Bronislaw Komrowski (Civic Platform PO) was elected President of the Republic of Poland after a second round of voting in the presidential election that took place on 4th July. The Diet leader (lower chamber of Parliament), and because of this, interim Head of State since the accidental death of the outgoing Head of State Lech Kaczynski on 10th April last won 52.63% of the vote and ahead of his rival Jaroslaw Kaczynski (Law and Justice PiS), the twin brother of the outgoing President and former Prime Minister (2006-2007) who won 47.37% of the vote. Turnout rose to 55.29% ie 1.3 points more than in the first round on 20th June last.

In a declaration on 1st July German Economy Minister Rainer Brüderle said he was pleased with Germany's economic recovery after the financial and economic crisis. He said that the German economy "was the EU's economic engine". According to forecasts recovery is due to continue in 2011. Most institutes have increased their growth forecasts for 2010 to around 2%. According to figures published on 30th June by the German Economic Research Institute (DIW), the GDP is due to increase by 1.9% in Germany in 2010 (in comparison with 1.7% in April). However the DIW has forecast a decrease in 2011 bringing this down from 1.8% to 1.7%. "The economy is starting to gather pace but again it is being stimulated by external demand," indicated the DIW Chairman Klaus Zimmerman on 30th June.

According to figures calculated by "Statistik Austria" and published on 30th June public debt in Austria rose to 185.5 billion euros in the first quarter of 2010 ie 66.6% of the Austrian GDP. Public debt lay at 0.3 billion euro below that of the total in the previous quarter but it increased by 0.2% of the GDP. This contradictory development can be explained by a clear decline in the GDP during the economic and financial crisis.

According to the National Statistics and Economic Studies Institute (INSEE) the total of the French public debt rose in March 2010 to 80.3% of the GDP. In its preparatory report for the new law on public finance programming the Budget, Public Accounts and State Reform Minister raised his debt forecast to 83.7% in 2010.

On 29th June the European Parliament and the Member States came to an agreement on banks own funds and the capping of bonuses, a first time occurrence ever in the world. As from 2011 traders will receive a maximum of 60% of their variable remuneration immediately and the rest three years later so that long term risks are taken into account. Only 30% of the bonuses will be paid in cash and at least 50% in the shape of conditional capital linked to the good functioning of the bank. These new rules aim to transform the culture in this sector and put an end to excessive risk taking by laying down the foundations of a healthy, responsible banking system to protect the tax payer. Special measures are being planned for banks that benefit from aid. MPs also approved two resolutions on 28th June asking for enhanced economic governance Union wide and the attribution of the power to Eurostat so that it can undertake "dawn raids".

On 1st July the Swedish Central Bank, the Riksbank, decided to raise its main rate by 0.5% (the main interest rate has been set at 0.25% since July 2009). This decision follows significant recovery in growth in Sweden and can also be explained by the desire to avoid speculative flows and inflation. The Riksbank also raised its growth forcast for Sweden to 3.8% in 2010 in comparison with 2.2% previously.

The European Commission put forward a series of measures to enhance the economic governance of the Union and the Euro area on 30th June; this implies greater surveillance of budgetary policy together with macro-economic and structural reform. The proposal includes a synchronisation of national budgetary procedures as part of the "European semester": Member States will have to submit their stability and convergence programmes together with their national reform programmes for examination by their partners. The Stability and Growth Pact will be enhanced both with regard to its preventive and corrective apsects with greater attention being paid to the development of debt. More sophisticated indicators should lead to faster detection of macro-economic imbalance so that differences can be corrected. Finally European surveilance should lead to structural reform in the Member States so that they are in line with the main goals of the new European strategy for growth and employment.

As part of the reduction of its public deficit Spain decided on 1st July to implement an increase in VAT. It will rise from 16 to 18% affecting the prices of several products such as clothes, alcoholic drinks, white goods etc ... With regard to sectors such as hotels, restaurants and food its rate will rise from 7 to 8%. Basic products are however not affected.

The Portuguese government intends to bring its public deficit down to 3% of the GDP by 2012, thereby respecting the European budgetary discipline rules one year earlier than planned according to new forecasts published on 2nd July by the Finance Minister. In a guideline report on budgetary policy delivered to parliament the government is now counting on a deficit of 3% of the GDP in 2012 and 2% in 2013 against forecasts of 3.8% and 2.3% that were included in the Stability and Growth Programme set out in March last.

