does not intend to defend." The French Agriculutre Minister who intends to "anticipate the budgetary debate on the CAP" the funding of which is guaranteed until 2013, by using the "health check 2008", has decided to submit the document for debate at the regional chambers of agriculture between 30th January and 11th February.

The British Foreign and European Minister has created a special column on his internet site designed to explain the Lisbon Treaty. This space shows the main innovations and refers the articles in question. He also proposes a consolidated version of the Lisbon Treaty as well as a timetable of the debates on the Treaty in Parliament. Finally he rejects the false "information" that is going round about the treaty.

British Employment Minister Peter Hain, who has found himself at the heart of an affair on the funding of his campaign within the Labour Party, became the first member of Gordon Brown's government to resign on 24th January. Mr Hain who is also Minister for Wales, announced that he was quitting both positions just minutes after the announcement by Scotland Yard that an inquiry was to be opened.

The share of Britons who see their country's membership of the European Union in a favourable light is growing according to a poll published on 26th January by the Guardian; however an overwhelming majority continue to see the USA as the UK's best friend. According to this study undertaken by ICM 58% of Britons believe that the UK's membership of the European Union is a good thing, 35% see it unfavourably. The share of pro-European Britons has risen by 11 points in comparison with a similar poll undertaken by ICM in 2001.

On 23rd January on the occasion of visit to Brussels by Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Grueski, Enlargement Commissioner, Olli Rehn announced that in the next two months the European Commission would present the benchmarks that Macedonia needs to fulfill before it can start accession talks with the EU. These criteria will notably include the State of Law and public administration. Javier Solana lauded the Skopje authorities on the reforms that have already been launched. Nikola Gruevski said that his country would like to start accession negotiations as soon as possible.

On 25th January Montenegro signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the European Commission which will allow it full access to the EU's 7th Research Framework Programme (FP7) which runs from 2007 to 2013. This "associated status" will allow Montenegro to participate in all calls for proposals and compete on an equal footing with the European Union Member States for research co-operation and support actions funded by FP7, as of 1 January 2008. This agreement can therefore be seen as an important step in the process of applying to join the European Union. It will allow Montenegrin scientists, universities and companies to create links with their counterparts across Europe and build up their scientific expertise, including in scientific fields crucial to implementing the body of European Union legislation. With Montenegro, all countries of the Western Balkans except Bosnia and Herzegovina are now associated to the European Union research effort.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe believes that in a resolution adopted on 22nd January "a compromise" between Serbs and Albanians on Kosovo "is still the only basis to guarantee peace and stability in the region." The resolution that invites the international community to seek an ultimate compromise "in view of preventing Kosovo from becoming a tinderbox and a frozen- unsettled -conflict in the Balkans," was adopted by 96 votes in favour, 48 against and 24 abstentions.

According to figures published by Eurostat on 13th January the euro area industrial new orders index grew by 2.7% in November 2007 compared with October 2007(2.5%). European Union new orders increased by 1.9%. In November 2007 compared with October 2007, new orders for transport equipment increased by 7.3% in the euro area and by 3.4% in the European Union. Manufacturing of basic metals & fabricated metal products rose by 5.8% and 3.0% respectively. Chemicals & chemical products gained 2.7% in the euro area and 2.2% in the European Union. Electrical & electronical equipment fell by 0.7% in the euro area, but grew by 1.2% in the European Union. Manufacturing of textiles & textile products declined by 0.9% and 0.6% respectively. Machinery and equipment decreased by 2.2% in the euro area and by 2.7% in the European Union.

According to the latest figures published by Eurostat on 23rd January, the European Union external current account recorded a deficit of 17.2 billion euro in the third quarter of 2007, compared with a deficit of 24.6 bn in the third quarter of 2006 and a deficit of 16.3 bn in the second quarter of 2007. In the third quarter of 2007, compared with the third quarter of 2006, a lower deficit was recorded in the goods account (-41.5 bn euro compared with -44.5 bn), while the surplus of the services account increased (+23.2 bn compared with +16.7 bn). The surplus of the income account declined (+14.8 bn compared with +16.5 bn), while the deficit of the current transfers account remained nearly stable (-13.8 bn compared with -13.3 bn). In the third quarter of 2007, the European Union external current account recorded a surplus with the USA (+26.0 bn euro), Hong Kong (+3.0 bn) and Canada (+2.1 bn), and a deficit with China (-38.0 bn), Russia (-6.9 bn) and Japan (-6.7 bn).

The Center for European Reform (CER) has just published a report on the ageing population in Europe. Author, Alasdair Murray studies the economic, social and political effects of this development. Contrary to common opinion which suggests the demographic crisis cannot only be solved by pro-natal policies and an increase in immigration, he believes that governments can adapt to this new situation.

Sciences Po Press has just published a book entitled "Religion(s) and identité(s) en Europe," under the direction of Antonela Cappelle-Pogacean, Patrick Michel and Enzo Pace, who present an overview of the issue of religions in Europe.

The Polish Institute for International Affairs (Polski Instytut Spraw Międzynarodowych) has published a book in Polish and English entitled "Poland-Germany 1945-2007). From Confrontation to Cooperation and Partnership in Europe").

From 26th January to 18th April the Royal Acadamy of Arts in London is presenting an extraordinary exhibition on "French and Russian Master Paintings from Moscow and Saint Petersburg (1870-1925)". The paintings come from the most prestigious Russian museums such as the Hermitage, the Pushkin State Museum and the State Tretyakov Gallery. This exhibition is a unique opportunity to explore the fascinating exchange that existed between French and Russian art during a crucial period that was witness to upheaval and revolution. It is the first time that works from these museums have been gathered together for a single exhibition.