The rejection of Macedonia's candidature to join NATO on 3rd and 4th April led to the dissolution of the Macedonian Parliament and the organisation of early general elections on 1st June. The monocameral Parliament (Sobranie) has 120 members elected by proportional representation for a four year term in office. Macedonia is divided into six constituencies electing 20 MPs each. Just one month before the general elections polls undertaken on 24th and 25th April by the Centre for Research and Policy, reveal that the VMRO-DPMNE is due to win 26% of the vote in comparison with 12% for the SDSM, the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI-BDI) is due to win 10.7% and the Albanian Democratic Party (PDS-PDSh), 7%. 13% of voters say they are undecided and 27.7% say they will not turn out to vote. When asked by IFIMES 'which political leader do you respect the most?', 44.2% declare Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski (VMRO-DPMNE) and 17.60% Radmila Sekerinska (SDSM).

On 11th May next 7 million Serbs will be called to vote to renew their Parliament in early general elections; these come in the wake of the government's resignation on 8th March last. Kosovo is still the focus of the electoral campaign. The Serb Radical Party (SRS) and the Serb Democratic Party (DSS) led by outgoing Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica rejected the signature of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Union and Serbia on 29th April. For his part the President of the Republic and leader of the Democratic Party (DS) - Boris Tadic, is trying to convince the electorate that there is no alternative to the European Union. The Democratic Party (DS) and the Radcical Party (SRS) are running neck and neck in the polls. It will be either the road to the future on the one hand or a return to the past on the other.

All of the events organised on the occasion of Europe Day on 9th May in France and in the European Union are available on the Internet site. So come and celebrate Europe!

As part of the future French Presidency of the European Union, the Foreign Minister is organising a series of meetings to provide European citizens a means of expression. The first event will take place in Lille on 7th May just before Europe Day and will focus on European values and common identity. Many French and European personalities (amongst others MEPs Bronislaw Geremek and Lilli Gruber) will be taking part. Come along and talk with them!

Between 9th and 18th May a number of events are being organised at Robert Schuman's house at Scy-Chazelles in celebrate of Europe Week.

Dimitrij Rupel, Slovenian Foreign Minister chaired a European Union troika meeting with New Zealand on 30th April. He said he was pleased with the excellent relations that existed with New Zealand and stressed the importance of co-operation in a variety of areas such as trade, economy, education, research, science and technology. A scientific and technological co-operation agreement will also be signed before the summer.

On 29th April the first place in the Charlemagne Prize for European Youth was awarded by the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering and the Chairman of the Foundation of the Charlemagne Prize, André Leysen, to the Hungarian project "Students without Borders", presented by the Ferenc Rakoczi II Foundation. Second place was taken by the English project "Festival of London in Europe" and the third place went to the Byron School in Greece.

According to a new report presented by the European Commission on 28th April the demands for and costs of long-term care provision in the EU will rise significantly by 2050. Meanwhile, the vast majority of Europeans (almost nine out of ten) favour home- or community-based care over care in an institutional setting. The projected growth in demand for long-term care services presents a major challenge for national governments. But the report also shows that Member States are striving to guarantee access for all to quality care by providing adequate resources to meet this demand.

On 28th April the European Commission published a report on the actions undertaken on prevention of payment fraud between 2004 and 2007 following an Action Plan on this matter. This report shows that the security of means of payment and payment systems is a necessary condition for improving consumer confidence and trust in new payment services. From a regulatory point of view, the security of means of payment has been addressed in recent legislation, namely in Payment Services Directive, and also the third Money Laundering Directive by means of the "know your customer" obligations. The development of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) by industry will provide an opportunity to build on the legislative framework to increase both security and trust.

On 30th April he European Commission adopted guidelines for State aid to railway undertakings. The guidelines clarify the rules governing public funding of these businesses. This is one way the Commission is boosting the liberalisation of the industry and ensuring that public funding contributes to sustainable mobility in Europe.

On 30th April the Commission adopted changes to the rules of access to documents from EU institutions. These changes reaffirm the Commission's commitment to transparency, up-date the rules to reflect recent case-law and aim to allow the institutions to be more efficient in responding to requests from citizens.

In its forecasts published on 28th April the European Commission expects an increase in the public deficit from 2.9% to 3% of the GDP in France in 2008; ie the maximum limit in the Stability and Growth Pact. The situation is deemed sufficiently worrying for the Commission to issue an early warning against France. European Economy Commissioner, Joaquin Almunia said this, stating that the situation in France was the source of most concern in the euro area." In spite of the EU's pessimistic forecasts, the French government maintained its own forecasts for growth and deficit in 2008 and 2009.

A European Commission study published on 30th April on the Economic Sentiment Indicator reveals a clear decline in company head and consumer confidence. In April the indicator fell by 3.8 points in the European Union and by 2.5 points in the euro area to reach 98.1 and 97.1 points respectively. The indicator is at its lowest level since August 2005. This fall affects all sectors but particularly services and the retail trade. The first country to be affected by this decline has been the UK with a decrease of 8.9 points. The industrial confidence indicator which calculates industrial managers' confidence has fallen dramatically.

On 29th April the Council adopted a reform of the common organisation of the win market which was the focus of an agreement between the 27 agriculture ministers in December last. The changes will bring balance to the wine market, phase out wasteful and expensive market intervention measures and allow the budget to be used for more positive, proactive measures which will boost the competitiveness of European wines. The reform provides for a fast restructuring of the wine sector in that it includes a voluntary, three-year grubbing-up scheme to provide an alternative for uncompetitive producers and to remove surplus and uncompetitive wine from the market. Subsidies for crisis distillation and potable alcohol distillation will be phased out and the money, allocated in national envelopes, can be used for measures like wine promotion on third country markets, innovation, restructuring and modernisation of vineyards and cellars.

