As we are to celebrate five years of enlargement on 1st May the Robert Schuman Foundation has published a paper by Roland Freudenstein entitled "The Enlargement five years on: what results are there?" in the third of issue of "The State of the Union 2009, Schuman Report on Europe." This work that offers readers original analyses, unique maps and vital data to understand everything about Europe is being published by Lignes de Repères and is available in French in bookshops and on the Foundation's internet site.

To find out everything about the European elections in June the Robert Schuman Foundation has launched a new website in French and English. This site leads to information on the history of the European Parliament, how it is organised and its powers, an understanding of how the European elections work and live monitoring of the campaign in the 27 Member States.

Nearly 2/3 of Europeans support a coordinated action by EU countries in the face of the economic crisis, but only 39% think that this had been adequate to date. According to a Eurobarometer survey published on 20th April, 81% believe that the financial crisis is having major effects on the European economy, whilst 58% say it is already affecting their personal life. More than 2/3 of European citizens believe that the measures being discussed such as the enhancement of coordination between economic and financial policies and the improvement in financial supervision are effective. Generally the Union is seen as being better placed to manage the crisis than the national governments; out of a five point choice 17% of those interviewed prefer the European Union to manage the crisis against 14% who think that this should be undertaken by the national government.

On 22nd April Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek visited Moldova where violent demonstrations took place recently. Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin said after the meeting that he appreciated the interest taken by the EU and said that this would help to settle the situation that had worsened since the elections which are being challenged by the opposition both in terms of how they occurred and the results they produced.

A text message sent from abroad in the EU will cost no more than €0.11 as of 1st July, instead of €0.28 today. On 22nd April the European Parliament, in its plenary session in Strasbourg, voted by a large majority in favour of new EU rules on SMS and data roaming, proposed by the European Commission in September 2008. The Parliament also voted for further cuts in the price of mobile phone calls while roaming in another EU country. The present cap for a mobile phone call made abroad will progressively drop from €0.46 to €0.35 per minute by July 2011, and from €0.22 today to €0.11 for mobile calls received while roaming abroad. Mobile operators will also be required to bill roaming calls by the second from the 31st second at the latest, which will end the current practice under which consumers are overcharged by up to 24%.

50% of 10 year-old, 87% of 13 year-old and 95% of 16 year-old children in the EU have a mobile phone, but half of European parents worry mobile phone use might expose their children to sexually and violently explicit images (51%) or bullying by other children (49%), according to a survey. On 20th April the European Commission called on mobile operators to do more to keep children safe while using mobile phones by putting in place all the measures in the voluntary code of conduct, signed by 26 mobile operators in 2007. A report just published by the GSM Association, the trade body of the mobile phone industry, showed that national self-regulatory codes based on the framework agreement brokered by the European Commission now exist in 22 Member States, 90% of them in line with the 2007 agreement, and 80% of operators have put in place measures to control child access to adult content.

On 23rd and 24th April in Luxembourg the 27 Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers adopted an action plan for the conservation, and management of sharks. The European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, Joe Borg presented a Green Paper on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy and a communication on the sustainable development of community aquaculture. The Ministers discussed the simplification of the Common Agricultural Policy "A Simplified CAP for Europe, a success for all". The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Mariann Fischer Boel presented the Commission's communication on the re-examination of the regime governing less favoured areas.

The European Court of Justice delivered a decision on 23rd April saying that Belgium could not ban combined offers as a general rule. Two joint cases were considered one with regard to Total petrol stations in Belgium which offer a recovery service for clients and the other involves the women's magazine Flair that offers reduction coupons for underwear. Competitors of the two companies took the affairs before the Belgian courts which prohibited the dual offers. The Belgian trade tribunal then asked the ECJ which concluded that European legislation was contrary to national regulations saying that combined offers did not constitute unfair commercial practice.

Visiting the Hannover Fair, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on 20th April how important it was to invest in innovative technologies to emerge from the economic crisis. These investments, particularly those involving energy could enhance prosperity and employment in tomorrow's Germany she stressed, qualifying the stability in the number of exhibitors at the Fair as "encouraging" (around 6000)- this was also comforted by companies' desire to use the crisis as an opportunity. On 19th April German President Horst Köhler made a similar appeal asking for "the ecological transformation of the world economy". He believes that ecological modernisation could be a means to come out of the crisis on a world scale. Raw materials and energy had to be saved and at the same time renewable energy sources had to be developed.

The production index dropped by 3.6% between January and February 2009 and by 14.2% according to annual variations (Feb 2008-Feb 2009). The industrial sector declined by 3.8% and construction by 2.7% according to monthly variations.

