Outgoing President Tassos Papadopoulos (Democratic Party DIKO) came third in the first round of the presidential election in Cyprus on 17th February winning 31.7% of the vote. Therefore he will not be taking part in the second round on 24th February which will witness a confrontation between Ioannis Kasoulides (Democratic Assembly DISY), who won 33.51% of the vote and Demetris Christofias (Progressive Workers' Party AKEL) who won 33.29% of the vote. The other six candidates won under 1% of the votes each. The turn out rate in Cyprus, where it is obligatory to vote, rose to 89.42%. The way Tassos Papadopoulos supporters cast their vote will be the decisive element in the second round.

Outgoing President Vaclav Klaus was re-elected on 15th February 2008 as leader of the Czech Republic. With the support of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) Mr Klaus won 141 votes during the third round of voting in the second presidential election; this was one more vote than the simple majority required in the third round. His rival Jan Svejnar, economics and public policy professor at the University of Michigan (USA), with the support of the Social Democratic Party (CSSD), the Greens (SZ), the Association of Independents-European Democrats (SNK-ED) and the Open Democracy Union (KOD) won 111 votes. The vote took the form of a show of hands.

The Slovenian Presidency has thanked France for the evacuation of the European citizens from Chad. More than 1,400 citizens from Union Member States or third countries (60 nationalities in all) were evacuated. This was the first time the principle of the Pilot State was used after its adoption by the Council on 18th June 2007. This mechanism showed that it could provide full consular protection to Member State citizens in a crisis situation in a third country. Member States sent France all the necessary information with regard to their citizens in Chad and France undertook to co-ordinate operations.

The fourth interparliamentary meeting on the Lisbon Strategy took place on 12th February insisting on the free movement of knowledge. National and European MPs all believe that red tape has to be cut, investments have to be made in education and the labour market, help should be given to SME's so that the European Union can continue the modernisation of its economy, its commitment to the environment, the enhancement of enterprise spirit, the fostering of innovation and creation and yet protect the human being and his social position.

MEPs examined the results and limits of the 2003 reform of the fisheries policy, that was initially created in 1970. The European fishing industry is the second largest in the world and provides 7.3 million tonnes of fish per year. However, pollution, the lack of fish, weakened eco-systems and climate change are turning it into a crisis sector. "In the end after 20 years the European Fisheries Policy has proved beneficial to no-one," says Avril Doyle (PPE-DE, IE). The EU is putting forward measures to limit the environmental impact of fishing by protecting sensitive habitats. To implement these measures a European Fisheries Fund has been created to cover the period 2007-2013. With a budget of 3.8 billion euro it aims to develop sustainable fishing.

On 13th February the European Commission presented its annual policy strategy by defining its political priorities for 2009. This document lays out objectives in five areas: growth and employment, climate change, immigration, citizens and Europe as a world partner. On the basis of this strategy the Commission will start an exchange of views with Parliament and the Council on the policies to define for 2009 and on the way to implement these.

On 13th February the Commission delivered the General Report on the European Union's Activities for 2007 to Parliament. It reviews all of the work undertaken by the Union's institutions and bodies and aims to provide a panorama of striking events and key trends that have occurred in the Union in 2007 such as for example the signature of the Lisbon Treaty, the enlargement of the Union, the adoption of common objectives to fight against global warming and the adaptation to the challenges presented by globalisation.

On 13th February the European Commission presented new tools to facilitate the crossing of external borders which also increase security. This comprise an additional step towards the joint management of borders. The Commission is proposing the establishment of a biometric data file to include citizens of third countries who want to enter and leave the European Union. The aim is to enable legal travellers to move easily within the EU whilst fighting against illegal immigration and the trafficking of humans.

On 14th February the European Commission published the 2007 European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS). Five EU Member States - Denmark, Finland, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom – continue to have a very strong performance as world innovation leaders alongside the US and Japan. Meanwhile, the large majority of other Member States are catching up with the leaders, and three of the newer Member States - Estonia, the Czech Republic and Lithuania - are on track to reach the EU average innovation performance within a decade.

The deployment of the European force (EUFOR) to Chad that was interrupted on 1st February because of the Chad rebel attack on N'Djamena started up again on 12th February with the dispatch of equipment by air. EUFOR, comprising 3,700 soldiers from 16 countries should initially have started in November. France, Ireland and Poland will provide the core of the three battalions that are to be dispatched. Sweden will provide 200 men. Ten other Member States have promised contributions. The UK is represented by two officers. finally a third country, Albania, said that it would send 50 men.

The 27 Education, Youth and Culture Ministers adopted a roadmap on 14th February with regard to the European Youth and Education Pact as the next European Council approaches on 13th and 14th March. They exchanged views on the role of youth as part of the work undertaken in the European year of intercultural dialogue.

