As the European election draws closer the Robert Schuman Foundation has published an article by Jean-Dominique Giuliani, chair of the Foundation entitled "L'Europe politique: quels débats pour quels enjeux?" (Political Europe: which debates on which issues?) in the third issue of the "L'Etat de l'Union 2009, Rapport Schuman sur l'Europe" (The State of the Union 2009, Schuman Report on Europe). This work offers original analyses, unique maps and vital data to discover everything on Europe and is published by Lignes de Repères - it is available in French in bookshops and on the Foundation's internet site.

Just a few days before the European election the Robert Schuman Foundation has published a study managed by Corinne Deloy that reviews the electoral campaign in the 27 Member States.

In accordance with article 885-o V bis A of the general tax code it is now possible to claim back on the wealth solidarity tax to a total of 50,000 euros ie 75% of cash donations or donations of total ownership assets of companies that are admitted to negotiate on a regulated French market or abroad if delivered to foundations that are acknowledged to be of public use and which meet conditions set in article 200. This applies to the Robert Schuman Foundation. You may make a secure donation on-line.

On 28th June the Albanians are being called to renew the 140 members of their Parliament. 34 political parties are officially running in the election which will witness the confrontation of two men: outgoing Prime Minister Sali Berisha, head of the Democratic Party (PDSH) and the central player in the Albanian political arena since the fall of Communism in April 1991, and Edi Rama, Mayor of Tirana, leader of the Socialist Party (PSSH). The Albanian Parliament is monocameral. The 140 members are elected every four years by a regional proportional voting system. According to the 1998 Constitution a minimal threshold of 3% of the votes cast (for a party) and 5% (for a party coalition) is vital to be represented in Parliament. According to the most recent poll by Zogby just one month before the election the two main parties are running neck and neck.

On 25th May the poll on the European elections was published by TNS Opinion. According to the poll undertaken for the European Parliament at the beginning of May, citizens' enthusiasm is rising. Whilst 34% of those interviewed said they were sure they would vote in the last poll in January/February they now total 49%. The number of those interviewed who have decided not to vote has declined from 19% to 12%. At the same time interest in the election has increased from 44% at the beginning of the year to 53% in May. It is unemployment and economic growth that are still the main concerns for 57% and 45% of the electorate respectively.

As part of a partnership between the Robert Schuman Foundation and Le Figaro, the Chairman of the Foundation, Jean-Dominique Giuliani signed a column entitled "Le sort de Barroso entre les mains du Parlement européen" (Barroso's fate in the hands of the European Parliament). The Figaro's internet site has also put a column on-line entitled "En Pologne, un scrutin sous le signe de la confusion" (In Poland a confused election).

Since 9th May and until 7th June the French daily "La Croix" is publishing a double spread on Europe. Severl figures from Robert Schuman Foundation studies have been published in these articles.

All lists including the men and women running as candidates in the European elections in the 27 EU Member States are now available. By using the interactive map on our site devoted to the European elections (www.elections-europeennes.org) you can access all the lists in each country together with their programmes, campaign sites and slogans.

In a column published in the Journal du Dimanche and Die Welt am Sonntag on 31st May the French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel reveal their vision of the EU in 10 points.

According to initial estimates published on 25th May the GDP of the OECD zone decreased by 2.1% in the first quarter of 2009, the greatest fall recorded since 1960. This decline comes after a fall of 2.0% in the GDP in the previous quarter. In the USA the GDP contracted by 1.6% in the first quarter of 2009, as in the previous quarter. Japan's GDP declined by 4.0% after a decline of 3.8% in the previous quarter. The Euro Area GDP declined by 2.5% after a contraction of 1.6% in the previous quarter. Amongst the seven most important countries only France, where the GDP decreased by 1.2%, has experienced a slowing in its GDP contraction in the first quarter. Over one year the GDP of the OECD countries decreased by 4.2% in the first quarter of 2009, propulsed by a GDP decrease of 9.1% in Japan and 6.9% in Germany.

On 25th May the Hungarian Central Bank (MNB) maintained its main rate at 9.5% given the worsening in the economic crisis. This comes after the government's announcement last week week when it raised its recession forecast to 6.7% for this year, ruling out any return to growth before 2011. The Central Bank has applied a main rate of 9.5% since January last. It notes that the Hungarian recession "will probably be greater than the European average".

According to figures published on 28th May by the Lithuanian statistics office the contraction in the economy is greater than previous forecasts. Growth declined by 13.6% between the first quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009. Like other European countries Lithuania is torn between contradictory obejctives of reducing the budgetary deficit and the stimulation of its economy. Dainius Kreivys, the Lithuania Economy Minister believes however that recovery is not far away and that signs of stabilisation are appearing including in the export sector.

