Nearly all of the Icelanders who turned out to vote on 6th March in the referendum on the law on the Icesave agreement rejected the text: 93% voted "no" and only 2% voted in favour. Turn out rose to 54.5% for this popular consultation, the first to be organised in the country since 1944 (year of the referendum on the proclamation of Iceland's independence).

EurActiv.fr, notably together with the Robert Schuman Foundation, is organising a debate with Michel Barnier, European Commissioner for the Internal Market and Financial Services, on 17th March at Sciences Po. It is obligatory to enrol.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) delivered an unprecedented volume of effective funding for the recovery of Europe and Greece. The EIB proved to be a strong pillar of financial health and stability last year in an exceptionally difficult economic environment. Indeed it increased its total volume of loans in 2009 by 37% in comparison with 2008. This represents a new stage in the establishment of financial support for the European economy.

Data published by the public employment services indicate a rise in the number of unemployed (+82,132) in Spain in February. The number of registered unemployed totals 4,130,625 people. However the increase in unemployment in February 2010 is less than in February 2009 (+154,058).

According to figures published by INSEE on 5th March the unemployment level according to the International Labour Office (ILO), lay at 10% of the working population in France on average in the fourth quarter of 2009 (including the overseas departments). In mainland France the unemployment rate lay at 9.6% ie over 2.7 million people. It increased by 0.5 points in comparison with the third quarter of 2009, and thereby reached its 1999 level.

Sweden is due to recover quicker than planned from the economic crisis due to unemployment which will not increase as much as feared, said the Central Debt Office on 3rd March as it reviewed its deficit forecasts for 2010 and 2011 downwards. "Central government finances are due to recover slightly quicker, whilst the rise in unemployment will not be as bad as expected. The new forecasts on the part of the Debt Office indicate deficits in 2010 and 2011 inferior to those previously forecast," says a press release by the Office. Hence the 2010 deficit is now expected to reach 53 billion krona (5.4 billion euros) in comparison with 64 billion announced until now and in 2011 it is due to reach 37 billion in comparison with the 42 previously announced said the Office. It is now forecasting growth of the GDP to a total of 2.5% in 2010 and "just below 3%" in 2011. In February the Central Bank (Riksbank) planned a rise of 2.5% in the GDP for 2010 and 3.4% in 2011.

On 4th March the European Central Bank (ECB) left its main rate at its lowest level ever (1%) - a status quo that is due to continue to the backdrop of slow economic recovery and the Greek crisis. However economic recovery in the euro area is "on its way" even though it is not "evenly spread" said ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet. Growth stalled in the fourth quarter in the euro area and several disappointing indicators spread doubt with regard to the strength of recovery in the 16 euro area countries. In 2010 the ECB is maintaining its growth forecast at 0.8%. In 2011 it forecasts a rise to reach 1.5% (in comparison with 1.2% before). With regard to inflation it is now forecasting price rises of 1.2% in 2010 (in comparison with 1.3% until now) and 1.5% in 2011 (in comparison with a previous 1.4%). Prices are due to remain within the limits tolerated by the ECB ie inflation slightly lower than 2% mid-term.

Just as the Bundestag is looking into the German budget for 2010 German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble confirmed in an interview published on 3rd March in the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" that the expansive budgetary policy adopted to counter the crisis was not designed to continue long term. In the daily Welt am Sonntag on 7th March Mr Schäuble advised in the wake of the Greek crisis on the creation of a European Monetary Fund based on the IMF model.

According to Istat the Italian GDP decreased by 3% in 2009 in comparison with 2008 with a contraction in all economic sectors although on various levels: 2.6% in services, 3.1% in agriculture and fisheries, 6.7% in construction and 15.1% in industry. Exports decreased by 19.1%, imports by 14.5%. Gross salaries decreased by 0.6% whilst fiscal pressure increased by 0.3% reaching a level of 43.2%. In addition to this according to Istat the unemployment rate reached 8.6% (9.8% for women and 26.8% for young people) in January 2010, stable in comparison with the previous month and rising by 1.3% in comparison with January 2009.

Iceland's GDP declined by 6.5% in 2009 ie a record annual decline for the country's economy announced the National Statistics Office. In 2008 the GDP increased by 1% and by 6% in 2007. "The decline in the GDP in 2009 is due to a 20.1% decline in national spending. Household consumption dropped by 14.6%, State spending by 3% and the creation of fixed capital by 49.9%," stressed the Office.

On 3rd March the Greek government presented a draft law entitled "emergency measures to face the financial crisis" which includes 20 articles; it plans for salary cuts for civil servants, the freezing of pensions as well as a VAT rise of two points to 21%. These measures should lead to savings of 4.8 billion euros to reduce the public deficit by 4 points to 8.7% of the GDP this year. On 5th March the Greek Parliament approved the austerity measures set out by the government to bring the country out of the serious crisis it is experiencing. PASOK MPs, who hold the majority in the monocameral parliament (160 out of 300), approved the austerity plan whilst the Communist Party (KKE) left the assembly denouncing the austerity measures.

Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme is proposing the creation of a Finance Ministry or a European Debt Agency (EDA) for the euro area to manage problems such as those raised by the Greek crisis. The new EDA would be responsible for the issue and management of Eurozone debt under the authority of the Eurogroup Finance Ministers and the European Central Bank. It would take over debt titles, governments would continue to reimburse different interest rates reflecting its credit rating. As old debt matures and is replaced by new titles, the Eurozone government debt would become a unified debt, implying that each member state implicitly guarantees the debt of all others.

Eurogroup Chair and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker spoke in support of the creation of a European ratings agency that would be placed under the guidance of the European Central Bank. "We listen too much to the ratings agencies," he said on the German radio station Deutschlandfunk and in fact Standard & Poor's, Moody's & Fitch, "contributed to the collapse of the financial markets," at the end of 2008. "It would be wise for us to set up our own agency here in Europe," that would be led by the ECB.

On 6th March the Macedonian government revealed a new series of measures to counter the effects of the world economic crisis. This "anti-crisis plan" includes 24 measures that aim to enhance and support loans, property, agriculture, construction and social policy explained the Prime Minister, Nikola Gruevski to the press.

After a meeting on 5th March with the new Croatian Head of State Ivo Josipovic, the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy asked Croatia to cooperate fully with the ICTY if it wants to complete its membership negotiations this year. On the same day in Belgrade Mr Van Rompuy congratulated Serb Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic on his country's candidature to join the EU recalling the need to maintain cooperation work with the ICTY. President Van Rompuy also insisted on the need for Serbia to normalise its relations with Kosovo and to work with this State as part of the regional cooperation that has been established in the Western Balkans.

Since March 1st European mobile telephone operators must offer their clients a limit to their mobile internet bill abroad. According to a regulation adopted in June 2009 the consumer must be warned that the limit to his consumption is about to be reached and his connection must automatically be cut once this limit is reached. According to Neelie Kroes, the Commissioner responsible for digital strategy this will guarantee consumers greater transparency and will avoid unpleasant surprises. Thanks to European regulations the price of the megaoctet that operators invoice has been set at 1 euro and this figure is due to be reduced even more. The Commission launched a consultation on 2nd March which will run until 7th May to adapt standards to the universal service in telecommunications to the digital era, notably with regard to wide band, funding and the balance between European coordination and national flexibility.

On 3rd March the European Commission launched the Europe 2020 strategy for growth and employment. The Commission wants to promote smart growth (fostering knowledge, innovation, education and digital society), sustainable growth (making our production more resource efficient while boosting our competitiveness) and inclusive growth (raising participation in the labour market, the acquisition of skills and the fight against poverty). Europe must learn the lessons from the global economic and financial crisis. Our economies are intrinsically linked. No Member State can address global challenges effectively by acting in isolation. Progress towards these objectives will be measured against five representative headline EU-level targets: 75 % of the population aged 20-64 should be employed; 3% of the EU's GDP should be invested in R&D; the "20/20/20" climate/energy targets should be met; the share of early school leavers should be under 10% and at least 40% of the younger generation should have a degree or diploma; 20 million less people should be at risk of poverty.

The European Commission has promised to address the 18% gap in pay between men and women in the EU. The gap lies at 4.9% in Italy, 17.1% in Spain, 19.2% in France, 21.4% in the UK and 23.2% in Germany. The bad boy in this respect is Estonia with a difference of 30.3% whilst Belgium, Slovenia, Romania, Poland, Portugal and Malta have a wage gap below 10%. To reduce inequality the Commission is planning to increase awareness amongst employers and support the creation of tools to assess salary gaps better. New legal measures cannot be excluded. On this subject the Robert Schuman Foundation has published a European Issue by Pascale Joannin, Director General of the Foundation, entitled "Women's Europe". This text is an excerpt from "The State of the Union 2010, the Schuman Report on Europe", published by Lignes de Repères (4th edition) on sale in bookshops and on the Foundation's site.

On 1st March the EU negotiated a free-trade agreement with Peru and Colombia which will lead to the liberalisation of trade. The agreement notably plans for a total liberalisaiton of trade in industrial and fishing products. It is due to be signed on 18th May.

On 5th and 6th March the 27 EU Foreign Ministers debated the establishment of a European External Action Service. Debate was intense, notably with regard to the way the Union will establish goals and the relations it will entertain with its main world partners. Catherine Ashton, the EU Foreign Minister who attended the meeting will make proposals to the Council at the end of April for the establishment of the External Service. Ministers also addressed the Israeli-Palestinian issue and recalled the need to turn the solution for the two States into reality and to cooperate on this point with the USA.