On 16th February the European Union gave the go-ahead for the dispatch of a police and justice mission, EULEX, which will be responsible for contributing towards Kosovo's independence. The aim of this European mission is to "guide and advise the Kosovar institutions in all areas linked to the State of law," to establish "independent and multi-ethnic justice" as well as a multi-ethnic police force. On 16th February the Union announced the appointment of Frenchman Yves de Kermabon, former commander of the NATO troops in Kosovo as head of EULEX and Dutchman, Pieter Feith as the EU's special representative for Kosovo, to advise and support "the political process in Kosovo" and to co-ordinate the EU's various actions. "These appointments again illustrate even more clearly the EU's commitment to the Balkans," said Javier Solana, the EU's High Representative for the CFSP.

During a speech delivered on 10th February in Cologne Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan qualified the assimilation of Turkish immigrants in Germany as a "crime against humanity" which he repeated on 12th February before the Turkish parliament. These declarations caused a scandal amongst the CDU and the CSU - reviving the debate about immigrants' integration in Germany. Maria Böhmer, delegate Minister for Migration, Refugees and Integration responded quickly to the intolerable words expressed by the Turkish Prime Minister saying that to talk of assimilation "was a dated debate" and that it would be more appropriate to talk of "integration", "which means taking equal part and also accepting our values."

On 14th February France officially ratified the European Treaty of Lisbon. the text was published in the Journal Officiel. Although France is the first founder country of the European Union to agree to the treaty it is the fifth European country to ratify it after Hungary, Slovenia, Malta and Romania.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has given Alain Lamassoure, former Minister, MEP (PPE-DE, FR) the task of looking into the means of "improving the effective implementation of community law with regard to citizens."

The British-Irish Council that rallies the leaders of London, Belfast, Edinburgh, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Dublin met on 13th February in Dublin. The strengthening of co-operation in a many areas notably with regard to the fight against drugs was on the agenda just like the improvement in the running of the Council which was created by the Good Friday Agreements in 1998.

Serbia will never acknowledge Kosovo's independence declared Serb president Boris Tadic on 17th February whilst the Kosovar Parliament voted the proclamation of independence of this province south of Serbia. "Serbia will never acknowledge Kosovo's independence. Serbia reacted and will react by all possible means - peaceful, diplomatic and legal - to annul this act committed by the institutions of Kosovo," indicated the Serb president.

During his most recent press conference as president on 14th February Vladimir Putin reviewed his two terms in office. He said that he was ready to undertake the role of Prime Minister with the prerogatives that this implied if Dimitri Medvedev (Edinaia Rossia ER) won the presidential election on 2nd March next.

According to Eurostat figures published on 14th February GDP grew by 0.4% in the euro area and by 0.5% in the European Union during the fourth quarter of 2007. In the third quarter of 2007, growth rates were +0.8% in both the euro area and the European Union. During the fourth quarter of 2007, US GDP increased by 0.2% compared with the previous quarter, after +1.2% in the third quarter. In Japan, GDP grew by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, after +0.3% in the third quarter.

According to Eurostat figures published on 15th February the euro area recorded an external trade surplus of 28.3 billion euro in 2007 in comparison with -9.3 billion in 2006. However the European Union recorded a deficit of 185.7 billion euro in 2007, in comparison with -192.1 billion in 2006.

In a DGAP analysis (German Society for Foreign Policy) entitled "Der gebremste Europäer - Gordon Browns Europa-Politik (Paralysed Europe - Gordon Brown's European Policy), Jan Techau looks into the role that the UK will play in the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty on the basis of the UK's present European policy, its domestic policy, the government programme and Gordon Brown's philosophy.

The Swedish Institute for European Studies (SIEPS) has just published an analysis on the future of the common European asylum system. After the publication in June 2007 of a Green Paper on the subject by the European Commission, Eiko Thielemann believes that responsibility sharing has to be redefined.

The UK which is divided after years of multi-culturalism is vulnerable to Islamic terrorist attack maintains a report by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) published on 15th February. Handicapped through a lack of confidence in its own values and a "misplaced deference" towards multi-culturalism, the UK is a "potential target" in a world that is in a phase of "remission" between the 11/9 attacks and possible attacks in the future say authors Gwyn Prins, professor at the London School of Economics and Robert Salisbury, member of the Privy Council.

On 22nd February the Charles-de-Gaulle museum will be inaugurated. The museum comprises 2,500m2 and lies under the Invalides. This tribute to the General de Gaulle focusses on pictures, whether these are photographs or archive films. Visitors walk through three sections: the Appeal, Liberation and the Constitution with some 400 documents from the National Audiovisual Institution and over 20 hours of commentary.