The ministers and civil servants responsible for trade issues and high government officials from across all Asia met on 28th May in Siem Reap (Cambodia) to look into the effects of the world crisis on trade and how Aid for Trade can support private sector growth, and how to include trade into national development strategies. Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Haruhiko Kuroda and World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Pascal Lamy urged ongoing efforts to support trading activities in the face of the prolonged global financial crisis and the risk of protectionism.

Poland was one of the rare European countries in the Union to experience an expansion of its economic activity in the first quarter recording a rise of 0.4% in its GDP in comparison with the previous quarter, said the Polish National Statistics Bureau on 29th May.

On 25th May the head of the Spanish government José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero spoke on the country's economic situation. In his opinion there are signs which show that the economy has now "reaching its lowest level". This new optimism is due, amongst other things, to the improvement in confidence indicators and the progressive return to normal of the financial markets. Given these signs he believes that it is urgent to "prepare actively for recovery" starting with the renovation of Spanish production. He hopes for example to encourage the development of promising sectors, especially those in new technologies, healthcare and even the "green economy".

On 27th May the European Commission has adopted a Communication on Financial Supervision in Europe. The Communication proposes a set of ambitious reforms to the current architecture of financial services committees, with the creation of a new European Systemic Risk Council (ESRC) and European System of Financial Supervisors (ESFS), composed of new European Supervisory Authorities. Legislation to embody these proposals will follow in the autumn. The Commission also invites all interested parties to submit their reactions on the Communication before 15th July.

The Danish government is now expecting a recession of 2.5% in 2009 in comparison with a decline of only 0.2% in the GDP as previously forecast, according to an initial report published on 26th May. The economy is due to rise out of the red in 2010 with growth expected at 1% of the GDP in comparison with 0.7% in a previous forecast made in December by the Finance Ministry. The government is also planning for a dramatic increase in the number of unemployed to a total of 105,000 (3.6% of the working population) at the end of the year in comparison with 70,000 in an earlier forecast and 145,000 (5.0%) in 2010 against 99,000 in forecasts made in December last.

The Bank of Italy is planning for a decline in the GDP of around "5% this year" said its governor Mario Draghi on May 29th, ie the worst scenario expected by the government which is presently forecasting a decline of 4.2%. "In Italy the crisis will lead to a GDP contraction of around 5% this year according to the most recent forecasts, after a fall of 1% in 2008. The collapse in foreign demand has caused a sharp contraction in industrial production and investments," indicated Mario Draghi during the yearly assembly of the Bank of Italy.

The recession in Sweden gathered pace in the first quarter with a record decline of its GDP - 6.5% - year on year on said the Central Statistics Bureau on 29th May; this is the highest decline since the indicator was created. Compared with the previous quarter the GDP in the first quarter did however decline less than forecast falling by 0.9%.

During the "Space" Council that took place in Brussels on 29th May the Ministers from the Member States responsible for space policy and the representatives of the European Space Agency (ESA) adopted new measures in two main areazs: the stimulation of European economies by way of technologies developed as part of the European space programme and the role of space research for the development of innovation and for the competitiveness of Europe. Moreover an initiative in the domain of global environmental surveillance, the so-called GMES, was launched.

On 28th May the European Commission presented the results of its work in preparation for the election of the European Parliament to show what it had done for European citizens and with regard to the stability and prosperity of the European Union which now comprises 27 Member States. Commenting this review the President of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso said, "This Commission, the first to work with an extended Union of 27 Member States, has had to rise to some of the greatest challenges that the Union has ever encountered, a period of economic and social turmoil."

According to a study published by the General Directorate for "Economic and Financial Affairs" on 28th May the Business Climate Inidicator improved in May for the second time running, but it is still at a very low level. In May 2009 the indicator in the euro area lay at -3.17 in comparison with -3.26 in April and -3.42 in March. In comparison with May 2008 it fell by 3.81. At the same time companies were more optimistic with regard to production than in the previous months. The indicator for the euro area rose from -32 in March and -25 in April to -21 in May.

The 27 Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers held a debate on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy and took note of the European Commission's declaration with regard to reducing discards at sea. They adopted the conclusions with regard to the simplification of the Common Agricultural Policy. These conclusions come in the wake of the Commission's communication entitled "A simplified CAP for Europe - a success for all". They debated the difficult situation of the dairy market and noted the request put in by the French delegation to reintroduce export refunds in the pork market. They also received the Polish delegation's criticism of the excessive profit margins in the agro-food sector to the detriment of agricultural producers.