The EU and Morocco have expressed their desire to build their partnership in terms of external relations on sharing common democratic values, the rule of law and Human Rights. In a joint declaration adopted after the first EU/Morocco Summit on 6th and 7th March both parties said that this "joint determination and ambition bear witness to a convergence of views between Europe and Morocco in response to a number of regional and world challenges." Morocco and Europe stress that this summit is part of an ambitious step that aims to deepen relations between the two sides of the Mediterranean. Both parties repeat their commitment to consolidating stability and prosperity in the Euro-Mediterranean area and to promoting values of dialogue, solidarity and complementarity, particularly within the framework of the Union for the Mediterranean (UPM).

On 1st March German Chancellor Angela Merkel received Spanish Head of Government José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero as part of a series of German-Spanish consultations. They spoke of the European economic growth strategy 2002 and the stability of the euro. Angela Merkel said that the EU intended to help Greece which was struggling in the midst of a serious financial crisis. She also re-iterated the importance of monetary stability in Europe and therefore the reduction of public debt.

The German Constitutional Court demanded on 2nd March that all data relative to the telecommunications of citizens that had been saved since 2008 be destroyed believing their storage was unconstitutional in its present form. The judges did not however question the storage of data in the future that has been planned in application of a European directive to fight against terrorism believing that this was legal in certain circumstances. But they called on German legislators to reformulate the application of the law on data storage to ensure better protection. Since 2008 telecommunication operators have been obliged to keep data on every telephone conversation for six months: date, hour, the identity of the caller as well as the location of the caller in the case of mobile phones.

Jerzy Buzek, the President European Parliament, travelled to Bulgaria on 3rd March where he attended the ceremonies of the Bulgarian national day after a series of interviews with President of the Bulgarian Republic, Georgi Parvanov, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and President of the National Assembly Tsetska Tsacheva. He also gave a conference at the University of Sofia on the theme of "Europe and Liberty".

The Spanish government approved a plan to counter fiscal fraud on 5th March, this included 60 measures that should lead to the recovery of annual revenues totalling 0.1% of the GDP by 2013 ie over one billion euros. These 60 measures "involve prevention, coordination in data collation, the improvement in efficacy of fraud control and cooperation in terms the recovery process," said the Economy Minister in a press release.

During his visit on March 1st and 2nd to Serbia and Kosovo French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner explained to the authorities in Belgrade that the progress of Serbia towards EU membership would largely depend on its ability to establish peaceful co-existence with Kosovo.

On 5th March European Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton was the guest of French Defence Minister Hervé Morin. They agreed on the need to establish a Council of EU Defence Ministers chaired by the latter. This "defence" council would lead to vital decisions being taken with regard to operations, military capabilities and commandment. Catherine Ashton and Hervé Morin spoke of the interest in having a permanent competence for planning and to undertaken EU operations in Brussels. This measure, which most Member States want, would lead to an improvement in the EU's response during the launch of operations and it would also help to save money.

On 8th March French President Nicolas Sarkozy pleaded in favour of the world development of civil nuclear activities notably in poor countries announcing the launch of an International Institute for Training in France - he also asked for the sector to take advantage of international funding. "France wants to work with all of the countries which want civil nuclear activities (...) France is convinced that sharing nuclear activities for peaceful goals is a decisive element for the respect of environmental concerns and a better distribution of wealth on the planet," he declared thereby opening the conference at the HQ of the OECD.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel endeavoured on 5th March to calm tension between her country and Greece congratulating Athens on its work and saying that the Greeks did not need financial aid. "Greece has made an enormous, rapid effort", "it is a major step forwards" and "it has not asked for financial aid", said the Chancellor lauding the "Greeks' courage" after an interview with Prime Minister George Papandréou. On 7th March in Paris French President Nicolas Sarkozy was host to Mr Papandreou. He recalled that "Greece can count on France's total support (...) Greece has undertaken what the EU had asked it to do," saying that "if necessary the Member States in the euro area would also keep the promises they had made." It is not "Greece's future" that is in the balance, "but that of Europe"; "The euro is our currency and it is our responsiblity" concluded the French president.

The Italian Chamber of Representatives approved the decision to extend Italian military participation in international missions by six months, notably in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq, Pakistan, in Sudan, Somalia and the Balkans. A redeployment of military forces is planned with a reduction in the number of soldiers engaged in Lebanon and as part of the Joint Enterprise mission in the Balkans and the dispatch of 170 additional soldiers to Afghanistan after a decision taken in December 2009 to increase the contingent to 1000. The text plans for the dispatch of 130 carabinieri to Haiti for humanitarian reasons.

