Jean-Dominique Giuliani, Chairman of the Robert Schuman Foundation has published "A European in a hurry" with Editions du Moment in which he analyses Nicolas Sarkozy's European policy since his election on 6th May 2007. This book is now available for purchase in bookshops.

On 22nd May Dimitrij Rupel, the Slovenian Foreign Minister chaired the EU-Ukraine troika that focussed on the main regional and international issues, the country's domestic situation and the state of relations between the EU and the Ukraine. Co-operation with Russia and the situation in the Western Balkans were spoken of at length. He notably recalled the European prospects of this region. He also said he was pleased with the progress achieved with regard to negotiations in view of the new enhanced agreement with the Ukraine.

On 20th May on the occasion of the first European Maritime Day, the European Parliament adopted an own-initiative report by Willi Piecyk (ESP, DE) - 587 votes in favour, 20 against and 58 abstentions. The report says that the Action Plan includes too few practical measures and urges the Commission to use the instruments at its disposal under the EU Treaty. MEPs say that climate change challenges are addressed in a non-binding way, and that it should be the task of European Maritime Policy to prepare, in particular, for rising sea levels, with the increased risk of flooding of ports and of coastal regions.

On 20th May the European Commission adopted its proposals for upgrading relations with its Mediterranean partners through the Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean. Since its launch in 1995, the Barcelona Process has been the central instrument for Euro-Mediterranean relations, providing a framework for continued dialogue, engagement and development. The aim of the Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean which aim at giving renewed vitality and visibility to the EU's relations with Partners in the Mediterranean region. These structures include the setting up of a Secretariat and the creation of a permanent committee of Euro-Mediterranean representatives. The proposals contained in the Communication will be presented at the inaugural Summit of Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean in Paris on 13th July, 2008.

On 19th May the 27 Agriculture Ministers debated the regulation with regard to the marketing of pesticides. The compromise proposal aims in the main to protect human and animal health as well as the environment whilst guaranteeing the competitiveness of the agro-food sector. The regulation aims to reduce redtape with regard to pesticides approval procedures, however some issues remain unresolved. The rise in prices of agricultural products and foodstuffs were also the focus of debate with the aim of finding solutions to decrease the negative effects of inflation. Finally ministers spoke of the contribution to research in agricultural development and for the need to adapt the sector to climate change.

The results of the 25th Franco-German journalism prize was announced on 15th and 16th May in Paris. The prize to a total value of 28,000 euro were attributed to the categories of TV, radio, written press and the internet. The Saarland Radio-TV company has granted the Franco-German journalism prize on behalf of the leading German channel ARD since 1983 rewarding French and German reports that contribute towards a better understanding of their neighbours. The Franco-German prize for Journalism is one of the most renowned prize in Europe.

Austrian President Heinz Fischer went on an official visit to Turkey between 20th and 22nd May. In Ankara he notably met with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gül and the President of Parliament Köksal Toptan. He visited the mausoleum of the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal. In Istanbul he spoke with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and with the Ecumenical Patriarch before going on to an Economic Forum. During these talks the main themes mentioned were membership negotiations to the EU by Turkey, the gas pipeline Nabucco and the Ilisu dam in the north-east of the country, economic co-operation between Turkey and Austria, notably in the area of energy, the situation in the Middle East where Turkey plays an important role as mediator and finally dialogue between civilisations.

On 23rd May the Spanish government approved the dispatch of a maximum of 100 soldiers as part of the European Forces in Chad (EUFOR) and a patrol boat transporting 90 soldiers as part of the UN Interim Force (UNIFIL) in the Lebanon. This dispatches were approved by the Council of Ministers and still have to receive the go-ahead from the Congress of Deputies. The soldiers sent to Chad will be the first Spaniards to integrate EUFOR that started a year's mandate mid-March on the part of the UN.

German Interior Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble was on an official visit in Paris on 21st May. He met with President Nicolas Sarkozy as well as the French Interior Minister, Michèle Alliot-Marie and Brice Hortefeux, Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Co-Development Minister. The European Immigration Pact was the focus of discussion - immigration is one of the priorities of the French Presidency of the European Union that will start on 1st July for a period of six months.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany signed a Strategic Partnership on 22nd May in Paris; this plans for co-operation in the area of the civilian nuclear industry and Franco-Hungarian collaboration in the areas of science, agriculture, politics and the military. In terms of civilian nuclear issues the Hungarian Prime Minister said that his country was looking for partners to build power stations. In Ferenc Gyurcsany's opinion the signature of the Strategic Partnership reveals the emergence of a "new axis" in Europe.

On 21st May Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen spoke for the first time on Europe and notably on the Lisbon Treaty during a speech delivered to the National Forum on Europe in Dublin. He believes that Ireland's entry into the European area in 1973 had ensured its independence and formidable economic growth - which has gained it the nickname of the "Celtic Tiger". "This means that we need a European Union with structures, policies and procedures that can be effective on the living standards of our populations today. (...) This is why I believe that "YES" on 12th June is in our vital national interest."

On 21st May after 18 months of stalemate Lithuania lifted its veto with regard to negotiations on the strategic, trade and political partnership between the EU and Russia, which will be launched on 26th and 27th June. Lithuania said it was pleased with the compromise that had been found. "All of Lithuania's concerns have been taken into account," said the spokesperson from the Lithuanian Foreign Office, Violeta Gaizauskaite, who chaired the "long and difficult" negotiations with Russia. Lithuania demanded that the negotiation mandate contained guarantees with regard to its energy supplies, legal co-operation with Russia and the settlement of "frozen conflicts" with Georgia and Moldava.