On 28th May the 27 Competitiveness Ministers debated the establishment of an integrated approach to industrial policy in the 27 Member States. In the Communication "A coherent approach to provide the EU with a competitive, long term industrial policy" they recommend the economic crisis be used to facilitate the safe, viable, low carbon transfer over to an economy based on knowledge, focusing on renewable energies that use resources rationally." Following a report by the Commission they looked into progress in the implementation of the SME initiative. The Ministers spoke of the creation of a European patent and a single legal procedure for patents.

On 28th and 29th May the Council of Ministers of the countries of Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) and the EU discussed the effects of the economic and financial crisis on the ACP countries. The EU re-iterated the importance of export loans, investment guarantees and the transfer of technologies together with an initiative to help the most affected countries out of debt. Moreover the Union said it was ready to provide budgetary aid to certain ACP countries to guarantee the provision of social services locally. As for Economic Partnership agreements the European representatives acknowledged the progress achieved by the ACP countries.

On 29th and 30th May the German government announced an agreement for the cession of Opel to the Canadian car parts manufacturer Magna, with the aid of Russian car manufacturer GAZ and the Russian Bank Sberbank. GM and Magna reached agreement on 29th May whilst Berlin promised 1.5 million euros in emergency state loans to guarantee the survival of the German branch of the American group. This agreement caused division within the government majority including the disagreement of Economy Minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg who believed that it would have been better to leave Opel to follow General Motors into bankruptcy.

In a speech on Europe at the Humboldt University in Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel re-iterated the importance of Germany and France's cooperation together. In her opinion "a common Franco-German initiative is the best guarantee for Europe to reach agreement and to move forwards," stressing that such initiatives should not be seen as "diktats" and that other member countries should be consulted beforehand. But "if Paris and Berlin worked against one another their actions ran the risk of failing," added Ms Merkel. It is the first time that Ms Merkel, Chancellor since 2005, has spoken about the importance of Franco-German cooperation. Relations between the two leaders, who are very different, lacked warmth for a long time however. Addressing the issue of the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, Ms Merkel said "she was confident that the Irish would opt for Europe", since the Irish government had obtained the amendments to the treaty that should re-assure voters.

On 25th and 26th May France hosted the preparatory meeting for the Major Economies Forum on Energy and the Climate. This meeting co-chaired by France and the USA was the second in the round launched by President Obama in April. This forum was designed to facilitate dialogue between the major developed countries and the developing nations to provide the necessary political impetus to achieve an ambitious agreement in Copenhagen in December 2009. Discussions focused on action and objectives in the reduction of CO2 emissions, the spread of clean technologies, the funding of activities to protect the climate and adaptation to the effects of climate change. Seventeen States which represent 80% of the world energy consumption and 80% of gas emissions took part in the meeting.

On 27th May French President Nicolas Sarkozy received his Serbian counterpart Boris Tadic indicating that "France wanted to foster Serbia to help it integrate the EU" and that it was ready to sign a "type of strategic partnership" with Serbia that would include a bilateral (notably in the economic and cultural areas) and international chapters. The aim will be to return to privileged relations that the two countries had in the "golden age" before the First World War. President Sarkozy said that there was a "modus operandi to be found with regard to the Kosovo issue" and that "Serbia was destined to be a regional leader, the leader of the Balkans". Finally he again told President Tadic that his country had "to continue the search for the two fugitives," Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic, two war criminals who are sought after by the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague.

According to statistics published on 29th May by the Employment Centre and DARES the number of unemployed registered at the end of the month in category "A" (ie with no work) increased by 58,500 in April ie a rise of 2.4%. Men, with a rise of 3.1%, are more affected than women (+1.6%). The number of the unemployed over 50's increased by 2.6% in April (19% in one year). Young people are the most affected: unemployment of the under 25's registered in category "A" rose by 4.6% over one month and by 39.9% over one year.

Romanian President Traian Basescu made an official visit to Greece on 27th and 28th May. He met his Greek counterpart Karolos Papoulias and Prime Minister Constantinos Karamanlis. He took part in an economic forum organised by the Chamber of Trade and Industry of Athens and met members of the Romanian community in Greece. In his speech the Romanian head of State encouraged Greek businessmen to invest in Romania in projects that benefit from the strucutral funds and more particularly in sectors such as agriculture and tourism. The Greek President Karolos Papoulias said he was pleased with the cooperation that existed between Romania and Greece in the domain of tourism and spoke of potential cooperation in the energy area.