The head of Belgian diplomacy Karel de Gucht criticised the running of the EU which he says has failed in the financial crisis - he denounced "the directive" dream of the major countries during a speech delivered at the Diplomatic Days in Brussels on 20th April. "The crisis has revealed Europe's weaknesses. We might have expected it to provide an energetic response and to show leadership. But this has not happened. On the contrary Europe is making a mess of things," declared the Belgian Minister whose country will be ensuring the presidency of the Council of the European Union as from January 2010 for a six month period. He also criticised the temptation of the major States to try and take decisions without consulting the "small countries".

Around thirty countries, producers and consumers of gas committed on 25th April in Sofia to diversifying the sources and routes taken by gas across Europe to avoid crises like the one in January; however they made no progress on the major gaspipeline projects, Nabucco and South Stream. The interruption in deliveries of Russian natural gas via Ukraine severely affected the countries of Eastern Europe such as Bulgaria which is 98% dependent on the Russian giant Gazprom. Representatives of the 28 countries of Europe, Central Asia and the Near East therefore insisted, in their final declaration, on "greater diversity, more competition and transparency with regard to all aspects of the supply chain" to "enhance economic development and energy security." "There must be an effective link and sustainable cooperation between producers, transit countries and consumer countries" to "respond to emergency situations and make markets more effective," they stressed.

According to figures published by the Spanish Statistics Institute 'INE', on 24th April the number of unemployed in Spain rose above the four million mark in the first quarter of 2009. The unemployment rate also reached a record level with 17.36% in the first quarter which is the highest level recorded in Spain since 1998 and is a record level within the euro area countries. In the first quarter "the total number of unemployed lay at 4,01 million with a rise of 1,836 million over the last 12 months," said the INE. Within three months between the last quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 the number of unemployed rose by 802,800. The INE stresses that unemployment has rocketed amongst men (+507,000 in three months) whilst women have been spared slightly (+295,000) even though the male unemployment rate (16.86%) is still below that of women (18.01%).

European Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg received French Fisheries Minister, Michel Barnier on 23rd April together with a delegation of fishing representatives from the North of France, one week after the blockade of French ports in the region by sailors demanding a rise in the quotas of sole and cod. He "recalled that the quotas established for 2009 during the Council in December could not be modified mid-year." The Commission stressed that "conservation efforts made over the past years have started to bring about results", notably with regard to cod but it is "imperative not to exhaust stocks".

During an official visit on 22nd and 23rd April to Cyprus Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis gave his reassurance of Greek's support in the joint effort that aims to put an end to the occupation of Cyprus by finding an equitable, sustainable and operational solution. Discussions between Cypriot President Demetris Christofias and the Greek Prime Minister ended on 22nd April with joint conclusions with regard to the Cypriot question, Turkey's progress towards joining the EU, international issues and bilateral relations. Greek and Cyprus said they supported Turkey's entry into the EU but that they would set certain conditions. This notably entails settling the Cypriot problem and watching that Turkey fulfils all of its obligations towards the EU.

Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai appointed a former leader of the oil company Shell, Istvan Varga, as Economy Minister on 22nd April.

To reduce the costs incurred by the political system the Irish government decided to reduce the number of Secretaries of State from 20 to 15. On 22nd April the 20 Secretaries of State therefore presented their resignation to Prime Minister Brian Cowen who then appointed 15 "new" ones. In addition to this measure the remuneration of Ministers and Secretaries of State, MPs and the chairman of Parliament was reduced, travel expenses were reduced by 25%, other expenditure was reduced by 10% and the spending regime is now more transparent.

The G8 Environment Ministers and those from emerging countries adopted a charter on biodiversity on 24th April in Syracuse - this is deemend "vital for the regulation of the climate". In this 25 point document they acknowledge that "biodiversity and ecosystems play a key role in the maintenance of human well-being and that these are vital to enable the achievement of Millenium development goals" established by the UN. The Charter explicitly links the maintenance of biodiversity to the fight against global warming: "biodiversity is vital to the regulation of the climate". It declares that far from not having any economic interest biodiversity and the services provided by ecosystems (water, air...) are vital and that it has to be taken into account what it would mean to lose them when estimating their usefulness and how they are used notably in poor countries.

Dutch Transport Minister Camiel Eurlings and Environment Minister Jacqueline Cramer declared on 20th April that Dutch aviation had to become more competitive and fall more in line with the principles of sustainable development. Stressing that the Netherlands played a major role in European aviation the two ministers called for innovation and a reduction in costs. To maintain their position as leader in this area the Netherlands has put forward a reform plan for the industry which represents 121,000 jobs.

On 22nd April the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, David Miliband received his Romanian counterpart, Cristian Diaconescu, to discuss joint goals in terms of foreign policy. According to Mr Miliband, "the UK and Romania have close relations and this meeting was a good opportunity to discuss issues for which we have joint approaches such as our common commitment to the peace process in Afghanistan." Mr Diaconescu said he wanted to enhance cooperation in the areas of energy, security issues, internal affairs and justice. Discussions also focused on Iran, Kosovo, the enlargement of the EU and the present situation in Moldova.