On 22nd May Luxembourg Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker presented the Chamber of Deputies with a government declaration on the country's economic, social and financial situation in 2008. He recalls the importance of agriculture and announced the fight against "biological piracy" and the disappearance of vegetal diversity because of the promotion of biofuels. He maintained that he wanted to keep promises made in the Kyoto Protocol. With regard to the European currency the Chairman of Eurogroup believes that the "euro is the most important measure in the arsenal of European globalisation. It is the greatest European political achievement in the last 25 years."

On 22nd May Romanian Prime Minister, Calin Popescu Tariceanu met with the European Commissioner for Multilingualism, Leonard Orban. They spoke of the establishment of the future Lisbon strategy 2008-2010. The Prime Minister and the European Commissioner also discussed recent measures taken by the Italian government against illegal immigration that may target the Rom community of Italy. The head of the Romanian government said that these measures will be analysed carefully by the Romanian authorities whilst the Commission representative insisted on recalling that the "38/2004 directive had been adopted in view of the consolidation of the free movement of people" and that if "the Italian measures did not respect community legislation the Commission will react."

British Defence Minister announced on 20th May that he had given manufacturers the go ahead to launch the construction of two new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy. According to the press release the ministry is prepared to sign contracts with the manufacturers involved, mainly the British VT Group and BAE Systems and permission has been given to form a joint venture that will manage the ships' construction. Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales will be the most powerful aircraft carriers ever built in the UK; they are to enter service in 2014 and 2016.

In a speech delivered on 21st May to the Johns Hopkins University of Washington DC, Miroslav Lajčák, the UN High Representative and the EU's Special Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina announced that if the country wanted to join the EU Bosnia-Herzegovina had to make its constitutional framework compatible with the Union's administrative and political requirements. The fact that more than 70 percent of Bosnia's population is in favour of Bosnia's EU membership, will force local politicians – despite their differences and squabbling – to "find common agreement on a bare minimum of constitutional arrangements that are consistent with the demands of European Union membership". Miroslav Lajčák criticised local political leaders saying that 13 years after the end of the war they still viewed issues from a nationalist point of view which delayed post-war reconstruction and the establishment of closer relations with the European Union. He believes that accession to the Union must now be a priority on the political agenda and comprise the main element of cohesion.

The ruling party led by Georgian President Mikhail Saakachvili easily won the general elections in Georgia on 21st May, according to initial results published on 22nd May but which were challenged by the opposition. According to figures from 3,600 polling stations, the United National Movement led by the President won 59.64% of the vote. The opposition coalition, the National Council for the United Opposition, came second with 17.7%. The Christian Democratic Party won 8.63% and the Labour Party, 7.43%. Of the 150 seats in Parliament 75 are attributed proportionally on a national level and 75 are won via a single name list vote. The OSCE observed a certain number of problems during the elections.

Serb President Boris Tadic left the South-East Europe Cooperation Pact summit which took place on 21st May in Bulgaria protesting against the fact that the floor was given to Kosovo representative Skender Hyseni. The Serb delegation believed that the political director of the UN mission in Kosovo, Jolio Nagele had infringed the UN rules which stipulate that UNMIK representatives did not have the right to allow "representatives of the provisional institutions of Pristina" to speak. The Serb delegation has often left meetings in sign of protest against the presence of Kosovo representatives. The Kosovar institutions will take over government and administrative responsibilities in Kosovo from the UN on 15th June when the new Kosovar constitution comes into force.

According to figures published by Eurostat on 19th May, seasonally adjusted production in the construction sector fell by 2.2% in the euro area and by 2.5% in the European Union in March 2008, compared with the previous month. In February, production increased by 1.6% in the euro area and by 2.5% in the European Union. Compared with March 2007, output in March 2008 decreased by 1.4% in the euro area and by 0.1% in the European Union. In March 2008, among the Member States for which data are available, construction output rose in Sweden (+5.1%) and Poland (+1.4%) and remained stable in France, while decreases were recorded in nine Member States. The most significant falls were observed in Germany (-12.3%), Slovenia (-12.2%) and the United Kingdom (-9.0%).

The Centre for European Policies looks into migratory issues with the publication of a study by Elizabeth Collett and Karolina Sitek. The authors present one of the EU's present debates ie migrant integration policies. They notably condemn the fact that employers of migrant workers are too often ignored and excluded from political debates. But they may play a decisive role in fostering integration into society. The authors identify five tools that may help towards an integration strategy.

La Documentation Française has published an issue on what is at stake in the French Presidency of the Union in "Collection Regards sur l'Actualité". An article looks into four key priorities in this presidency: energy, environment, immigration, security and defence. An analysis of the State's budget 2008 as well as investment choices in hospitals also feature in the index.

A retrospective in Madrid is presenting 123 drawings and sculptures of naked women by French artist August Rodin until 6th July. The 33 sculptures and 90 drawings shown at the Mapfre Foundation all come from the Rodin Museum in Paris which is the co-organiser of this major exhibition that has been entitled "Rodin. The naked body."