The "General Affairs and External Relations" Council that met on 29th April assessed the planned organisation of a referendum with regard to the Burmese constitution positively. It spoke of the peace process in the Middle East with a view to preparing for the meeting of the Quartet and the Ad-Hoc Association Committee and the situation in Iraq was also discussed. With regard to Pakistan the 27 ministers welcomed the progress achieved in the democratic process since the elections on 18th February last. They expressed their concern with regard to recent events in Georgia and re-iterated their support of this country's territorial integrity and its sovereignty. Finally they condemned recent acts of piracy along the Somalian coastline.

According to figures published on 30th April by the German Federal Employment Agency unemployment continued to drop in Apirl (-94,000 people ie 0.3%). This brings the number of employment seekers to 3,414 million (8.1% of the working population). The unemployment rate is still higher however in the east (13.9%) than in the west (6.6%). The decrease in unemployment together with a rise in salaries (+3.3% in January for white and blue collar workers, ie the highest rise since 1996) and a slower rise in consumption prices (+2.8% between January 2007 and 2008), has led to an improvement in German morale. According to the GfK consumption climte barometer the index has risen by 1.1 points rising to 5.9, which is a unique rise since July 2007.

The government coalition CDU/SPD came to an agreement on the partial privatisation of the German railway company, Deutsche Bahn (DB), to a total of 24.9% of its capital. This partial privatisation may start in the autumn. The State intends to dedicate some of the money thereby released to the modernisation of the stations, phonic insulation and the improvement of travellers' transport service. Funds should help to increase Deutsche Bahn's own capital, the reduction of the public debt and the maintenance of the network.

On 28th April the Austrian National Bank organised a conference on the theme of "The Euro in an Enlarged European Union." In June the euro will be celebrating its tenth anniversary and the results are totally satisfactory. On the inauguration of the conference Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer pleaded in favour of the strengthening of the European Union and the Economic and Monetary Union. He spoke of the Union's social aspects, the co-ordination of political economics, the exchange rate policy, the architecture of international finances, the role that the Eurogroup might play and taxes on financial transactions. The governor of the Austrian National Bank indicated that a policy that aimed for stability comprised a measure of success for the Economic and Monetary Union whose enlargement was one of the main challenges in the future.

In a letter addressed to the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have requested measures to be taken in favour of European SME's. According to the letter they say that "it is a priority for the EU to foster the growth of SME's"; this supposes "an enlarged political framework that acknowledges the specific requirements of SME's" and "for them to have access to the appropriate types of funding." They also believe that the European Investment Bank has to act to "improve the funding terms offered to SME's" and hope "that proposals in this direction will be made as soon as possible."

On the occasion of the 45th anniversary of its founding the Franco-German Youth Office (OFAJ) is launching a competition entitled: "Souvenirs d'Allemagne - et vous, qu'avez-vous rapporté?" (Souvenirs from Geramny - what did you bring back?) open to anyone living in France or Germany. Participants are invited to address the photograph of an object that recalls a trip to Germany undertaken between 1963 and 2008. Partcipants will then have to talk about the memories conjured up by this obejct. The photos and stories that win a prize from the Franco-German jury will then be shown and published in a special issue of a book pubished on this occasion. The deadline to enter the competition has been set for 1st June 2008.

On 29th April the Italian Senate elected its president, Renato Schifani, after the elections on 13th and 14th April last; he is 58 years old and one of Silvio Berlusconi's most loyal friends, head of the Forza Italia senators, the former party of the Cavaliere during both of the previous terms in office. In the Chamber of Deputies Gianfranco Fini, chairman of the National Alliance Party, member of Silvio Berlusconi's coalition and former Foreign Affairs Minister was elected chairman of the Chamber of Deputies on 30th April in the fourth round, 335 votes out of the 611 MPs present.

According to Eurostat figures published on 30th April the annual inflation rate in the euro area lay at 3.3% in April 2008. In March it was 3.6%.

The Swedish Institue for European Studies (SIEPS) has published a report entitled "Transforming the European Community's Regulation of Food Safety" which analyses the development of the food safety issue in European legislation and shows the contributions made by the regulation of 2002. This introduced a certain number of general principles that now make public health one of the key elements of the European food safety policy.

On 29th April the Foundation for Strategic Research published a study entitled "la National Security Strategy britannique: un aboutissement plus qu'une rupture?". Author, Cédric Paulin describes the various tools and changes, both political, budgetary and administrative that are particular to the UK's overall security strategy. He stresses the fact that the period of adaptation of the UK's security structures is now probably being completed. This study follows the publication of a national security strategy by the Cabinet Office.

On 3rd May on the occasion of the International Day of the Freedom of the Press 'Reporters sans Frontières' (RSF) published an inquiry into the violence committed against journalists in several countries of the European Union. Primarily: "the freedom of the press is a reality within the EU. No journalist has been murdered on the order of a State, no one has been imprisoned and official censorship has disappeared." However according to RSF the situation is not perfect. "We have to be careful in the event of the concentration of the media, which is excessive in some countries," and "of the recurrent issue of the enhancement of the protection of the secret of information sources."

Since 2007 the Whitsun Festival in Salzburg (Austria) has been dedicated to Napolitan baroque and the start of the classical era. This year the Festival will be taking place between 9th and 12th May presenting an amusing opera by Giovanni Paissiello "Il matrimonio inaspettato". The programme also includes "I pellegrini al sepolcro di Nostro Signore" by Johann Adolph Hasse in the Collegial Church and a programme of arias entitled "Arie de Senesino" with countertenor Andrea Scholl and the Accademia Bizantina, which will be held in the morning in the Mozart House.