Georgian Foreign Minister, Grigol Vashadze made an official visit to Sweden on 20th April. He met his Swedish counterpart Carl Bidt for the first time together with Development and International Cooperation Minister, Gunilla Carlsson and Trade Minister Ewa Björling. On the agenda were EU/Georgia relations, a major issue as the Swedish presidency of the European Union draws closer (on 1st July). This visit provided an opportunity to recall the good relations enjoyed by the two countries.

Albania is to deliver its candidature for the EU on 28th April in Prague said Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha during a government meeting that was broadcast live on Albanian TV. "The decision to deliver the candidature was taken after talks with the European authorities who supported Albania in its democratic work," he declared stressing that this initiative was the completion of "work and reform started years ago".

On 24th April Armenia marked the 94th annivesary of the massacres committed under the Ottoman Empire but stressed that the issue of Turkey acknowledging this genocide would not impede the rapprochement ongoing between the two countries. "There is no prescription for crimes against humanity, neither in people's memories nor in History (...) It is a question of re-instating historical justice," declared Armenian President Serge Sarkissian.

For the first time the coalition formed by the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Movement won the absolute majority of the seats in the parliament in the early general elections according to final results published on 26th April. The Social Democratic Party led by Johanna Sigurdardottir, Prime Minister, won 29.8% of the vote ie 20 seats in the Althing and the Left-Green Movement (VG) won 21.7% of the vote ie 14 seats ie a total of 34 of the 63 seats available in Parliament. The Independence Party (SJ) only won 23.7% of the vote and 16 seats (-9). The Progress Party won 14.80% and 9 seats (+2). The Citizens' Movement made its entry into government with four seats. Turnout rose to 85.1%.

On 21st April Russian President Dmitri Medvedev published the principles of a conceptual approach to international cooperation with regard to energy based on a new legal foundation. The document was recently sent to the G8 and G20 leaders as well as to Russia's neighbour countries. Amongst the fundamental principles of energy security feature the security of offer and demand, likewise the unconditional sovereignty of the State over national resources. The Russian proposal covers a wide range of energy sources including fossil and nuclear fuels.

The heads of state of the two Cypriot communities met on 21st April under the guidance of the UN for a new session of negotiations on the reunification of the island, which have been complicated by the victory of the nationalists in the general elections in the northern part which is occupied by Turkey. Cypriot President Demetris Christofias and the leader of the northern part, Mehmet Ali Talat, the main loser in the elections continued negotiations but differences in opinion between the Turkish Cypriot President and his new majority are not going to facilitate dialogue. Indeed the nationalists who have returned to Parliament, are against the island's reunification. They campaigned for a settlement based on two States and two populations. A solution rejected by the Greek Cypriots because it would make partition final. Mehmet Ali Talat established the goal of reaching a settlement before April 2010, the date of the next presidential election in the North of Cyprus. The next meeting between the Greek Cypriots and the Turks is planned for 5th May.

According to Eurostat figures published on 22nd April in 2008, the government deficit and government debt of both the euro area and the EU increased compared with 2007. In the euro area the government deficit to GDP ratio increased from 0.6% in 2007 to 1.9% in 2008, and in the EU it increased from 0.8% to 2.3%. In the euro area the government debt to GDP ratio increased from 66.0% at the end of 2007 to 69.3% at the end of 2008, and in the EU from 58.7% to 61.5%.

According to a report published on 22nd April by the European Fundamental Rights Agency based in Vienna racial discrimination and violence is more widespread in the EU than is revealed by statistics. "This report shows the hidden side of racist crime and discrimination in the Union. Official statistics only represent the visible part of the iceberg," commented Morten Kjaerum, the Agency's Director. Out of all of the immigrants and minorities representatives interviewed 55% said they had suffered discrimination because of their ethnic origins and 37% say they have experienced discrimination recently. In France 88% of Africans say they have been victims of discrimination.

The Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) published "Synergies vs Spheres of Influence in the Pan-European Space) on 22nd April. The authors study how the EU can harmonise its policy with regard to Russia, eastern European countries and central Asia. They think that a uniform policy towards these three political areas may generate synergy and lead Russia to cooperate with the EU. Finally the work looks into sectors that may favour this type of cooperation, and fostered by the economic and financial crisis.

Six months after choosing Italian architect Francesco Stella the project to rebuild the Hohenzollern Castle in the centre of Berlin has moved on to a new phase. On 22nd April the German government approved the creation of a foundation to implement the project. Both owner and manager of the future building the new Berliner Schloss Humboldtforum Foundation is also responsible for finding some 80 million euros in private donations needed to complete funding. The total cost is due to reach 552 million euros. It is not only planned to rebuild the Hohenzollern Castle with its baroque façades (destroyed by bombing and then demolished in 1950) but a cultural institution will also be founded within its walls - it will be called the Humboldt Forum and will replace the former Palace of the Republic, a relic of the GDR but which was demolished a few months ago.