On 29th May the Council of Europe's Committee against racism and intolerance published three new reports on racism, xenophobia and anti-semitism and intolerance with regard to Belgium, Germany and Slovakia. According to the ECRI Chair Eva Smith Asmussen these reports note a positive development in each of these three Member States of the Council of Europe but simultaneously they reveal some points of concern. These new reports are part of a fourth monitoring cycle on laws, policies and practices in the Member States in the fight against racism.

According to Eurostat figures published on 28th May in 2007 one third of the EU's population lived in a household that could not afford unexpected expenditure. In the EU 7% of the population lived in a household which over the last twelve months could not settle its utility bills for its main residence on time and 3% lived in a household that could not pay its rent nor reimburse its mortgage instalments. More than half of the population in Latvia and Hungary (63%) each as well as in Poland (54%) lived in a household that was unable to afford unexpected expenditure. In comparison a situation like this was only experienced by one fifth or less of the population in Sweden (18%), in Denmark (19%) and in Portugal (20%).

According to Eurostat estimates published on 29th May the annual inflation rate in the euro area was 0% in May 2009 in comparison with 0.6% in April. Although this is the lowest inflation rate since the creation of the euro area ten years ago, experts are expecting negative inflation over the next few months. In several Member States that are suffering particularly from the recession, such as Spain and Ireland, inflation has already passed over into the red. European leaders hope that economic recovery, expected in 2010 will protect Europe from real deflation.

The German Society for Foreign Policy (DGAP) published a study on 25th May by Gereon Schuch and Marie-Lena May entitled "Außenpolitisches Debakel - innenpolitische Chance" (Foreign Policy Collapse - Domestic Opportunity). This study reviews the vote of defiance on the part of the Social Democrats which led to the collapse of the Czech government coalition at the end of March.

Human Rights infringements were frequent in 2008 according to a report published by Amnesty International on 28th May. "The world economic crisis created an explosive situation for Human Rights across the world," declared Irène Kahn, the NGO's Secretary General. The report notes a new rise in discrimination against certain minorities such as the Rom. The economic crisis has generated more restrictive policies against migrants and asylum seekers. The EU is accused of having an ambivalent attitude in the face of the human rights crisis: "the EU often lacks the necessary leadership to ensure the respect of human rights in the region". In conclusion Amnesty calls on governments to come to a new world agreement on the issue.

On 25th May the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) published a study entitled "The European Parliament, more power, less legitimate?". The authors confirm that the enlargement of the EU has not impeded the efficacy nor the cohesion of the parliament but they point to another challenge; the loss of legitimacy. In the face of the increasing complexity of issues parliament has had to rationalise its working procedures by reducing the time taken up by plenary debate that has been replaced by work in the parliamentary committees. In the authors' opinion this threatens parliament's role as a discussion forum thereby making interaction with citizens even more difficult.

Between 2003 and 2009 Bernard Poignant, MEP from 1999 to 2009 has kept a monthly diary called "Europinion" that addresses more than 1,500 subscribers. The 63 letters that place topical subjects in the context of the more recent and older history of our continent tries to convey the progress and reticence that inevitably goes hand in hand with the birth of any major project.

During this time of financial and economic crisis, "Radioscopies 2009", published by the IFRI under the management of Claire Demesmay and Hans Stark opens the economic and social debate with regard to social justice, the impact of the reform of the labour market and the German export model. This book also looks into the trends of the federal government's foreign policy notably in the middle East, and also with regard to NATO. To conclude this work reviews three major issues of extremely different nature that were the heart of public debate in 2008: cultural diversity and integration, the place of the Red Army Faction in the country's collective consciousness as well as the fight against global warming.

Former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt presented his new book published by André Versaile entitled "Sortir de la crise: comment l'Europe peut sauver le monde" (Emerging from the crisis: how Europe can save the world). In order to escape this dead-end the Open VLD candidate in the European elections advises on a strong Europe. This book pleads in favour of an exceptional, radical change in direction - that is far from the beaten path. The author believes that Europe must take the lead. But is Europe capable of this? What strategy should it employ? What are its advantages and its handicaps?

Under the 'television without frontiers' Directive of 1989, European channels are required to devote the majority of their programming time to European works and at least 10% of that time or of their programming budgets to independent European productions. According to an independent study carried out on behalf of the European Commission and published on 28th May European works are extremely popular. In 2007 European programmes and films represented 74% of viewing time. The majority of video‑on‑demand services provided by television channels offer almost exclusively European content: more than 90% of the television channels interviewed stated that European content represented over 75% of their on‑demand listings.