On 29th and 30th March in Paris the Geography Society together with the University of Paris Sorbonne and the Robert Schuman Foundation is organising a seminar on the theme of "European Identity: its historical and geographical origins".

Just as French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed a dialogue on nuclear deterrence to Europeans the Robert Schuman Foundation invites you to consult the article by Jean-Dominique Giuliani, Chairman of the Foundation, on "How to revive European Defence," in the "Schuman Report 2008 on the State of the Union," published by Lignes de Repères. This work reviews the issues at stake in the EU by means of maps and statistical data. It comprises a work of reference for all of those who want to know everything there is to know about the EU. There are articles by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker.

The Slovenian Presidency of the European Union published a declaration on Tibet on 19th March which included all EU Member States as well as Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Switzerland, Norway and Liechtenstein. The European Union says that it is extremely worried about the 'unrest in Tibet'. It asks the Chinese government for details on the situation. It encourages the Chinese authorities, the Dalai-Lama and his representatives to enter into a "substantive and constructive dialogue in order to find a sustainable, acceptable solution for all which fully respects Tibetan culture, religion and identity.

On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on 21st March the European Union firmly condemns all forms of intolerance, racism and racial discrimination. Based on the principle that all human beings are born free and are equal in dignity and rights, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights explicitly prohibits discrimination based on any grounds, including sex, race or colour, origin, religion or belief, personal opinion, or sexual orientation. The EU once again calls on all States that have not yet signed, ratified, and/or implemented the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, which is the core international legal instrument in this respect, to do so.

Rapporteur Lutz Goepel (EPP-ED, DE) has drawn up a health-check of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Notably he answers questions with regard to the present situation of the CAP in Europe since its reform five years ago and the effects of this on farmers.

As from 2010 the European Commission would like to accelerate the collation and exchange of information on trans-border transactions in the EU in order to reduce tax evasion on VAT. It would like to bring the present deadline of three to six months down to one or two for a the finalisation of a transaction and the communication of the relative information to the Member State where the VAT is due. This measure targets in particular the so-called "carrousel" technique in which crooks circulate merchandise between Member States in order to cash in on the VAT without ever handing it over to the State. The Commission would like to harmonise the maximum deadline granted to those who have to pay VAT to one month in terms of the declaration of goods deliveries or services in another Member State.

According to a report on the European Telecommunications Sector published on 19th March broad band Internet connections can be made in one household in five in the EU but this is still below the 30% objective that has been established. Amongst the 27 Member States, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden rank first in the world in terms of broad band with penetration levels higher than 30%. These four countries together with the UK, Belgium, Luxembourg and France have more connections that the USA (22.1%). As far as the mobile phone sector is concerned the Commission regrets that prices are not dropping faster in France in comparison with other Member States. Indeed the Commission has not noted "any significant change in the market shares of the three main mobile phone operators (Orange, SFR and Bouygues). Market penetration lies at 82.87% in France, well below the EU average (111.8%).

On 19th March the Commission adopted a proposal for a Directive aimed at facilitating the cross-border prosecution of traffic offences which imperil road safety. The proposed Directive will cover four types of road traffic offence: speeding, drink-driving, not wearing a seat belt and failing to stop at a red light. These four offences are the leading causes of accidents and road deaths: they are involved in almost 75% of all road deaths. Technical measures and legal instruments are to be put in place which will enable EU drivers to be identified and thus prosecuted for offences committed in a Member State other than the one where his or her vehicle is registered. This will make an appreciable difference to road safety in Europe by bringing about a positive change of behaviour in both non-resident and resident drivers. It will also end the unequal treatment which often exists between these two groups of road users.

The European Commission has announced the launch of a major EU control campaign aimed at preventing a repeat of last year's overfishing of Mediterranean bluefin tuna by a number of EU Member States. The launch of the Joint Deployment Plan (JDP), which will be coordinated by the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA), marks the EU's determination to ensure that the fifteen-year recovery plan for the fishery, agreed within the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) in November 2006, is fully respected. There will be 14 campaigns at sea representing overall 160 patrol days. 25 joint inspections involving 50 inspectors are planned in the ports concerned. Commission inspectors will also be involved in 32 inspection visits both at sea and in ports. The plan brings together resources of the seven European countries most involved in the fishing of bluefin tuna: France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and Malta.

All recipients of European Union agricultural and rural development payments will be published in detail under new rules adopted by the European Commission. By 30th April, 2009, the full name, municipality and, where available, postal code of every recipient will be published in a clear, harmonised manner on nationally-managed websites with a search tool which enables the public to see how much money each person or company received. To date 16 States already publish data (UK, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sweden). France and Germany are amongst the "bad boys" since they do not publish the list, even in part. The Commission's decision is the most recent stage in an initiative towards transparency, in a bid to improve accounts made to the public of institutions' actions.

On 17th March the 27 Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers adopted conclusions with regard to the CAP health check and they decided, in spite of Germany's opposition and France's abstention, to raise milk quotas by 2%. This represents 2.84 million tonnes of additional milk that are to be equally distributed between the 27 Member States. The measure will be implemented for one year as from the start of the next milk campaign at the start of April. This early decision anticipates a wider ranging reform with regard to milk quotas that were established in 1984 that aimed to fight against over production - quotas may progressively be increased until they come to an end in March 2015.