On 29th June the British Prime Minister David Cameron recalled that prosperity was not guaranteed and that it was necessary "to jump start and rebuild" the UK's economy. He explained that the country "needed to reduce its deficit" and to "reform social aid" and to attract investments. He added that decline was not inevitable and that the UK had several advantages for success.

Italy's public deficit dropped to 8.7% of the GDP in the first quarter in comparison with 9.2% a year ago said the national statistics institute Istat in a press release on 2nd July. This reduction in the public deficit is due to an increase in tax revenues of 0.3% over one year and a decrease in spending of 0.7% over the same period of time.

On 1st July the EU introduced new labelling rules on organic food products including the obligation to show the Union's organic logo. This logo called "Euro-Leaf" will now be obligatory on pre-packed foodstuffs that have been produced in the EU's Member States and they will now have to respect the standards in force. Other logos, of a private, regional or national nature will continue to appear alongside the EU's logo which will be optional on non-pre-packed, imported organic products. Apart from the logo the new labelling rules make it obligatory to indicate the place where ingredients in the product were obtained, as well as the code of the organisation that is responsible for control. Operators have a transitional period of two years to fall in line with these new rules.

On 30th June the European Commission launched a consultation with regard to fundamental issues associated with internet neutrality. This notably involves finding out whether suppliers can be allowed to adopt certain practices with regard to internet traffic management. Neelie Kroes, Vice-President for the Digital Agenda announced in April that she intended to launch a consultation to progress the debate on internet neutrality in Europe. The results of this consultation will help to provide information for the Commission's report on internet neutrality that is due to be presented before the end of this year. All of the interested parties (service and content suppliers, consumers, companies and researchers) are being invited to take part in the consultation before 30th September. The digital agenda for Europe has many goals the achievement of which is determined by the existence of a neutral, open internet.

On 1st July the European Commission put forward a proposal on the measures relative to the translation of the future EU patent, the last vital detail for the implementation of the single European patent. At present it is ten times more expensive to obtain a patent in Europe than in the USA which discourages research, development and innovation thereby diminishing European competitiveness. This is why Europe must act so that inventors can protect their inventions in a more affordable manner thanks to a single patent that is valid across the entire EU, for a minimum translation cost and without them having to validate the patent with the competent national authorities as it is presently the case. The new proposal is based on a trilingual system in application at the European Patents Office (OEB). If adopted it will reduce present translation costs significantly.

On 2nd July the European Commission decided to commit an additional 85 million euros to the Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF) for 2010. This contribution will create leverage for neighbouring partner countries to obtain higher amounts to fund vital investment projects in areas such as energy, transport, environment as well as in the social sector (in support of projects relative to the building of schools and hospitals). It will also foster the development of the private sector by paying greater attention to SME's.

The 7th Ministerial meeting organised as part of the dialogue on energy between the EU and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was mainly dominated by the disaster caused by oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico by BP as well as the present economic crisis. During the meeting the European Union's Energy Commssioner Günther Oettinger and OPEC representatives said they were extremely concerned by this disaster; Mr Oettinger and the OPEC's Secretary General Salem El-Badri said that time was necessary before any political measures were taken. Participants pointed to the important role played by energy in facilitating constructive dialogue between both parties and repeated their mutual interest in stability and the transparency of the petroleum market.

On 29th June the Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and the Security Policy, Catherine Ashton met the heads of the civilian missions of the common security and defence policy (CSDP). They discussed achievements and challenges facing the policy. Ms Ashton thanked the heads of mission for their work achieved in areas that are increasingly complex and stressed that CSDP missions continue to be a major EU priority.

On 29th June the 27 European Agriculture Ministers reached agreement on the basic principles according to which the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will have to fall in line. These include market mechanisms so that farmers and breeders have sufficient guarantee in terms of revenue given the volatility of the markets. The ministers pleaded in support of the EU defending an agriculture of quality based on the respect of the environment and animal well-being. Discussions focused on the reform of the joint organisation of markets in the fishing products and aquaculture sector. Finally a wide consensus was formed on international competitiveness of the European agro-food model: the European production model is an essential part of the common heritage which it is important to protect.

The new German president Christian Wulff was sworn in on 2nd July after being elected in the third round of voting on 30th June. He is the 10th President of the German Federal Republic.

The USA and Poland signed a protocol on 3rd July finalising Poland's agreement to host a future component of the American anti-missile shield in Europe. The document amends the agreement on the American anti-missile shield signed with Washington in August 2008 to adapt it to the project that was modified by the Obama adminstration.