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano travelled to Brussels on 3rd March where he met European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek, members of the European Commission, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions. He also met Belgian King Albert II. He stressed the primacy of the community method over the intergovernmental method and recalled the potential of the Lisbon Treaty to increase community integration. During a press conference Italian President pleaded in favour of a European Monetary Fund to help euro area countries in crisis. He added that belonging to the euro area implied "an obligation to financial discipline".

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was auditioned by the Commission of Inquiry into British commitment in Iraq. He said "I believe that we took the right decision for the right reasons."

On 3rd March the Ukrainian parliament voted a motion of no-confidence against Yulia Tymoshenko's government thereby heralding the end of the coalition that had been in power to now and causing the fall of the govenrment and the eviction of Ms Tymoshenko from the position of Prime Minister. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich now has 30 days to try and form a new coalition to inlcude his Regions Party which only has 171 seats against the 226 required to hold the majority. The Regions Party has allied itself to the Communist Party (27 seats) and the Lytvine Bloc (20 seats), but it needs to attract either Our Ukraine/People's Self Defence led by Viktor Yushchenko (71 MPs) or the BYUT led by Yulia Tymoshenko (153 MPs), in order to form a coalition and achieve a majority of votes. The Constitution stipulates that a new government has to be formed within 60 days otherwise early general elections must be convened.

After Europe Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich travelled to Moscow to meet his Russian counterpart Dmitri Medvedev. During the press conference that followed the meeting he said that he wanted to provide a qualitative change to relations between his country and Russia whilst Dmitri Medvedev announced a renewal in cooperation in several areas quoting the energy and gas sectors.

According to a rapid estimation published by Eurostat on 2nd March, the annual inflation rate in the euro area lay at 0.9% in February 2010. In January the rate lay at 1%.

In the fourth quarter of 2009 the GDP in the euro area and that of the EU increased by 0.1% in comparison with the previous quarter according to estimates published by Eurostat on 4th March. Over the third quarter 2009 growth lay at +0.4% in the euro area and +0.3% in the EU. In comparison with the fourth quarter 2008 the seasonally corrected GDP in the euro area declined by 2.1% and by 2.3% in the EU after -.4.1% and -4.3% respectively in the previous quarter. In 2009 the GDP in the euro area decreased by 4.1% and that of the EU by 4.2% against +0.6% and +0.8% respectively in 2008. In 2009 the GDP in the USA declined by 2.4% (+0.4% in 2008) and in Japan by 5% (-1.2% in 2008).

On the occasion of International Women's Day on 8th March Eurostat has published statistics on the situation of women and men in the EU. According to data published on 5th March, one woman in four will be 65 and over in 2030. In 2030 it is believed that life expectancy on birth in the EU will be 85.3 for women and 80 for men ie a gap of 5.3 years. According to forecasts the differences between women and men will decline to lie at between 3 years in Cyprus and 9 in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.

The share of women working across the globe has increased significantly over the last 30 years but their work is still less well paid and more menial observes a report by the International Labour Office (ILO) published on 5th March. In spite of some progress "strong disparity continues in terms of employment opportunities and employment quality," adds the document which is entitled "Women in Labour Markets: Measuring progress and identifying challenges."

The Center for European Reform has just published a study by Stephen Tindale and Simon Tilford entitled "Carbon Capture and Storage: What the EU needs to do".

The Centre for European Studies in Brussels has just published research by Michael Wohlgemuth entitled "Avoiding the Debt Trap: Public Finances in Crisis and Recovery". The economic and financial crisis have led to a sharp increase in the public debt in many European countries. However the crisis is not the only thing to blame for this level of debt. The author reviews the present situation before assessing the consequences of this debt; he then puts forward solutions to emerge from the debt trap.

Garnet (Globlal, Governance, Regionalisation & Regulation: The role of the EU) has published a report by Zaki Laïdi entitled "Europe as a risk averse power - a hypothesis".

The OECD published an economic study on Norway which shows that this country has surmounted the financial crisis better than most of the other OECD countries recording a slightly less severe recession and a slower increase in unemployment, whose rate is probably less than 4%.

Just as the Ruhr is the European Capital of Culture this year the archeological museum of Herne is playing on words and is organising an exhibition entitled "Aufruhr 1225! Ritter, Burgen und Intrigen" (Revolt in 1225! Knights, Castles and Intrigue). The exhibition takes the visitor on a riveting adventure of daily life in towns and castles in the Middle Ages, which has been recreated using a great number of objects.

An ultramodern museum devoted to Frederik Chopin was inaugurated on 1st March in Warsaw on the occasion of the bicentary of his birth. Lying in the old palace of Ostrogski on the banks of the Vistula, restored, reorganised the museum aims to take the visitor into Chopin's world by way of advanced audiovisual and interactive technology.