According to figures published on 14th March by the Environment Ministry Germany is on line with regard to the achievement of its renewable energy development objectives. Indeed, according to calculations by the working group on renewable energy statistics (AGEE-Stat) these forms of energy represented 14.2% of gross electricity consumption in 2007 ie a fifth more than in 2006. The windmill is still by far the greatest electricity supplier amongst renewable energies. The economic importance of renewable energies is constantly growing, not only in terms of turnover but also in terms of job creation.

On 19th March the German government adopted the work programme 2008 put forward by Home Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble; the programme plans for the modernisation of the federal administration. The aim is to reduce bureaucracy and to make the administration more effective and innovative. This work programme also takes on board 57 modernisation projects undertaken in 2007 in the areas of staff management, the management of the administration, organisation and e-government.

The coalition government led by Yves Leterme won the support of the majority of MPs in a confidence vote in the Chamber of Representatives on 22nd March. After eight hours of debate confidence was granted by 97 votes in favour, 48 against and one abstention.

The recruitment of the fourth class (2008-2009) of the European Governance and Administration Masters has just been launched by the Ecole Nationale d'Administration and its partners. This Franco-German training programme aims on the one hand to provide more information about administrative practices in Germany and France and on the other hand to acquire the necessary tools for good governance and civil administration, with a view to a national, European and international comparison. It is designed for young French and German civil servants and also those from other EU States or candidate countries; it is also open to employees of European institutions and the private sector. The deadline for the receipt of applications is 24th May.

After the local and regional elections the French president presented a government that has been re-shuffled and re-organised. Ministers' attributions have changed: there are now six Secretaries of State including two women, Anne-Marie Idrac and Nadine Morano.

On the occasion of the presentation of the most recent submarine nuclear launcher engine 'Le Terrible' in Cherbourg on 21st March, French President Nicolas Sarkozy highlighted the importance of nuclear deterrence with regard to European Defence. He notably declared: "as far as Europe is concerned it is true that French nuclear forces, simply because they exist, are a vital element of its security. An attacker who might think of targeting Europe has to be aware. We should all take on board the logical consequences of this: I suggest that we work with the European partners who so wish on an open dialogue with regard to the role played by deterrence and how it helps towards our common security. Our commitment to the security of our European partners is the natural expression of our union that is constantly growing."

As part of the preparation for the French Presidency of the European Union on 1st July next French Defence Minister, Hervé Morin travelled to Warsaw on 20th March. He spoke with his Polish counterpart, Bogdan Klich and they notably discussed European Defence.

In a speech to the House of Commons on 17th March British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown said that the European Union has the opportunity to move beyond institutional issues to create a more outward-looking, flexible, global Europe." He recalled that the European Council of 13th and 14th March had agreed to take action on greater financial transparency, reduction targets for carbon emissions and the creation of a 'Union for the Mediterranean'.

As the 60th NATO summit 2009 draws closer along with the Summit in Bucharest on 2nd April the Defence Committee of the House of Commons has published a report on the future of NATO and European Defence. This report recalls NATO's role and its pertinence in the 21st century. It looks into NATO's mission in Afghanistan and the way it may develop; the report then looks into the capabilities of the trans-Atlantic defence organisation and its possible enlargement. Finally the report analyses relations between NATO and the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP).

According to figures published by Eurostat on 19th March the euro area trade balance with the rest of the world in January 2008 gave a 10.7 bn euro deficit, compared with -7.3 bn in January 2007. The December 2007 balance was -4.1 bn, compared with +2.3 bn in December 2006. In January 2008 compared with December 2007, seasonally adjusted exports and imports rose by 7.4%. EU27 trade with most of its major partners grew, with the exception of exports to the USA (-3% in 2007 compared with 2006) and Japan (-2%), and imports from Norway and South Korea (both -3%). The largest increases were recorded for exports to Russia (+23%), India (+21%), Brazil (+20%), Norway (+13%) and China (+12%), and for imports from Brazil (+20%), China (+19%), India (+16%) and Turkey (+12%).

The CAP (Centre for Applied Policy Research) in Munich has just published a study entitled "Energy Security as multidimensional concept." Author Florian Baumann explains that energy security goes beyond sustainability, competitivenesss and the security of supplies and that it requires both internal and external action. In his opinion only an integrated approach combining political, economic and security measures will be effective. He deplores the lack of any true energy strategy on the part of Europe.

The German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) has just published an analysis by Dominique David on the relations between France and NATO. Since France withdrew from the integrated command of NATO in the wake of a decision by General de Gaulle in 1966 the return of the country's full participation comprises one of the main themes of Nicolas Sarkozy's foreign and security policy. This is evident in France's contribution to NATO both in human and financial terms, and is revealed by the French President's desire to link the rapprochement with NATO and the enhancement of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) and that ultimately the rapprochement of the two is inevitable.

The European Environment Agency has just published a report presenting six successful experiments that led to the reduction of pollution associated with land transport.