On 2nd July the International Monetary Fund concluded the fourth review of economic results of Romania as part of the 24 month Stand-By Arrangement signed in May 2009. IMF observers point to the work undertaken by the Romanian authorities with regard to restoring macro-economic stability and balancing public finances. This announcement immediately led to the release of 913.2 million euros.

The Croatian Parliament amended the asylum law on 2nd July to bring legislation in line with that in application in the EU which the country is hoping to join. The amended law enhances the independence of the authorities which asylum seekers can turn to with regard to their appeals. It also extends from one to three years the period of time during which people whose asylum requests have been rejected cannot be sent back to their country of origin.

According to an estimate published on 30th June by Eurostat the annual inflation rate in the euro area lay at 1.4% in June 2010. In May the rate was 1.6%.

The unemployment rate lay at 10% in May in the euro area according to figures published on 2nd July by Eurostat. It lay at 9.4% in May 2009. In the EU the unemployment rate rose to 9.6% in May 2010, unchanged in comparison with April whilst it was 8.9% in May 2009. Amongst the Member States the lowest levels were recorded in Austria (4%) and the Netherlands (4.3%) and the highest were in Latvia (20% in the first quarter of 2010), in Spain (19.9%) and in Estonia (19% in the first quarter of 2010).

According to an interim report by the European Commission on roaming published on 29th June European mobile phone operators have reduced their fees in line with price limits established by the European Union. European consumers enjoy lower tarifs for voice and SMS telephone services and are better informed about the prices they pay for data services. However consumers still do not enjoy prices that are clearly lower than those set by European Union regulations. It emerges that the establishment of limits and the decrease in prices that followed the roaming market in the EU is still not competitive enough to offer a better choice and more advantageous tarifs to consumers.

The Committee for Franco-German Relations Studies (CERFA) at the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI) has published a paper by Markus Kaim entitled "The German military commitment in Afghanistan: conditions, assessments and outlook."

The Swedish Institute for European Studies published a paper on the European External Action Service(EEAS) entitled "The European External Action Service: towards a common diplomacy?". Authors, Maxime Lefebvre and Christophe Hillion analyse the political context in which the EEAS has been established. The French version of this analysis was published in the "European Issue's" series by the Robert Schuman Foundation.

The German Bertelsmann Foundation has just published a study by Armando Garcia Schmidt on the Spanish Presidency of the EU entitled "Spain and the end of European Illusions". The author explains that the six months of the Spanish presidency were dominated by the economic crisis and he observes that 25 years after its accession to the European Community the country is facing major economic, political and social challenges.

On 28th June the Bank for International Settlements warned of the dangers of a "relapse" in the world's economy into a new crisis if governments do not put an end to their economic support plans and advantageous monetary policies soon. "The secondary effects of intensive care (to the world economy) together with the fragility that continues in the financial system over such a long period of time do not happen without creating the danger of relapse," stressed the BIS in its annual report.

The 62nd edition of the Festival of Aix-en-Provence is taking place until 21st July. This year five lyrical productions are on offer, one more than last year, in particular "Don Giovanni" by Mozart that is being produced by Dmitri Tcherniakov and "Alceste" by Gluck, the main role of which is being played by Véronique Gens.

On 1st July a mobile exhibition on the German unification was inaugurated by German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble who was a major player in the negotiations between the Federal Republic (FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1990. The opening of the exhibition coincides with the 20th anniversary of the State Treaty on Monetary, Economic and Social Union. The exhibition shows the road to German unification and the construction of the new Länder since 1990 thanks to 18 pictures. Over the first four days the exhibition is being held at the Brandenburg Gate. It will then go on tour to fifty other German towns until 3rd October.

On 11th July London will be hosting the "Big Dance" festival presented as the biggest street dance festival in the world. For several days dance shows will take place in the city in places that are sometimes quite unique - shops, parks, museums, galleries .. This festival that started in 2006 on the initiative of the Mayor of London together with the English Arts Council aims to familiarise the public with the world of dance.

The 45th edition of the international cinema festival Karlovy Vary opened on 2nd July. The international jury has to choose from twelve films. The main winner will be revealed during the gala evening on 10th July.

The exhibition "Klee meets Picasso" that is on-going until 26th September at the Paul Klee Museum in Bern highlights the parallels between the work undertaken by the masters of modern art via 180 paintings.

The 44th Jazz Festival in Montreux will be host to jazz musicians and also those from all sorts of different musical backgrounds until 17th for both fee paying and free concerts.